Show How It's Done
A fully equipped, mechanized biomass harvesting system is in action in the Pacific Northwest, harvesting sawlogs and biomass in one pass.
Sometimes the best way to convince people that you've got all the tools needed to get the job done is to show them. At least that's the thinking at John Deere, the global forestry supplier that is currently demonstrating how a fully mechanized harvesting system can economically remove merchantable trees and biomass while adhering to environmentally sound harvesting practices. The company's biomass harvesting system - composed of a 1270D rubber-tired harvester, 1110D 6WD forwarder, and unique 1490D Energy Wood Harvester (bundler) - is working on a 16-ha site owned by Malheur Lumber outside Malheur National Forest in John Day, OR, halfway between Portland and Boise, ID.
"The whole idea is to efficiently and economically harvest saw logs and biomass while contributing to a healthy forest," says Mike Schmidt, biomass project manager, John Deere Forestry. "This method is incredibly quick and efficient - it requires only a single entry into the forest and totally eliminates slash pile burning and waste." As well, the cost of the biomass is subsidized in part by the infrastructure, forwarding, and support staff already required for sawlog harvesting.
Schmidt says the way the Deere Biomass Harvesting System works is simple. First, the 1270D harvester with H480 harvesting head will harvest the trees to be cut from that particular stand. Using the bucking optimization software, the operator will decide the length of the saw log, the amount of pulpwood and how much will be made into biomass bundles. Using the machine's software makes merchandising and processing the logs much faster, since it's totally automated. After processing, the different components are sorted for forwarding efficiency.
Next comes the 1490D Energy Wood Harvester, which will pick up the biomass that has been laid out and bundle it. Finally, the 1110D forwarder will then pick up all the products - including pulp, logs, biomass, posts and poles, and take them to roadside, where they are sorted and stacked for trucking. Landing areas and other modifications to the road system aren't necessary, as a regular logging truck can handle the pickup.
For added convenience, the 1490D and 1110D have knuckle-boom loaders that load the truck if necessary in small volume jobs. The John Deere biomass harvesting system is also designed to operate on the maximum U.S. Forest Service- allowed slope percentage (35%).
"Harvesting biomass using our machine system is much more efficient from the Forest Service's point of view," Schmidt said. "When it's done by hand, the contractors end up just piling and burning the excess. Since there is no burning when harvesting with our system, the air quality remains high and the risk of a forest fire is eliminated. And, they make a little bit of money selling it, rather than spending money disposing of it."
Future enhancements to the John Deere system include new software that will generate production virtually in real time, according to Schmidt. The software will be available later in 2007.
"Using the new software, you can send the data back to the office - how much you've cut already, the lines where you've cut, the actual position on the tract and more," he said. "It's an amazing program that will really speed up the entire process."
The timber stand for the Malheur Forest demonstration is composed of Ponderosa pine and Douglas fir. All timber less than 21 inches DBH and greater than three inches will be harvested, per U.S. Forest Service specifications. Productivity and resource impact studies are being conducted throughout the demonstration.
