FIELD: A Software Tool That Integrates Harvester Data and Allometric Equations for a Dynamic Estimation of Forest Harvesting Residues

On an international comparison basis, Australia’s utilisation of forest residues remains very low. While there are numerous factors contributing to this low utilisation, this is greatly explained by the limited timely and accurate data on availability, quality, and location of residues generated dur...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Forests 2021-07, Vol.12 (7), p.834
Main Authors: Woo, Heesung, Acuna, Mauricio, Choi, Byoungkoo, Han, Sang-kyun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Airborne/spaceborne computers
Availability
Biomass
Decision making
Forest harvesting
Forest residues
Forestry
Forests
Global positioning systems
GPS
Harvesters
Mathematical analysis
Methods
Monitoring
Plantations
Productivity
Real time
Residues
Software
Software development tools
Trees
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Summary:On an international comparison basis, Australia’s utilisation of forest residues remains very low. While there are numerous factors contributing to this low utilisation, this is greatly explained by the limited timely and accurate data on availability, quality, and location of residues generated during harvesting operations. This manuscript reports on the development and testing of a new freeware tool called FIELD (Forest Inventory Electronic Live Data), which supports the real-time monitoring and estimation of forestry harvesting residues. As inputs, FIELD uses StanForD pri files and geo-location data extracted from the harvester’s onboard computer in combination with locally developed species-specific allometric equations. Using a case study, this paper describes how FIELD works operationally and illustrates the range of support features that the tool can provide to decision-makers by producing real-time data on the availability, quality, and location of harvesting residues. In addition, it is discussed how the tool can contribute to supporting decisions during forest operations associated with the feasibility of residue utilisation in specific site conditions. Our results show that it is possible to estimate the availability of harvesting residues at geo-located sites dynamically, although further testing of the tool is required for a more accurate estimation and monitoring of harvesting residues.
ISSN:1999-4907
1999-4907
DOI:10.3390/f12070834