Dense Undergrowth Reduces Feller-Buncher Productivity In Shortleaf Plne Plantations

Production rates of a feller-buncher are shown for row thinning pine plantations with light and dense undergrowth conditions. Dense undergrowth reduced macliine output by about 20 percent. Additional keywords: Row thinning, timber harvesting, tree harvester. Feller Buncher (fig. 1). This machine was equipped with a 164nch capacity shear and an accumulator arm. In operation, two arms hold the tree while it is severed at ground level. The accumulator arm allows several small trees to be gathered before the stems are deposited on the ground.2 Severed trees are carried and piled until the desired bunch size is created.