0000000000220866
AUTHOR
Andrea Laschi
A Comparison between the Latest Models of Li-Ion Batteries and Petrol Chainsaws Assessing Noise and Vibration Exposure in Cross-Cutting
Chainsaw operators are exposed to many hazards that can lead to health problems. The two most frequently documented ergonomics threats in the use of chainsaws are noise and vibration exposure. Since the use of battery chainsaws is increasing due to the growing improvements in battery life and power, the study aims to compare the difference in terms of noise emission and vibration levels of the following two new models of chainsaws: the battery-powered Stihl MSA 300 and the petrol-powered Stihl MS 261 C-M. Black pine and European beech logs were cross-cut in order to evaluate both noise and vibration exposure. The results show that the use of battery-powered chainsaws, in comparison to the p…
Buone prassi per la riduzione degli impatti durante le operazioni di esbosco
La pubblicazione affronta varie tematiche inerenti l'impiego di macchine e attrezzature altamente meccanizzate per l'esbosco dei prodotti legnosi e analizza in dettaglio le buone prassi raccomandate per ridurre gli impatti al suolo di macchine che sono sempre più potenti e pesanti. Risultati conclusivi del progetto SKIDDFORW
Sustainable Forest Operations (SFO): A new paradigm in a changing world and climate
The effective implementation of sustainable forest management depends largely on carrying out forest operations in a sustainable manner. Climate change, as well as the increasing demand for forest products, requires a re-thinking of forest operations in terms of sustainability. In this context, it is important to understand the major driving factors for the future development of forest operations that promote economic, environmental and social well-being. The main objective of this paper is to identify important issues concerning forest operations and to propose a new paradigm towards sustainability in a changing climate, work and environmental conditions. Previously developed concepts of f…
Economic and Life Cycle Analysis of Passive and Active Monitoring of Ozone for Forest Protection
At forest sites, phytotoxic tropospheric ozone (O3) can be monitored with continuously operating, active monitors (AM) or passive, cumulative samplers (PM). For the first time, we present evidence that the sustainability of active monitoring is better than that of passive sensors, as the environmental, economic, and social costs are usually lower in the former than in the latter. By using data collected in the field, environmental, social, and economic costs were analyzed. The study considered monitoring sites at three distances from a control station in Italy (30, 400, and 750 km), two forest types (deciduous and Mediterranean evergreen), and three time windows (5, 10, and 20 years of moni…
Early response ofQuercus roburseedlings to soil compaction following germination
Logging operations using heavy machinery effect changes in soil characteristics due to compaction; such conditions can negatively influence seedling development. In stands managed on the basis of close-to-nature silviculture or continuous cover forestry, successful establishment of natural regeneration after logging is important to ensure the proper functioning of a forest ecosystem, to promote soil recovery, and to prevent and mitigate land degradation processes (such as soil erosion, mudflow, waterlogging, and landslides) related to soil compaction and rutting. This work aimed to assess the early response of Quercus robur seedlings to soil compaction during the first 1.5 months after germ…
Environmental performance of wood pellets' production through life cycle analysis
Abstract Forests play a key role as the source of an essential renewable material and/or fuel: wood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the environmental impacts related to high-quality pellet production for domestic heating following the LCA (life cycle assessment) methodology and considering a cradle-to-gate perspective in the Tuscany region. This is representative and interesting for Italian pellet factories and for similar factories located in Central Europe, considering the Italian contribution to the production capacity of that area. All of the activities involved, from wood extraction in no-industrial forests to packed pellet production, ready for delivery to final users, were tak…
Recovery of cork forests and enhancement of by-products
Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) is a tree species native to the western Mediterranean Basin (EUFORGEN 2019). Cork oak forests are human-shaped ecosystems that have to be managed to be preserved in a long-term perspective. Cork oak stands range from closed forests to open woodlands, provide high ecosystem services, mainly through cork production, support high biodiversity and provide carbon storage and water regulation services. Due to their important ecological role, these ecosystems are listed in the European Habitats Directive (Habitat 9330: Quercus suber forests, EEC, 1992). In the last years, especially in Italy, cork oak stands are undergoing a relevant regression due to the decline of tra…
Forest Sharing® as an Innovative Facility for Sustainable Forest Management of Fragmented Forest Properties: First Results of Its Implementation
The forestry sector in Italy and throughout Europe is going through a critical period due to ongoing natural and anthropological processes, such as climate change and the abandonment of rural areas. These processes lead to a constant fragmentation of properties in small forest parcels, with direct impacts on management capacity. In this framework, new sustainable forest management methods are being tested and are shown to be good practices to oppose the decline of forest ecosystems. Their innovative aspects concern the introduction of a form of shared and circular economy, where management is built on the process, rather than on the product. Their technical activities are based on precision…
Determining exhaust fumes exposure in chainsaw operations
Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate the inhalation exposure of forest operators to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and total xylenes) contained in the exhaust fumes released from chainsaws and to suggest possible countermeasures. The study was carried out in four silvicultural treatments (coppice clearcut, conifer thinning, conifer pruning, and sanitary cut), using three types of chainsaw fuel (normal two-stroke petrol mix and two alkylate fuels). Eighty personal air samples were collected; IOM samplers combined with Amberlite XAD-2 sorbent tubes were used for collecting PAHs and Radiello® samplers were used for BTEX. Resu…
Identifying causes, dynamics and consequences of work accidents in forest operations in an alpine context
Abstract In a sustainable perspective, where wood harvesting and use perfectly respond to environmental needs, social sustainability and related health and safety of forest workers cannot be disregarded. The aim of this study was the analysis of the accidents records in public companies in the Province of Trento, in Northern Italy, regarding forest operations in the period 1995–2013. Several information were available thanks to the up-to-date accident books compiled by each company. With an average Frequency index in the examined period of 88 injuries per million hours worked, forest operations were confirmed as one of the most dangerous works along all productive sectors. Monday had a sign…
Use of Battery- vs. Petrol-Powered Chainsaws in Forestry: Comparing Performances on Cutting Time
The use of battery tools is very common in many fields of work. In fact, the electric engine and batteries have several advantages over traditional endothermic engines, including low emissions, in terms of pollutants, vibration and noise. In this context, the chainsaw market started producing electric models powered by batteries. These machines can be useful in forestry, but information on their performance is scarce. The aim of this work was to compare the performance, in terms of cutting times, of three Stihl chainsaw models: the MS 220C-B (battery powered), and the MS 201 C-M and MS 261 C-M (both petrol powered). The study was carried out on five different wood species, also taking into …
Forest road planning to improve tourism accessibility: a comparison of different methods applied in a real case study
Forest road planning with the available tools, e.g. PEGGER and GIS, still requires a lot of time of an expert, and the designed roads are not guaranteed to be efficient in terms of the cost or suitability of the road. In this article, we propose a novel Genetic Algorithm (GA) based method for forest road planning. To do so, each road is represented as a sequence of fixed and variable (control) points. A novel objective (fitness) function is defined based on the length, gradient, and suitability of the roads (individuals). The proposed algorithm is applied to the Arasbaran forest area and the resulted roads are compared with PEGGER-designed roads regarding length, Bachmund index, accessibili…
19. Canoeing, kayak and rowing - Fast and floating
The chapter is part of the book "Wood in Sport Equipment - heritage, present, perspective". It is focused on the use of wood in two sports included in Olympics program: rowing and flatwater.
Battery- and Petrol-Powered Chainsaws: An Investigation of Productivity in Conifer Thinning
In recent years, battery technology has been greatly improved and some types of battery chainsaws are currently comparable with light-type petrol machines, suggesting their possible introduction into forest operations. In this context, the aim of this study was to test and compare the performance, in a Douglas-fir thinning, of two chainsaws similar in terms of weight and power, the Stihl MS 220 CB battery-powered saw and the Stihl MS 201 CM petrol-powered saw, measuring the working times and calculating the productivities. The results showed that, within a working day (about 6 h gross time), an average of 15 trees of 0.56 m3 was felled in each area. No statistically significant differences …
A GIS-MCDM-based road network planning for tourism development and management in Arasbaran forest, Iran.
It is very important for managers to plan a road network that meets all the requirements for tourism development and management. The aim of this study was to evaluate and modify an existing road network for tourism purposes in the Arasbaran protected area. First, the map layers of effective criteria were prepared in GIS and were standardized by a fuzzy logic approach and finally combined considering their relative importance weights obtained through pair-wise comparison technique. A suitability map was then acquired. After that, 14 different scenarios of road network were designed to access the recreational area using PEGGER extension in ArcView. Then, they were evaluated in terms of techni…
Comparing the Productivity of the Latest Models of Li-Ion Battery and Petrol Chainsaws in a Conifer Clear-Cut Site
The recent technological development of batteries has allowed the production of powerful tools that are also used in forestry operations. For this reason, this study aimed to compare the performance of two latest chainsaw models in a conifer clear-cut. The examined chainsaws, the battery-powered Stihl MSA 300 and the petrol-powered MS 261 C-M, have comparable power and weight. The overall working times were recorded and then gross, net and felling/processing productivities were quantified. Our findings reported that in a working day (7.4 h gross time), each chainsaw felled and processed an average of 20 trees of 0.64 m3 with an average diameter at breast height of 28 cm. Considering the net…
Strategies to Mitigate the Effects of Soil Physical Disturbances Caused by Forest Machinery: a Comprehensive Review
Abstract Purpose of Review Ground-based mechanized forest operations can cause severe soil disturbances that are often long lasting and detrimental to the health of forested ecosystems. To reduce these soil disturbances, focus is being increasingly directed at identifying and using appropriate mitigation techniques. This systematic review considered 104 scientific articles and reported the main findings according to four core themes: terrain-related factors, operational planning, machine modifications, and types of amendments used to mitigate machine-induced soil impacts. Recent Findings For terrain-related factors, most severe disturbances occur on machine operating trails exceeding 20% sl…
Forest operations in coppice: Environmental assessment of two different logging methods
Wood is a renewable resource and it actively contributes to enhance energy production under a sustainable perspective. However, harvesting, transport and use of wood imply several consequences and impacts on environment. There are different ways for managing forests dedicated to wood production and a sustainable approach is fundamental to preserve the resource. In this context, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a useful tool for estimating the environmental impacts related to renewable resources. Traditional coppice is a common approach for forest management in several areas, including southern Europe and, specifically, Italy, Spain and the Balkans. Due to different terrain conditions, differe…
Impact of wheeled and tracked tractors on soil physical properties in a mixed conifer stand
Abstract: Damage to forest soil caused by vehicle traffic mainly consists of soil compaction, displacement, and rut formation. Severity of the damage depends on vehicle mass, weight of the carried loads, ground morphology, and soil properties, such as moisture. This paper investigates the impacts of two types of vehicles (tracked or wheeled tractor), traffic intensities (one or five skidding cycles) and soil moisture (24% or 13% by weight) on compaction of a loam textured soil in a mixed conifer stand of central Italy. Changes in porosity, bulk density, shear and penetration resistances were analyzed. The latter three parameters were significantly higher in the trafficked soil portions than…
Prospettive e potenzialità della digitalizzazione del settore forestale in Italia
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) play a key role for improving the implementation of sustainable forest management at local, regional, and global level. The ICT potential to easily exploit a wider and more up-to-date set of information on the economic, environmental, and so- cial value of forests is of relevant help for the daily work of technicians, land owners, and companies in boosting the efficiency and effectiveness of forest management. The concept of “Precision Forestry” (PF) was developed from the early 2000s, as a branch of precision farming or precision agriculture. PF includes the use of ICT, remote and proximal sensing technologies, and other devices to coordinat…
Forest Road Planning, Construction and Maintenance to Improve Forest Fire Fighting: a Review
Forest roads play a key-role in fire fighting activities. In fact, all ground-based activities are strictly related to the presence of forest roads as access to fire edge. In spite of this important role, forest roads are often planned and built without considering their use in fire fighting, and this also occurs in literature, where few studies are dedicated to the importance of forest roads in fire fighting. A well-developed and well-maintained forest road network is the answer to different needs in fire management. The objective of this review is to clarify basic principles for obtaining efficient road network also for fire fighting, collecting, defining and resuming the main roles, the …
Determining noise and vibration exposure in conifer cross-cutting operations by using Li-Ion batteries and electric chainsaws
In many activities, chainsaw users are exposed to the risk of injuries and several other hazard factors that may cause health problems. In fact, environmental and working conditions when using chainsaws result in workers&rsquo
Analysis of dust exposure during chainsaw forest operations
Abstract: In 1999, the European Union proclaimed hardwood dust carcinogenic based on the classification of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) issued in 1995. The operational exposure limit (OEL) for inhalable wood dust has been set to 5 mg m-3 by EU directives, though in different countries the OEL ranges from 1 to 5 mg m-3. The objective of this study was to determine the exposure to wood dust of forest workers in chainsaw cutting and processing and suggest possible countermeasures. The study took into consideration different silvicultural treatments (coppice clear cut, conifer thinning, conifer pruning, and sanitary cut) and chainsaw fuel (normal two-stroke gasoline mi…
Impact Assessment of Skidding Extraction: Effects on Physical and Chemical Properties of Forest Soils and on Maple Seedling Growing along the Skid Trail
Several studies investigated soil disturbances caused on skid trails by forest logging. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about the severity and the distance of disturbances along both sides from the trails. The aims of this study were: i) to investigate the changes in physical and chemical properties of soil along the sides of skidding trails
Corsican Pine (Pinus laricio Poiret) Stand Management: Medium and Long Lasting Effects of Thinning on Biomass Growth
Originally published in Forests: Picchio R, Venanzi R, Latterini F, Marchi E, Laschi A, Lo Monaco A (2018). Corsican pine (Pinus laricio Poiret) stand management: medium and long lasting effects of thinning on biomass growth. Forests 9 (5), article number 257, p. 1-17 (open access) DOI: 10.3390/f9050257 This article can be downloaded at: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/9/5/257 Abstract With the aim of acquiring better comprehension of the ecological and productive aspects of the management of pine forests, we monitored logging damage and evaluated the effects of thinning on stand growth 20 years after the treatment in a Pinus laricio Poiret stand in central Italy. The objectives of the p…
Impacts of wood extraction on soil: assessing rutting and soil compaction caused by skidding and forwarding by means of traditional and innovative methods
AbstractIntensive forestry operations may cause soil compaction, plastic soil disturbances and rutting, which are responsible for undesirable effects on soils, vegetation and water bodies. Despite the numerous studies aimed to identify the main factors affecting soil damages, it still remains unclear whether wood extraction methods and driving direction (uphill or downhill) may affect the impacts of forest machines. This research analyses soil compaction and soil penetration resistance as well as rutting from forwarding and skidding using the same farm tractor in up- and downhill wood extraction. Rutting was estimated by 3D soil reconstruction derived by portable laser scanning (PLS) and cl…