A short review on studies on work productivity of mechanical tree planting

Abstract

Reforestation can be carried out using natural regeneration or artificial regeneration. There are vari-ous methods for the artificial regeneration, including manual planting, mechanical planting and aerial/or ground seeding. This article aimed to review the current reports on the productivity of mechanical planting to provide a summary of productivity rates for the planting machines. According to the review’s results, mechanical planting productivity may vary from 143 to 475 seedlings per productive machine hours depending on the machine type, environment (such as surfaces obstacles and stoniness) and the operator experience. Employing skilled operators and selecting suitable worksites can help increasing the work productivity. Integrating and optimising the whole planting chain, from the nursery to the plant-ing phase, can assist also with reducing the cost and improving the productivity. As mechanical planting machines get more widely adopted in different countries, their overall efficiency will improve over time.