A field-based study was performed to broaden our knowledge of operational efficiency losses associated with the neglect of the proper maintenance of the delimbing and feeding mechanisms of a harvester. The post-harvest assessments of industrial round-wood (IRW) processing damage, fuel consumption and productivity were examined in clearcutting operations. Observations were made of seven combinations of wear levels of feed rollers (A—heavy, B—medium, C and C’—without wear) and sharpening states of delimbing knives (1—incorrect, 2—correct), depending on the degree of feed roller wear and matching of angles of knife blades to the technical requirements. The processing defects of IRW were broken down into unprocessed branches, bark stripping, and damage caused by feed roller spikes. The results were then compared with the effective quality requirements, and the IRW losses in terms of the reject rates (RR) were determined in the context of the technical condition. The most frequent damage was by unprocessed branches. The harvester with correctly sharpened knives produced the minimum RR (4% of pine, 6% of spruce and 6% birch logs). The quality of IRW harvested under B1 and C1 resulted in 6%, 6% and 8%. A1 turned out to be the lowest (12%, 10% and 8%). Improvement in the maintenance of delimbing knives can reduce the RR of IRW by 5%. Timely restoration of worn-out rollers can increase productivity by 2% and reduce fuel consumption by 5%.

This paper analyses the situation with forest roads in Russia in the context of harvesting, transportation, forest management and forest fire prevention. Russia harvests less than 30% of its allowable harvest potential. Forest fires burn volumes which are equal to half of the annual harvest. One reason is the insufficient density and quality of forest roads. The average density of roads is less than 1.5 m/ha, which is one-tenth of that in Nordic countries. We argue that better access to the forests, utilizing the technology transfer of the proven Nordic forest road solutions (NFRS) under local conditions, might have important effects on the strategy-making processes in forest infrastructure development in northwest Russia. For this purpose, A'WOT analysis is proposed to identify the related strategies and assign priorities to those strategies. According to this study undertaken in Karelia, where NFRS were introduced over 10 years ago, the top priorities regarding the relevant threats are the lack of legal framework under forest land leasing and the low profitability of forestry. The results indicate that the NFRS are viewed positively for the Russian conditions. The forest road market has virtually unlimited opportunities for growth. Together with a favourable policy in terms of national and regional development programmes it can support forest infrastructure development. Forest fire prevention, multiple uses of woodlands, and different environmental service markets are seen as potential opportunities for NFRS. However, the results also indicate that there is substantial uncertainty and scepticism concerning how such markets would be of benefit to leaseholders who would like to adopt intensive forestry.

The situation in Karelia, a region in Northwest Russia, is analyzed in the context of forest energy. The annual potential energy available from wood harvesting is about 7 tera watt hours (TWh) (3.6 million m³), which is equal to the total need of Karelia in energy for municipal heating. We point out that the contribution to the municipal economy, the moderate heating cost, the enhanced energy security in the cold Russian climate, the environmental friendliness, the better access to the forests and the utilization of the proven Nordic forest energy solutions (NFES) might have important consequences for strategy-making processes in forest energy development. For this purpose, connecting Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) with SWOT (internal strengths (S) or weaknesses (W) and external opportunities (O) or threats (T)) analysis is proposed to identify local operational strategies and assign priorities. Major threats include lack of government support, an insufficient road network, the dominance of extensive forest management, gasification and financial indiscipline. Analysis indicates that NFES are viewed positively for the Russian conditions. The forest biomass market has virtually unlimited opportunities for growth. Together, with the transition to intensive forest management, favorable policy in terms of forestry development programs can support bioenergy development. The advantageous location of existing power plants next to forests, increasing fossil fuel prices, the improvement of the road network and the availability of new technology are seen as potential opportunities for NFES. However, the results also indicate that there is substantial uncertainty and skepticism concerning how such markets benefit forest leaseholders who would like to adopt forest energy. The lack of bioenergy technology development, high transportation cost, low awareness of NFES, high demands for roads, the requirement for skilled specialists and wood fuel quality are the main weaknesses regarding the transfer of NFES to Karelia.