Fuel consumption of timber harvesting systems in New Zealand
Abstract
Fuel is a major cost in timber harvesting operations. Changes in fuel cost are also typically used by forestry companies in New Zealand to adjust unit harvesting rates. There is however no benchmark on fuel consumption rates for the different harvesting systems to assist optimizing the design of operations. Seventeen ground-based and 28 cable logging crews in New Zealand were surveyed on annual fuel consumption, production, stand and terrain attributes, type and number of machines used and their kW rating. The average rate of fuel consumption was 3.04 lt/m3 and 0.15 lt/kWh for ground-based systems, and 3.18 lt/m3 and 0.09 lt/kWh for cable yarder systems. There was no significant difference between the two groups for the average rates of fuel consumption in lt/m3, but ground-based system were significantly less energy efficient (more lt/kWh) than cable yarder systems. The average rate of fuel used per unit volume harvested decreased with total annual system production. Rates of fuel consumption in lt/kWh are influenced by the type of harvesting system used, total production, number of machines used, average machine power, slope, directions of pulling during extraction and surface moisture conditions during harvesting. Using standard published machine costing spreadsheets, fuel costs per unit volume of wood harvested was approximately 15% of the total harvest system cost.
Keywords
Fuel consumption rates,Ground-based,Cable yarding,Harvesting machines,fuel cost
References
- Acuna, M., Bigot, M., Guerra, S., Hartsough, B., Kanzian, C., Kärhä, K., Spinelli, R., 2012. Good practice guidelines for biomass production studies, from http://www.forestenergy.org/openfile/329.
- Alastair, R., 1994. Business management for logging. Rotorua, New Zealand: New Zealand Logging Industry Research Organisation.
- Athanassiadis, D., Lidestav, G., Wästerlund, I., 1999. Fuel, hydraulic oil and lubricant consumption in Swedish mechanized harvesting operations. International Journal of Forest Engineering, 10(1):59-66.
- Athanassiadis, D., 2000. Energy consumption and exhaust emissions in mechanized timber harvesting operations in Sweden. Science of the Total Environment, 255(1-3):135-143.
- Baker, S., Greene, W. D., 2012. Logging cost components in the US South. Paper presented at the 35th Council on Forest Engineering, New Bern, North Carolina.
- Baker, S., Greene, D., Harris, T., Mei, R., 2013. Regional Cost Analysis and Indices for Conventional Timber Harvesting Operations.
- Baker, S., Mei, B., Harris, T. G., Greene, W. D., 2014. An index for logging cost changes across the US South. Journal of Forestry, 112(3):296-301.
- Drolet, S., Lebel, L., 2010. Forest harvesting entrepreneurs, perception of their business status and its influence on performance evaluation. Forest Policy and Economics, 12(4):287-298.
- FORME, 2012. Independent Harvesting Survey (INFORME). Forme Consulting Group Ltd. Wellington, New Zealand. 2012. Retrieved from http://forme.co.nz. 43pp.
- Gordon, R., Foran, W., 1980. Fuel for logging in New Zealand. Logging Industry Research Association of New Zealand, 5(2):1-4.
