Harvest system selection and design for damage reduction in noble fir stands: A case study on the warm springs Indian reservation, Oregon

Abstract

Many high-elevation stands of noble fir (Abies procera) in the northern Oregon Cascades are being actively managed. Forest managers are investigating different activities that will control stand impacts and the subsequent spread of Heterobasidion annosum, a rot pathogen on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. The purpose of this study was to quantify the relationship between logging production and costs with associated residual stand damage during a commercial thinning operation. Investigated in the study were four ground-based harvesting systems and two different harvest unit layout methods. Harvesting costs for the four different systems and layout methods ranged from $67.75 to $92.66/mbf (thousand board feet), with residual stand damage of 20.1 to 62.6%. Equipment size, log lengths, and layout method were found to affect total residual stand damage.