Forwarding technology is well established in use around the world but, at the same time, forwarders are expensive machines that require a good planning to ensure the sustainability of operations. In addition, forwarder market is characterized by a limited pool of customers, therefore innovation attempts may be limited compared to other product development industries. Since the steps towards a full automation of operations are still at their beginning, improvements of forwarder machines may rest in developing and integrating components that could contribute to an increased effectiveness. To respond to such challenges, the Forwarder2020 project developed innovative components that were integrated in a number of forwarder prototypes based on a market pull approach that resulted in a flexible adaptation to customer requirements and work environments. Since one of the typical work environments was that of low access forests, some components (i.e. suspended cabin and transmission system) were engineered to enable faster and safer operations and to economize fuel. As a common validation step is that of bringing field evidence on the performance improvement, this study evaluated the operational speed, productivity and fuel consumption of a forwarder prototype in conditions of a steep-terrain low-access forest. The main findings were very promising as the prototype was able to operate at significantly increased speeds and the fuel savings were evident. For an average forwarding distance of about 1.5 km, net productivity and efficiency rates were estimated at 14.4 m3/h and 0.07 h/m3, respectively. They were related to the availability of wood, and further improvement of such figures is possible by a better organization of tree felling and processing. Operational speed was affected by the condition of skid roads used for forwarding, which were harsh. During the transportation tasks developed on roads typical for forwarding, the machine was able to sustain average speeds estimated at 8 km/h. As a matter of fact, in such tasks, the dominant operational speed (almost in 100% of the cases) was higher than 5 km/h irrespective of the road condition. Hourly fuel consumption was estimated based on the time in which the engine was working and it amounted to 17.1 l/h. More importantly, by considering the forwarded payload in terms of volume and mass, the unit fuel consumption was estimated to be 1.25 l/m3 and 1.47 l/t, respectively. These results bring evidence on the performance improvement by modular innovation. In fact, such solutions could answer the challenges related to the sustainability of forest operations in low access forests.

The characterization of poplar wood assumes a strategic position to increase the competitiveness of the entire forest wood supply chain. From this aspect, the identification of wood quality represents a primary objective for researchers and private landowners. The quality of wood can be defined via traditional visual methods based on the experience of technicians or using traditional tools, such as incremental drills and sound hammers. The traditional properties of these traits, based only on visual characteristics, can outline a classification based on the macroscopic properties of wood with the aim of defining the volume of recoverable wood. However, this approach does not provide a good indicator of the physical or mechanical properties of wood. Mechanical tests of wood require the felling of trees with the correlated preparation of the specimens. A different solution to determine wood quality is based on the application of non-destructive technology (NDT). In this context, the aim of the present study was to determine the predictive accuracy of non-destructive analysis of the MOEd in standing trees and logs of a 22-year-old poplar clone and to examine the relationship with MOEs in sawn specimens. This relationship was also studied at three different stem heights. We non-destructively measured poplar trees and green logs using TreeSonic and Resonance Log Grader and compared the results with those obtained via a destructive method using a universal testing machine. The results showed that for clone I-214 poplar trees, the dynamic elastic moduli of standing trees and logs were validly correlated with the static elastic modulus. These results suggest that it is possible to evaluate the mechanical properties of poplar wood directly from standing trees using non-destructive techniques (NDT) and that this tool can be easily used to presort material in the forest.

In the Mediterranean basin, coniferous reforestation mainly comprises forest stands highly susceptible to fires. When silvicultural treatments have not been performed for decades after plantation, these stands often exhibit high vertical and horizontal tree density, along with a significant occurrence of lying and standing deadwood, thereby increasing the fuel load. On average, these pine forests are characterized by high values of above-ground biomass, ranging from 175 to 254 Mg ha⁻¹ for the younger and the older ones, respectively. The theoretical heat energy produced per surface unit, in the case of the total combustion of the above-ground biomass, is also high, varying from 300 to 450 MJ ha⁻¹ depending on the stage of stand development. In this study, we demonstrated the importance of silvicultural interventions in reducing the pyrological potential in pine reforested stands located in southern Italy, also giving attention to the water savings needed during extinction phases. In detail, we applied a preliminary mathematical reaction-diffusion model aimed at predicting the development of forest fires. The model was applied using data obtained through the estimation of the pyrological potential in terms of heat energy produced per surface unit (1 hectare) and the variation in the critical surface intensity. We verified that, when silvicultural interventions are applied, they induce a reduction of heat energy ranging between 17 and 21%, while the extinguishing water saved ranges between 600 and 1000 Mg ha⁻¹. Moreover, when the silvicultural interventions are implemented, the probability of the transition from surface fire to crown fire can be reduced by up to 31%. The most effective results on fire risk mitigation are mainly obtained when thinning aimed at reducing canopy and tree density is carried out in the younger phases of the reforested pine stands.

Today, in Europe, there is still no industrial process to favor the distribution of exhausted extinguishing powders (EEP). Extinguishing powders (EP) are the most common extinguishing agents and are composed of very fine particles (90% is less than 0.250 mm, with at least 40% less than 0.040 mm). Illegal processes of disposal or reuse of EEP are currently taking place throughout Europe. In fact, often maintenance companies illegally dispose of and/or reuse spent extinguishing powders with enormous environmental damage. This is partly due to prohibitive costs, of which a large part is due to transport. The demand for fertilizers is increasing; phosphorus is a key raw material, and a possible solution could be mixing it with compost and other organic biomass and agricultural residues. In general, both compost and EEP powder have a low density and can take up a great deal of storage volume, so thickening this compost would help reduce the required storage capacity. Furthermore, a danger represented by the handling of compost and EEP is the dispersion of dust that can potentially carry pathogens and toxic organic substances which, if inhaled, could cause respiratory problems during distribution and handling. The aim of this study was to produce compost pellets using exhausted EP in different formulations and to observe the quality of different compost pellet products with respect to different factors affecting handling, storage, and distribution. For the first time, the pelletizing of EEP with compost was performed successfully using five different blends, each with different properties. The results showed that qualitative variables could be controlled to optimize production efficiency and improve the quality of the finished product depending on the type of distribution, handling, and storage. The five compost mixes could be applied in different agricultural crops as fertilizer. Furthermore, this use of exhausted EP allows for positive ecological and economic effects, avoiding the disposal costs required by specialized companies.

Agroforestry or agricultural forestry is an important resource for the exploitation of wood resources commonly based on a low level of mechanization and integrating agriculture crops land-management. Agroforestry areas consist often of buffer strip forest along the farms’ boundaries or on small forest stands within the same farms. Felling is commonly based on the use of chainsaws which are used occasionally, and are often aged models and with little maintenance done on them. In this context, the present study analyzes the vibration and noise generated by chainsaws in the specific contest of the agroforestry farms. The aim is to verify the hand-arm vibrations and noise level, which self-employed agroforest operators are exposed with the occasional use of aged and rarely maintained chainsaws. The main results show that vibration exposures are significantly affected by the model and condition of use of the chainsaw and at lower level, but still significant, by the wood and the position of the handle. Regarding noise levels, the chainsaw model and condition of use also has significant effects. In summary, this study highlights that the importance of the condition of use of the chainsaw has an important effect on the vibrations and noise exposition and that these, although limited due to the limited daily use by operators, must be carefully taken into consideration, and provide for containment actions through adequate information and training.