Massive use of wood biomass is usually associated with its long-term, large-scale storage in power plants and heating plants. Long-term storage of wood biomass (more than 3 months), in large volumes, brings risks from the point of view of human health or property treatment. This work aimed to verify how the long-term storage of wood chips from beech wood in small piles affects their energy properties and whether in this way it is possible to reduce the risk of fire by self-heating in piles and the volume of phytopathogenic spore production. Four experimental piles, each with a base of 4 × 4 m and a height of 2 m, were established. After 6 months, one of the piles was disassembled and samples from 0.5 m, 1.0 m, and 1.5 m height levels were taken for analysis. The results of the experiment confirmed that the energy properties of wood chips stored in small piles significantly deteriorate after more than half a year of storage. It has also been confirmed that the choice of this method of storing in smaller, spatially divided piles can lead to a significant minimization of the risk of spontaneous combustion and fire. The length of the storage period did not have a positive effect on the abundance of phytopathogen content in the stored piles. With the length of storage, only the number of identified harmful species of phytopathogens were changed and, at the same time, their number of colonies increased.

The aim of this work was to carry out long-term monitoring on the concentration and identification of phytopathogens in wood chip storage areas in urban-type heating plants. Three municipal heating plants in the central part of Slovakia were selected. The plants store biomass in large-capacity piles with a volume of 4 to 5000 m³. Samples were obtained every year in the 2017–2022 period from the surface of the piles and from a depth of 0.5 m. Their moisture content was determined in the laboratory and the microbial analysis was performed by an accredited laboratory. The average number of colonies of phytopathogens did not differ significantly in individual years. The highest number of colony-forming units per gram was achieved by the species of the genera Penicillium and Aspergillus. In terms of occurrence in individual years and the frequency of occurrence in individual samples, the most frequently recorded species were Mycelia Sterilia, Aspergillus brasiliensis, Aspergillus unguis, and Yeasts. Based on the results achieved, in the future it will be necessary to establish legislative frameworks for these risks and, at least at the national level, work procedures for individual work activities, so that the health and life of the workers of the plants, as well as residents in the vicinity of this type of plant, are not endangered.

Our work aimed to compare the chip pile volumes calculated by laser ground scanning, UAV technology, and laser ground measurement and also to determine the accuracy, speed, and economic efficiency of each method. The large chip pile was measured in seven different ways: band measurement, laser measurement with Vertex, global navigation satellite system, handheld mobile laser scanner, terrestrial laser scanner, drone, and smartphone with a light detection and ranging sensor. All the methods were compared in terms of accuracy, price, user-friendliness, and time required to obtain results. The calculated pile volume, depending on the method, varied from 2588 to 3362 m³. The most accurate results were provided by the terrestrial laser scanning method, which, however, was the most expensive and the most demanding in terms of collecting and evaluating the results. From a time and economic point of view, the most effective methods were UAVs and smartphones with LiDAR.

With increasing demands on the quality and quantity of produced biomass, as the main element of the knowledge-based economy, people and the issue of safety and health protection at work are coming to the fore. The aim of the work is the synthesis and overview of the results of the analysis of the health and safety risks of the production of forest biomass in various production phases, starting with its cultivation, through the harvesting production and transport process, up to the issue of its safe storage until it is used for the production of primary energy. Based on the analyzed overview of the existing risks in the production and storage of biomass, it can be concluded that the largest number of works is dedicated to the technological process of storage and consumption of the produced forms of biomass. Of the risks in this phase, the largest number of works is devoted to the risks of the production of spores of phytopathogens and fungi threatening human health. Further research should be primarily oriented toward creating models and modeling the processes of the emergence of these risk factors and the dynamics of their growth.

The rapid development of unmanned aerial vehicles is a challenge for applied research. Many technologies are developed and then researcher are looking up for their application in different sectors. Therefore, we decided to verify the use of the unmanned aerial vehicle for wood chips pile monitoring. We compared the use of GNSS device and unmanned aerial vehicle for volume estimation of four wood chips piles. We used DJI Phantom 3 Professional with the built-in camera and GNSS device (geoexplorer 6000). We used Agisoft photoscan for processing photos and ArcGIS for processing points. Volumes calculated from pictures were not statistically significantly different from amounts calculated from GNSS data and high correlation between them was found (p = 0.9993). We conclude that the use of unmanned aerial vehicle instead of the GNSS device does not lead to significantly different results. Tthe data collection consumed from almost 12 to 20 times less time with the use of UAV. Additionally, UAV provides documentation trough orthomosaic.

This work aimed to compare the qualitative assessment of valuable oak logs using the conventional method employed in forestry operations with the evaluation based on image outputs from a CT scanning line. A total of 125 oak logs from southwestern Slovakia were analyzed. Quantitative and qualitative features were measured using both approaches, and the logs were classified into quality classes according to the technical conditions of the STN 48 0056 standard, based on their dimensions. The qualitative assessment of logs using CT images revealed additional internal features that often resulted in the downgrading of logs to lower-quality classes. This method of evaluation increased the frequency of logs classified into lower-quality classes. Nearly half of all evaluated logs were classified into the same quality class by both assessment methods. However, 33% of the logs were classified as one quality class lower when assessed using CT images. This discrepancy can be tentatively attributed to the detection of hidden internal features, as well as the enhanced precision in measurement and feature evaluation enabled by 3D models and cross-sectional images from CT scans. Notably, more than 10% of the logs were classified into a higher quality class based on CT images compared to visual assessment. The economic evaluation based on CT classification was 3769 EUR lower than that based on the conventional method.