Study on production, felling and processing costs of first thinning operation in a reforested stand (case study: Tyrum rood)

In this research, the production rate and cost of felling and processing in the first thinning of Tyrum rood forest located in northern Iran has been studied in 2013. The study area was reforested by species such as Populus spp., Cupressus sempervirens var. horizontalis, Alnus subcordata, Acer velutinum in 1984. Overall, 132 cycles of felling and processing were recorded. Time study technique was used for calculating hourly production. After defining work phase elements, the influencing variable on each element was determined using stepwise multivariate regression. The results showed that the time consumption of felling and processing was as a function of influencing variables such as diameter, volume, and tree’s distance. The average production rate for all species was 2.8 m3 per hour. The average unit production cost obtained 61522 Rials per m3. Overall, unit cost of felling and processing operation mostly depends on the tree size and tree branching size and structure. As a general rule, as tree size increases, the unit cost decreases, therefore Populus spp was more economical than other above mentioned species.