This paper assesses the technology involved in commercial forest harvesting and delivery operations. It investigates existing forest-based production capacity and its potential to supply the startup of large scale forest-based industries. A survey of harvesting and transportation workforce and technology was mailed to 1,130 logging firms operating in Michigan and four Wisconsin counties that ad...

Satellite remote sensing and numerical modelling are important tools to quantify trends in the environment across Canada. This paper describes methodology and initial results for the production of a new 1-km resolution map of waterbody fraction and 10-km resolution maps of forest cover type (hardwood/softwood) required as input parameters to these approaches. The waterbody fraction map is deriv...

The classes of primary chemical products naturally produced by the combustion of forest fuels include: carbon dioxide, water, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, methane and nonmethane hydrocarbons, polynuclear aromatic hyrocarbons, nitrogen and sulfur oxides, aldehydes, free radicals, and inorganic elements. Pesticides are a class of secondary chemical byproducts of fires that have been of so...

Smail, Robert A.; Lewis, David J. 2009. Forest-land conversion, ecosystem services, and economic issues for policy: a review. PNW-GTR-797. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 40 p. The continued conversion and development of forest land pose a serious threat to the ecosystem services derived from forested landscapes. We argue that de...

Temperate forests are an important carbon sink, yet there is debate regarding the net effect of forest management practices on carbon storage. Few studies have investigated the effects of different silvicultural systems on forest carbon stocks, and the relative strength of in situ forest carbon versus wood products pools remains in question. Our research describes (1) the impact of harvesting f...

BACKGROUND Historic carbon emissions are an important foundation for proposed efforts to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation and enhance forest carbon stocks through conservation and sustainable forest management (REDD+). The level of uncertainty in historic carbon emissions estimates is also critical for REDD+, since high uncertainties could limit climate benefits from c...

Forest management strategies and policies such as REDD (reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) may have unintentional implications for forest sectors in countries not targeted by such policies. The success of a policy effort like REDD would result in a significant reduction in deforestation and forest degradation and an ensuing reduction in the supply of natural forest tim...

This paper examines the progressive deployment of the enterprise resource planning software package, MFG/PR0 by the Australian manufacturing and distribution conglomerate CSR Ltd. within its forestry and forest products divisions. Reasons for initial deployment and the ostensible range of benefits obtained subsequent to initial deployment were investigated, as was the recent sale of the majorit...

The authors have approximately 25 years experience in developing machine vision technology for the forest products industry. Based on this experience this paper will attempt to realistically predict what the future holds for this technology. In particular, this paper will attempt to describe some of the benefits this technology will offer, describe how the technology will probably evolve over t...