Cut-to-length logging (CTL) is a mechanized harvesting system in which trees are delimbed and cut to length directly at the stump.[1] CTL is typically a two-man, two-machine operation with a harvester felling, delimbing, and bucking trees and a forwarder transporting the logs from the felling to a landing area close to a road accessible by trucks.[2][3]

Tree harvester doing cut-to-length logging
(Click for video)
Forwarder

CTL is the primary logging method in European countries,[4] while full-tree logging and the even older technique of tree-length logging are more popular in North America and less developed countries, where tree sizes can exceed the capacity of the harvester's felling head, i.e., tree stems with a butt diameter of over 90 centimeters.[citation needed] CTL lends itself to timber harvesting in plantation forestry where stems are often harvested before they reach large dimensions.[4]

Advantages compared to full-tree logging

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  • Cleaner wood since the logs are not skidded on the ground to the landing (in tree length more than full tree)
  • More fresh wood (in tree length more than full tree)
  • Less damage to retained trees in thinning operations
  • Typically requires fewer types of machines in an operation
  • No need to clear large landings close to the road
  • Greater personnel safety due to enclosed/protected machine cabs
  • More environmentally friendly due to:
    • less soil disturbance than in skidding operations (if improper skidding practices take place)
    • no slash dumped at the landing
    • higher retention of foliar nutrients within the harvested area

Disadvantages compared to full-tree logging

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  • Somewhat higher capital cost per volume when used in large scale clear cuts
  • Use of more advanced technology requires more operator knowledge and training

Cost

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The capital costs for a typical CTL operation, with one harvester and one forwarder, are quite high. The price of a pair of machines alone are approx. US$1,000,000.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Tennessee Logging Family Sticks with Change to Cut-to-Length". Timberline Magazine. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  2. ^ "The cut-to-length method". Ponsse. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  3. ^ Kotrba, Ron. "Workhorses of the Woods". Biomass Magazine. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b Spinelli, Raffaele; Magagnotti, Natascia; De Francesco, Fabio; Kováč, Barnabáš; Heger, Patrik; Heilig, Dávid; Heil, Bálint; Kovács, Gábor; Zemánek, Tomáš (14 September 2022). "Cut-to-Length Harvesting Options for the Integrated Harvesting of the European Industrial Poplar Plantations". Forests. 13 (9): 1478. doi:10.3390/f13091478.
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