Effects of Site Conditions on Costs and Profitability in the Extraction and Use of Dead Trees in Mongolia

Year 2022, , 11 - 25, 30.06.2022

Yuta Ikeda , Biligt Battuvshin , Hiroaki Shirasawa , Ganbaatar Chultem , Futoshi Ishiguri , Kazuhiro Aruga

https://doi.org/10.33904/ejfe.1087059

Abstract

This study estimates the costs and profits of extracting dead trees from forests to be sold at provincial centers via sub-provincial centers as lumber, to be sold at sub-provincial centers as firewood and unused materials for the production of energy. The effect of site conditions on cost and profit was examined. Forest registration data including subgroup area, tree species, and forest stocks; polygonal data describing province/sub-province, protected/nonprotected, and subgroup boundaries (shape file); point data of provincial/sub-provincial center (shape file); and linear data about roads (shape file) were acquired from the Mongolian government. Subgroups comprising Siberian larch, Scotch pine, and Asian white birch trees were analyzed. A positive correlation was found between off-road/primary transportation distance and harvesting/total cost; the total cost and ratio of lumber yield in each subgroup, resulting from the additional cost of transporting lumber from the sub-provincial center to the provincial center. The strong positive correlation between profitability and the ratio of lumber yield to the total yield of each subgroup means that profits will increase as more lumber is harvested, although lumber costs more than firewood or other unused wood. Therefore, the extent to which lumber can be harvested from each subgroup has a significant influence on profitability.

Keywords

Biomass recovery, circular economy, lumber, firewood, unused materials for energy production

Supporting Institution

JSPS

Project Number

KAKENHI grant number 16KK0168

Thanks

We are grateful to the forest unit staff and engineers associated with private companies in the Khuvsgul Province of Mongolia.

References

• Accastello, C., Brun, F., Borgogno-Mondina, E. 2017. A spatial-based decision support system for wood harvesting management in mountain areas. Land Use Policy 67: 277-287.
• Altrell, D. 2019. Multipurpose National Forest Inventory in Mongolia, 2014-2017 -A tool to support sustainable forest management. Geogr. Environ. Sustain. 12(3): 167-183.
• Aruga, K. 2016. Analyses on strip road networks and profitability of final felling operations considering regeneration expenses at Nasu in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Eur. J. For. Eng. 2(2): 74–81.
• Aruga, K., Hiyamizu, G., Nakahata, C., Saito, M. 2013a. Effects of aggregating forests, establishing forest road networks, and mechanization on operational efficiency and costs in a mountainous region in Japan. J. For. Res. 24(4): 747–754.
• Aruga, K., Murakami, A., Nakahata, C., Yamaguchi, R., Saito, M., Yoshioka, T. 2014. Estimating annual available amounts of forest biomass resources with total revenues and costs during the 60-year rotation in a mountainous region in Japan. Cro. J. For. Eng. 35: 125-138.
• Aruga, K., Murakami, A., Nakahata, C., Yamaguchi, R., Yoshioka, T. 2011. Discussion on economic and energy balances of forest biomass utilization for small-scale power generation in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Cro. J. For. Eng. 32: 571-586.
• Aruga, K., Murakami, A., Yamaguchi, R., Nakahata, C., Saito, M., Tasaka, T. 2013b. Development of a model to estimate the annual available amount of forest biomass resources under profitable forest management - Case study of Nasushiobara City and Kanuma Area in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Formath 12: 103–132.
• Aruga, K., Uemura, R. 2015. Estimating availability of logging residue using forest management data at aggregated stands of the Takahara area of Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Eur. J. For. Eng. 1: 69-83.
• Baasan, B., Mohns, B. 2019. Sustainable Forest Management to Improve the Livelihood of Local Communities (SFM). Final Completion Report on ADB Project, Mongolian University for Science and Technology (MUST), Ulaanbaatar.
• Battuvshin, B., Ikeda, Y., Shirasawa, H., Cultem, G., Ishiguri, F., Aruga, K. 2022. Estimating available unused dead wood materials for heat generation in Mongolia: how much coal can unused dead wood materials substitute? Environ. Monit. Assess. 194: 291.
• Battuvshin, B., Matsuoka, Y., Shirasawa, H., Toyama, K., Hayashi, U., Aruga, K. 2020. Supply potential and annual availability of timber and forest biomass resources for energy considering inter-prefectural trade in Japan. Land Use Policy 97: 104780.
• Battuvshin, B., Stritzke, M. 2015. Time and cost estimation for forestry activities. GIZ-Program report, Ulaanbattar, Mogolia.
• Cavalli, R., Amishev, D. 2019. Steep terrain forest operations—challenges, technology development, current implementation, and future opportunities. Int. J. Forest Eng. 30(3): 175–181.
• Doosan Solar 55V, 2021. https://machine.market/ specification-21164 (Accessed: 10 January 2021).
• Glauner, R., Dugarjav, D. 2021. Assessment of Wood Product Value Chains and Recommendations for the Mongolian Wood-Processing Industry. http://reddplus.mn/eng/wpcontent/uploads/2018/09/UNDP-Wood-Product-Value-Chains.pdf (Accessed: 10 January 2021).
• Goto, J. 2016. The growth-industrialization of Japanese forestries and the operation systems being available for their purposes. J. Mec. Soc. 752: 1–8.
• FAO, 2021. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 Report Mongolia. http://www.fao.org/3/cb0031en/ cb0031en.pdf (Accessed: 10 January 2021).
• Forestry Agency of Japan, 2013. https://www.rinya. maff.go.jp/j/kaigai/cdm/pdf/h24cdmreport-info1.pdf (Accessed: 10 January 2021).
• Gradel, A., Petrow, W. 2014. Forstpolitische Entwicklungen im Transformationsland Mongolei. AFZ-Der Wald 17: 36-39.
• Government of Mongolia, 2018. Mongolia’s Forest Reference Level submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; UN-REDD Mongolia National Programme; Ministry of Environment and Tourism: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. http://reddplus.mn/eng/wpcontent/uploads/2018/08/2018-Mongolia-FRL-modified-2.pdf (Accessed: 10 January 2021). Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2021. https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/area/mongolia/data.html (Accessed: 10 January 2021).
• Kamimura, K., Kuboyama, H., Yamamoto, K. 2012. Wood biomass supply costs and potential for biomass energy plants in Japan. Biomass Bioenerg. 36: 107-115.
• Matsuoka, Y., Shirasawa, H., Hayashi, U., Aruga, K. 2021. Annual availability of forest biomass resources for woody biomass power generation plants from subcompartments and aggregated forests in Tohoku region of Japan. Forests 12: 71.
• MET, 2019. Mongolian Multipurpose National Forest Inventory 2014-2017. 2nd ed; Ministry of Environment and Tourism: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
• Nakahata, C., Aruga, K., Saito, M. 2019. Numerical examination of the optimal bucking method to maximize profits applied in Nasu Town, Tochigi prefecture, Japan. Eur. J. For. Eng. 5: 1–10.
• Nakahata, C., Aruga, K., Uemura, R., Saito, M., Kanetsuki, K. 2014. Examining the optimal method to extract logging residues from small-scale forestry in the Nasunogahara Area, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Small-Scale For. 13(2): 251–266.
• Nord-Larsen, T., Talbot, B. 2004. Assessment of forest-fuel resources in Denmark: Technical and economic availability. Biomass Bioenerg. 27: 97-109.
• Panichelli, L., Gnansounou, E. 2008. GIS-based approach for defining bioenergy facilities location: A case study in Northern Spain based on marginal delivery costs and resources competition between facilities. Biomass Bioenerg. 32: 289-300.
• NIRAS, 2018. Project Completion Report on ADB Project: Sustainable Forest Management to Improve the Livelihood of Local Communities (TA 8874 MON). Ulaanbaatar. Mongolia. S trandstrom, M. 2018. Timber harvesting and long-distance transportation of roundwood 2017. Metsatehon Tuloskalvosarja 7: 31. Taiga 3 saw, 2021. https://www.pilorama1.ru/pilorama-lentochnaya/electro/tayga-t-3/ (Accessed: 10 January 2021).
• TDT 55 tractor, 2021. http://www.atst.ru/ tdt55a_eng.htm (Accessed: 10 January 2021).
• WWF, 2004. Deadwood – living forests. The importance of veteran trees and deadwood to biodiversity. https://wwfeu.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/deadwoodwithnotes.pdf (Accessed: 26 April 2022).
• Visser, R., Stampfer, K. 2015. Expanding ground-based harvesting onto steep terrain: A review. Croat. J. Forest Eng. 36: 321–331.
• Yamaguchi, R., Aruga, K., Nagasaki, M. 2014. Estimating the annual supply potential and availability of timber and logging residue using the forest management records of the Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. J. For. Res. 19: 22-33.
• Yamamoto, T., Aruga, K., Shirasawa, H. 2019. Availability for small-scale woody biomass power generation from the view of forest resources in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Int. J. For. Eng. 30(3): 210–217.
• Yoshioka, T., Sakurai, R., Aruga, K., Sakai, H., Kobayashi, H., Inoue, K. 2011. A GIS-based analysis on the relationship between the annual available amount and the procurement cost of forest biomass in a mountainous region in Japan. Biomass Bioenerg. 35: 4530-4537.
• Zil 131 truck, 2021. https://www.carsdirectory.net/ gallery/zil/131/1985/ (Accessed: 10 January 2022).