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Shane Botard, Francisco X. Aguilar, Hank Stelzer, Tom Gallagher, John Dwyer, Operational Costs and Sensitivity Analyses of an Integrated Harvest of Solid Hardwood Products and Woody Biomass: Case Study in Central Missouri, Forest Science, Volume 61, Issue 6, December 2015, Pages 1058–1067, https://doi.org/10.5849/forsci.14-080
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Thirty acres of Missouri forestland were harvested as a case study to implement two integrated solid hardwood product (SHWP) and biomass treatments: a whole-tree (WT) treatment that removed SHWP trees of ≥7 in. dbh along with their tops; and a whole-tree and smaller-diameter (WTSD) treatment that removed whole trees and 5–7 in. dbh trees. A mechanized system consisting of a feller-buncher, grapple skidder, and loader was used in both treatments. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service General Ground-based Harvesting System Analysis model was used to estimate hourly equipment costs. Activity sampling data were used to separate the costs associated with harvesting SHWP and woody biomass. A sensitivity analysis was used to evaluate the effects of changes in operational costs and equipment utilization rates on average cost per green ton of SHWP and woody biomass. Cost estimates per green ton of harvested material loaded on the truck at the landing (excluding hauling costs) were $31.34 for SHWP and $0.99 for woody biomass in the WT treatment and $28.48 for SHWP and $4.74 for woody biomass in the WTSD treatment. The combined overall average costs per ton for both SHWP and woody biomass were $23.14/ton in the WT treatment and $21.75/ton in the WTSD treatment; there was a reduction of $1.39/ton when tops and smaller-diameter biomass trees were harvested. The cost of woody biomass removal was most sensitive to changes in diesel prices. Operators should be attentive to changes in fuel prices and maximize utilization rates as these can significantly affect the feasibility of biomass removal, particularly smaller-diameter trees.
