Ernte und Aufbereitung von Plantagenholz | Harvesting and conditioning of wood from short-rotation plantations

Short-rotation plantations are harvested in cycles of three to twenty years, depending on the production aim. In contrast to the establishment and recultivation costs, the costs for harvesting and processing of the wood occur regularly. The harvesting technology should be chosen with respect to the desired outcome – logs or chips. This is crucial for the process costs as well as the possible performance. A combination of forestry harvesters and forwarders is recommended when logs will be harvested. If the wood will be used energetically, an agricultural combined harvester and chipper fitted with suitable harvesting aggregates is the best technology with respect to productivity and performance, as well as for economic reasons. For drying the wood chips, an air ventilation process based on the self-heating of freshly harvested wood chips is an effective method for drying the wood without external energy input. With this method, it is possible to reduce the water content to 30% within three months.