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Dr. Janine Schweier
Research Group Sustainable Forestry, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) Address Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland

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Research Keywords & Expertise

0 Sustainability Impact Assessment
0 Ecosystem services, decision support systems, life cycle assessment
0 Methods and tools for climate adapted strategic and operational planning of forest management
0 Unpredictable use of wood
0 Carbon costs, -storage & sequestration

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Research article
Published: 31 December 2020 in PLOS ONE
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In the field of forestry, one of the most economically important ecosystem service is the provision of timber. The need to calculate the economic effects of forest management in the short, medium, and long term is increasing. Forest operations or timber harvesting, which comprises felling, processing, and transport of trees or timber, are responsible for a large part of the costs and environmental impacts associated to forest management or enterprises. From a decision maker’s perspective, it is essential to estimate working productivity and production costs under given operating conditions before any operation is conducted. This work addresses the lack of a valid collection of models that allows estimating time, productivities, and costs of labor and machinery for the most important forest operations in forest stands under Central European conditions. To create such models, we used data from forest enterprises, manual time studies, and the literature. This work presents a decision support tool that estimates the wood harvesting productivities of 12 different kinds of forest operations under Central European conditions. It includes forest operations using chainsaws, harvesters, skidders, forwarders, chippers, cable and tower yarders, and helicopters. In addition, the tool covers three models for wood volume estimation. The tool is written in Java and available open-source under the Apache License. This work shows how the tool can be used by describing its graphical user interface (GUI) and its application programming interface (API) that facilitates bulk processing of scientific data. Carefully selected default values allow estimations without knowing all input variables in detail. Each model is accompanied by an in-depth documentation where the forest operation, input variables, formulas, and statistical background are given. We conclude that HeProMo is a very useful tool for applications in forest practice, research, and teaching.

ACS Style

Stefan Holm; Fritz Frutig; Renato Lemm; Oliver Thees; Janine Schweier. HeProMo: A decision support tool to estimate wood harvesting productivities. PLOS ONE 2020, 15, e0244289 .

AMA Style

Stefan Holm, Fritz Frutig, Renato Lemm, Oliver Thees, Janine Schweier. HeProMo: A decision support tool to estimate wood harvesting productivities. PLOS ONE. 2020; 15 (12):e0244289.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Stefan Holm; Fritz Frutig; Renato Lemm; Oliver Thees; Janine Schweier. 2020. "HeProMo: A decision support tool to estimate wood harvesting productivities." PLOS ONE 15, no. 12: e0244289.

Journal article
Published: 23 November 2020 in Sustainability
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Wood fuel has become central in environmental policy and decision-making processes in cross-sectoral areas. Proper consideration of different types of woody biomass is fundamental in forming energy transition and decarbonization strategies. We quantified the development of theoretical (TPs) and sustainable (SPs) potentials of wood fuel from forests, trees outside forests, wood residues and waste wood in Switzerland for 2020, 2035 and 2050. Ecological and economic restrictions, timber market situations and drivers of future developments (area size, tree growth, wood characteristics, population growth, exporting/importing (waste wood)) were considered. We estimated a SP of wood fuel between 26.5 and 77.8 PJ/a during the three time points. Results demonstrate that the SP of wood fuel could be significantly increased already in the short term. This, as a moderate stock reduction (MSR) strategy in forests, can lead to large surpluses in SPs compared to the wood fuel already used today (~36 PJ/a), with values higher by 51% (+18.2 PJ) in 2020 and by 59% (+21.3 PJ) in 2035. To implement these surpluses (e.g., with a cascade approach), a more circular economy with sufficient processing capacities of the subsequent timber industries and the energy plants to convert the resources is required.

ACS Style

Matthias Erni; Vanessa Burg; Leo Bont; Oliver Thees; Marco Ferretti; Golo Stadelmann; Janine Schweier. Current (2020) and Long-Term (2035 and 2050) Sustainable Potentials of Wood Fuel in Switzerland. Sustainability 2020, 12, 9749 .

AMA Style

Matthias Erni, Vanessa Burg, Leo Bont, Oliver Thees, Marco Ferretti, Golo Stadelmann, Janine Schweier. Current (2020) and Long-Term (2035 and 2050) Sustainable Potentials of Wood Fuel in Switzerland. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (22):9749.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Matthias Erni; Vanessa Burg; Leo Bont; Oliver Thees; Marco Ferretti; Golo Stadelmann; Janine Schweier. 2020. "Current (2020) and Long-Term (2035 and 2050) Sustainable Potentials of Wood Fuel in Switzerland." Sustainability 12, no. 22: 9749.

Abstract
Published: 13 November 2020 in Environmental Sciences Proceedings
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Forest management is becoming increasingly complex due to increasing demands in ecosystem service provisioning and future climate change impacts. For a sustainable forest management, scientifically well-founded decision support is therefore urgently required. Within the project SessFor, a decision support system for strategic planning at the forest enterprise level is being developed, based on the climate sensitive forest model SwissStandSim and initialized from forest inventory data. The system is currently applied to the forest enterprise Wagenrain (440 ha), located in the Swiss Plateau region. Indicators for biodiversity and ecosystem service provisioning (timber production, recreation value and carbon sequestration) are calculated for different management strategies and evaluated using a multi-criteria decision analysis. Preliminary results demonstrate the suitability of the system to evaluate ecosystem service provisioning under different management strategies and to identify the best management strategy, based on criteria defined by the forest manager. Furthermore, results show how the system can be used to assess developments for time-scales of 50–100 years under different climate change scenarios. In the ongoing project, the system will be applied to other case study regions, including mountain forests, which are of key importance in Switzerland and other alpine areas.

ACS Style

Timothy Thrippleton; Clemens Blattert; Reinhard Mey; Jürgen Zell; Esther Thürig; Janine Schweier. A Decision Support System for Sustainable Forest Management and Ecosystem Service Provisioning at the Enterprise Scale. Environmental Sciences Proceedings 2020, 3, 83 .

AMA Style

Timothy Thrippleton, Clemens Blattert, Reinhard Mey, Jürgen Zell, Esther Thürig, Janine Schweier. A Decision Support System for Sustainable Forest Management and Ecosystem Service Provisioning at the Enterprise Scale. Environmental Sciences Proceedings. 2020; 3 (1):83.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Timothy Thrippleton; Clemens Blattert; Reinhard Mey; Jürgen Zell; Esther Thürig; Janine Schweier. 2020. "A Decision Support System for Sustainable Forest Management and Ecosystem Service Provisioning at the Enterprise Scale." Environmental Sciences Proceedings 3, no. 1: 83.

Abstract
Published: 10 November 2020 in Environmental Sciences Proceedings
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Cable-based technologies have been a backbone for harvesting on steep slopes. Computing the layout of a single cable road requires considering the standards of structural design, aiming to (1) guarantee structural safety, and (2) provide the required serviceability. Currently applied analysis methods, such as the Pestal method, are unprecise. Alternatively, methods based on the catenary, such as Zweifel or Irvine, are better suited to analyze and predict load path and occurring forces for skylines anchored fix on both ends. However, studies that validate those catenary analyses (concurrently load path and forces) are rare and were not carried out under realistic heavy load conditions. Therefore, the aim of the project was to validate the catenary analyses under realistic, heavy load conditions for cable roads with multiple spans. In two case studies in Switzerland, the deflection in every span as well as the skyline tensile force at the anchor were measured for different load configurations and compared with theoretical computations of Zweifel and Pestal. The approach of Zweifel maps the mechanical properties realistic. However, as proven by our measurements, it slightly overestimated the deflection and the skyline tensile forces because the friction on the supports was neglected (between skyline and saddle). The deflections calculated with the Pestal formulas were significantly larger than the measured values, in particular with heavy load and in large spans. Our measurement studies confirmed that the mechanical properties of a cable road can be described adequately with the algorithm by Zweifel. However, it should be further developed with the inclusion of effects like the friction to improve the efficiency, safety and cost-performance ratio in cable road planning.

ACS Style

Leo Gallus Bont; Laura Ramstein; Fritz Frutig; Janine Schweier. Validation of Catenary-based Methods for Cable Road Layout Planning. Environmental Sciences Proceedings 2020, 3, 102 .

AMA Style

Leo Gallus Bont, Laura Ramstein, Fritz Frutig, Janine Schweier. Validation of Catenary-based Methods for Cable Road Layout Planning. Environmental Sciences Proceedings. 2020; 3 (1):102.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Leo Gallus Bont; Laura Ramstein; Fritz Frutig; Janine Schweier. 2020. "Validation of Catenary-based Methods for Cable Road Layout Planning." Environmental Sciences Proceedings 3, no. 1: 102.

Abstract
Published: 10 November 2020 in Environmental Sciences Proceedings
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Cable-based technologies have been a backbone for harvesting on steep slopes. The planning of a cable road is a complex task. It essentially comprises the definition of the start and end points of a cable road, as well as the intermediate supports. It must be ensured that the permissible forces (in particular, skyline tensile forces) are not exceeded, that there is a sufficient clearance between the load path and the ground, that suitable anchor trees are found, and that at the same time the number of intermediate supports is minimized as far as possible. On the other hand, for ergonomic and silvicultural reasons (work safety, damages to the forest), the skyline should be as high as possible. In practice, the search for a solution is often iterative; especially with long lines, several attempts may be necessary until a good line is found. The presented QGIS (free and open-source cross-platform desktop geographic information system) plugin searches automatically for the optimal cable road layout, so the planning process can be considerably simplified and obtained solutions are more cost-efficient. The plugin is designed for Central European conditions and assumes a standing skyline (fixed anchored skyline at both ends). For the calculation of the mechanical properties of the skyline, a close to catenary method is used (Zweifel 1960). When testing the feasibility of the cable line, care is taken that (1) the maximum permissible stresses in the skyline are not exceeded, (2) there is a minimum distance between the load path and the ground, and (3) when using a gravitational system, there is a minimum inclination in the load path. The newly developed method calculates the load path curve and the forces occurring in it more accurately than other tools available on the market. We further present a method to identify potential support and anchor trees directly from remote sensing data, which we aim to integrate in a further plugin. This ensures that there are effectively trees at the proposed intermediate positions and that the solution can be implemented in practice.

ACS Style

Leo Gallus Bont; Laura Ramstein; Janine Schweier; Hans Heinimann. A QGIS Based Workflow for Optimized Cable Road Layout Planning. Environmental Sciences Proceedings 2020, 3, 103 .

AMA Style

Leo Gallus Bont, Laura Ramstein, Janine Schweier, Hans Heinimann. A QGIS Based Workflow for Optimized Cable Road Layout Planning. Environmental Sciences Proceedings. 2020; 3 (1):103.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Leo Gallus Bont; Laura Ramstein; Janine Schweier; Hans Heinimann. 2020. "A QGIS Based Workflow for Optimized Cable Road Layout Planning." Environmental Sciences Proceedings 3, no. 1: 103.

Abstract
Published: 10 November 2020 in Environmental Sciences Proceedings
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Here, we present the approach to be implemented in the frame of a Swiss research project that recently started (July 2020). The overall aim is to protect the forest’s soil fertility and biodiversity. When choosing an extraction method, the nutrient storage of a respective forest stand should be considered in order to prevent the exploitation of the site-specific nutrient pool. This topic is timely because full-tree harvesting for energetic purposes has increased continuously in the last few years. In addition, summer logging in the foliage state is under discussion because climate change is increasingly reducing winter harvesting periods. We aim to determine the current nutrient pools of different Swiss forest sites by conducting comprehensive soil analyses considering pH value, exchangeable nutrient cations (Ca, Mg, K, Na, Mn, Fe, and Zn), as well as the contents of nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus and carbon(org). Furthermore, nutrient fluxes such as weathering rate, deposition and soil leaching are considered. The resulting site-specific data are combined with expected nutrient removals over one rotation period, depending on tree species composition, forest stand development and extraction methods. In the frame of this project, two case studies will be implemented in beech woodland stands on sediments of the early and late Pleistocene, serving as a data basis to calculate nutrient balances and to formulate management recommendations. In the long-term, we aim to apply this method to Switzerland overall and develop software that allows an automatic calculation of site-specific nutrient balances in order to support future forest management planning and decision-making processes.

ACS Style

Janine Schweier; Stephan Zimmermann; Timothy Thrippleton; Stefan Holm; Golo Stadelmann; Daniel Kurz; Fritz Frutig. Nutrient Sustainability in Swiss Wood Extraction. Environmental Sciences Proceedings 2020, 3, 36 .

AMA Style

Janine Schweier, Stephan Zimmermann, Timothy Thrippleton, Stefan Holm, Golo Stadelmann, Daniel Kurz, Fritz Frutig. Nutrient Sustainability in Swiss Wood Extraction. Environmental Sciences Proceedings. 2020; 3 (1):36.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Janine Schweier; Stephan Zimmermann; Timothy Thrippleton; Stefan Holm; Golo Stadelmann; Daniel Kurz; Fritz Frutig. 2020. "Nutrient Sustainability in Swiss Wood Extraction." Environmental Sciences Proceedings 3, no. 1: 36.

Journal article
Published: 04 November 2020 in Sustainability
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The complexity of highly structured forests with multiple tree species, especially when coniferous and broadleaved tree species are mixed, as well as stands with extended machine operating trail spacing and inclined terrain, create challenging operational conditions for mechanized timber harvesting and extraction. Motor-manually felling trees within the midfield and bunching them at the machine operating trails, prior to the arrival of a harvester-forwarder system, is a complex operation. The aim of this study was to assess and compare tethered harvester productivities of a thinning operation, for felling and processing standing trees and for processing bunched trees, through a time study in forest stands with 40-m distances between machine operating trails. Total operational costs of the analyzed thinning operation were 69 €/m3o.b., including extraction using a multiple forwarder approach. Tree species, merchantable timber volume, and whether the trees were standing or presented as bunched logs all had a significant effect on the harvester time consumption. Moreover, harvester positioning time was significantly shorter when trees were already bunched at the machine operating trail. While the productivity of standing or bunched spruce trees did not differ significantly between the cases (approximately 18 m3o.b./productive machine hours excluding all delays (PMH0)), the productivity of standing broadleaved tree species (8.3 m3o.b./PMH0) was much lower than that of bunched trees (15.5 m3o.b./PMH0). Thus, the described timber harvesting and extraction system may be a valuable option for forest stands with high proportion of broadleaved trees.

ACS Style

Ferréol Berendt; Eduardo Tolosana; Stephan Hoffmann; Paula Alonso; Janine Schweier. Harvester Productivity in Inclined Terrain with Extended Machine Operating Trail Intervals: A German Case Study Comparison of Standing and Bunched Trees. Sustainability 2020, 12, 9168 .

AMA Style

Ferréol Berendt, Eduardo Tolosana, Stephan Hoffmann, Paula Alonso, Janine Schweier. Harvester Productivity in Inclined Terrain with Extended Machine Operating Trail Intervals: A German Case Study Comparison of Standing and Bunched Trees. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (21):9168.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ferréol Berendt; Eduardo Tolosana; Stephan Hoffmann; Paula Alonso; Janine Schweier. 2020. "Harvester Productivity in Inclined Terrain with Extended Machine Operating Trail Intervals: A German Case Study Comparison of Standing and Bunched Trees." Sustainability 12, no. 21: 9168.

Journal article
Published: 29 May 2020 in Forests
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The results of this study showed that the application of cable-based systems in flat terrain must not necessarily be more cost intensive than its application in other terrains. In recent years, criteria other than purely economic ones have been taken into account in forest management decisions, with the aim of avoiding ecosystem damage and promoting better ecosystem services. Since precipitation in winter is becoming more intensive and weeks with frozen soils are becoming rare, one option might be the use of cable-based instead of ground-based extraction systems. Both vary in terms of economy and flexibility. Thus, it is important to make reliable estimates of potential costs and benefits before an operation is conducted. The aim of this study was to analyze a cable-based and a ground-based extraction system that could be applied to a forest stand in a flat and soil-sensitive area. The study, based on a cable-based operation, was conducted in a mixed forest stand that was vulnerable to traffic. Furthermore, we modeled an alternative operation focusing on a ground-based system, addressing the soil vulnerability by considering manual felling, processing, and use of a combi-forwarder for extraction. In the cable-based system, yarding productivity was high (20.3 m3ub/PMH15) due to several reasons, such as a high share of larger dimension timber, the fact that heavy timber was partially de-limbed and processed motor-manually in the stand, the fact that a mini forestry crawler was used for pre-winching the material and finally due to the experience of the operators. Resulting costs for harvesting and extraction were on average €27.8/m3ub. In the ground-based system, costs were on a comparable level (€28.30/m3ub). In our case, the application of a cable yarder in flat terrain was a good alternative and should be considered in future forest management to support environmentally friendly operations and allow independent planning of the operation.

ACS Style

Janine Schweier; Christian Ludowicy. Comparison of A Cable-Based and a Ground-Based System in Flat and Soil-Sensitive Area: A Case Study from Southern Baden in Germany. Forests 2020, 11, 611 .

AMA Style

Janine Schweier, Christian Ludowicy. Comparison of A Cable-Based and a Ground-Based System in Flat and Soil-Sensitive Area: A Case Study from Southern Baden in Germany. Forests. 2020; 11 (6):611.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Janine Schweier; Christian Ludowicy. 2020. "Comparison of A Cable-Based and a Ground-Based System in Flat and Soil-Sensitive Area: A Case Study from Southern Baden in Germany." Forests 11, no. 6: 611.

Research article
Published: 25 May 2020 in International Journal of Forest Engineering
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Cable-based timber extraction offers some advantages with regard to impacts to forest stands and soils, and can be used under a wide range of conditions. It is important not only in steep terrain, but also increasingly in flat terrain when soils have low bearing capacity. In this study, utilization data from two commonly used tower yarding systems were analyzed: a tower yarder with a mounted processor (K507) and a medium-distance tower yarder (V400). Collected data included explanatory variables, such as the proportion of hardwood timber, length of skyline, direction of yarding and dimension of harvested timber. Data were analyzed with regard to the time required for machine installation including set-up and dismantling, machine productivity and resulting production costs. Possible combinations of machines and partial working steps were evaluated. Results indicated an increasing utilization of cable crane systems in horizontal yarding direction throughout the analyzed time period. Further, more time was required to process full trees when the K507 was used, although machine productivity increased. The proportion of processed timber that was hardwood significantly influenced installation times. Results demonstrated that, if the machines had above average productivity, total costs could be reduced in flat terrain by using a cable crane instead of conducting the extraction by skidders.

ACS Style

Janine Schweier; Marie-Luise Klein; Herbert Kirsten; Dirk Jaeger; Frauke Brieger; Udo Hans Sauter. Productivity and cost analysis of tower yarder systems using the Koller 507 and the Valentini 400 in southwest Germany. International Journal of Forest Engineering 2020, 31, 172 -183.

AMA Style

Janine Schweier, Marie-Luise Klein, Herbert Kirsten, Dirk Jaeger, Frauke Brieger, Udo Hans Sauter. Productivity and cost analysis of tower yarder systems using the Koller 507 and the Valentini 400 in southwest Germany. International Journal of Forest Engineering. 2020; 31 (3):172-183.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Janine Schweier; Marie-Luise Klein; Herbert Kirsten; Dirk Jaeger; Frauke Brieger; Udo Hans Sauter. 2020. "Productivity and cost analysis of tower yarder systems using the Koller 507 and the Valentini 400 in southwest Germany." International Journal of Forest Engineering 31, no. 3: 172-183.

Articles
Published: 04 March 2020 in International Journal of Forest Engineering
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Winching is a common practice for extracting logs in forest operations; however, it requires significant physical effort by humans to pull-out the cable to the felling site. The aim of this study was to quantify the intensity of this activity by measuring human effort parameters during different winching operations under experimental conditions with a mini forestry crawler. Internal energy provision was determined by a portable spiroergometric device which was linked to beat-to-beat heart rate measurement. These data as well as the pulling force were assigned to the respective distance markers. After a small decrease over the first few meters, the pulling force increased as the pull-out distance increased. A maximum heart rate reserve of 67.3% and a metabolic equivalent (MET) of 11.6 were reached at the choking point in the flat winching direction. When winching was simulated uphill, peak values between 6.6 and 9.1 METs were reached at the end of the winching process. Winching with a remote-controlled mini forestry crawler over a distance of 50 m was rated as vigorous work, since METs of 6.0 for the entire work cycle were frequently exceeded. Thus, winching distances should be kept shorter in order to reduce metabolic strain. Moreover, winching teams should take active breaks and rotate work tasks during the working day to enable the necessary recovery.

ACS Style

Ferréol Berendt; Stephan Hoffmann; Dirk Jaeger; Stephan Prettin; Janine Schweier. Application of spiroergometry to determine work metabolism related strain in the course of cable work with a mini forestry crawler. International Journal of Forest Engineering 2020, 31, 114 -125.

AMA Style

Ferréol Berendt, Stephan Hoffmann, Dirk Jaeger, Stephan Prettin, Janine Schweier. Application of spiroergometry to determine work metabolism related strain in the course of cable work with a mini forestry crawler. International Journal of Forest Engineering. 2020; 31 (2):114-125.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ferréol Berendt; Stephan Hoffmann; Dirk Jaeger; Stephan Prettin; Janine Schweier. 2020. "Application of spiroergometry to determine work metabolism related strain in the course of cable work with a mini forestry crawler." International Journal of Forest Engineering 31, no. 2: 114-125.

Journal article
Published: 02 September 2019 in International Journal of Forest Engineering
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ACS Style

Janine Schweier. Introduction for IJFE special article collection “The Role of Forest Operations in Climate Change Affected Forests”. International Journal of Forest Engineering 2019, 30, 218 -218.

AMA Style

Janine Schweier. Introduction for IJFE special article collection “The Role of Forest Operations in Climate Change Affected Forests”. International Journal of Forest Engineering. 2019; 30 (3):218-218.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Janine Schweier. 2019. "Introduction for IJFE special article collection “The Role of Forest Operations in Climate Change Affected Forests”." International Journal of Forest Engineering 30, no. 3: 218-218.

Journal article
Published: 27 August 2019 in Energies
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In Mediterranean regions, afforested areas were planted to ensure the permanence of land cover, and to protect against erosion and to initiate the vegetation processes. For those purposes, pine species were mainly used; however, many of these stands, without silvicultural treatments for over fifty-sixty years, were in a poor state from physical and biological perspective, and therefore, clear-cutting on strips was conducted as silvicultural operation with the aim to eliminate 50% of the pine trees and to favor the affirmation of indigenous broadleaves seedlings. At the same time, the high and increasing demand of the forest based sector for wood biomass related to energy production, needs to be supplied. In a modern and multifunctional forestry, in which society is asking for sustainable forestry and naturalistic forest management, forestry operations should ideally be carried out in a sustainable manner, thus support the concept of sustainable forest management. All these aspects are also related to the innovation in forestry sector for an effective energetic sustainability. Three different forest wood chains were applied in pine plantations, all differing in the extraction system (animal, forestry-fitted farm tractor with winch, and double drum cable yarder). The method of the sustainability impact assessment was used in order to assess potential impacts of these alternative management options, and a set of 12 indicators covering economic, environmental, and social dimensions was analyzed. Further, to support decision makers in taking informed decisions, multi-criteria decision analysis was conducted. Decision makers gave weight towards the indicators natural tree regeneration and soil biological quality to support the achievement of the forest management goal. Results showed that first ranked alternative was case 2, in which extraction was conducted by a tractor with a winch. The main reason for that lies in the fact that this alternative had best performance for 80% of the analyzed criteria.

ACS Style

Janine Schweier; Boško Blagojević; Rachele Venanzi; Francesco Latterini; Rodolfo Picchio. Sustainability Assessment of Alternative Strip Clear Cutting Operations for Wood Chip Production in Renaturalization Management of Pine Stands. Energies 2019, 12, 3306 .

AMA Style

Janine Schweier, Boško Blagojević, Rachele Venanzi, Francesco Latterini, Rodolfo Picchio. Sustainability Assessment of Alternative Strip Clear Cutting Operations for Wood Chip Production in Renaturalization Management of Pine Stands. Energies. 2019; 12 (17):3306.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Janine Schweier; Boško Blagojević; Rachele Venanzi; Francesco Latterini; Rodolfo Picchio. 2019. "Sustainability Assessment of Alternative Strip Clear Cutting Operations for Wood Chip Production in Renaturalization Management of Pine Stands." Energies 12, no. 17: 3306.

Article
Published: 02 July 2019 in BioEnergy Research
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Short rotation coppice (SRC) plantations are predominantly established as monocultures. Reasons include simplicity and thus efficiency in planting, homogeneous growth, and a desire to maximize yields by selecting top-performing species. However, pests and disease outbreaks generally cause much greater damage to monocultures than to mixed plantations, thus affecting yields as well as other ecosystem services. Mixed SRC with varying genotypes or even species have the potential to positively affect biodiversity and ecosystem services, however, little is known about the quantity and quality of woody biomass from mixed SRC in respect to its use for energy generation. Therefore, we tested how volume, calorific value, and ash content of woody biomass are influenced by (1) diversity in genotypes in a Salix SRC, and (2) diversity of species in a Salix, Robinia, Paulownia, and Populus SRC. Results show that increasing the number of genotypes or species in a SRC plantation does not negatively affect woody biomass, calorific value, or ash content of wood chips. On average, the plots with mixed genotypes or tree species produced more biomass compared with monocultures of the component species. We found evidence of overyielding in mixtures of poplar and robinia. Our findings are relevant for managers planning new SRC plantations and indicated that mixtures of specific tree species or genotypes should be considered. Therefore, we argue that “high-diversity SRC” plantations represent a valuable alternative to conventional SRC for sustainable bioenergy production.

ACS Style

Janine Schweier; Clara Arranz; Charles A. Nock; Dirk Jaeger; Michael Scherer-Lorenzen. Impact of Increased Genotype or Species Diversity in Short Rotation Coppice on Biomass Production and Wood Characteristics. BioEnergy Research 2019, 12, 497 -508.

AMA Style

Janine Schweier, Clara Arranz, Charles A. Nock, Dirk Jaeger, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen. Impact of Increased Genotype or Species Diversity in Short Rotation Coppice on Biomass Production and Wood Characteristics. BioEnergy Research. 2019; 12 (3):497-508.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Janine Schweier; Clara Arranz; Charles A. Nock; Dirk Jaeger; Michael Scherer-Lorenzen. 2019. "Impact of Increased Genotype or Species Diversity in Short Rotation Coppice on Biomass Production and Wood Characteristics." BioEnergy Research 12, no. 3: 497-508.

Review
Published: 01 July 2019 in Current Forestry Reports
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One of the challenges of forest operations is to consider the consequences of different management strategies and to estimate the economic, environmental and social performance of different processes, products, or services. From the methods available to quantify the impact of alternative forest management, we selected the method of Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA), an iterative process that includes the analysis of the societal, environmental, and economic sustainability pillars and offers a wider assessment framework, which is useful for stakeholders and policy makers. The purpose of this review is to identify the state of the art and trends of SIA in forest operations. There are few studies including all pillars of sustainability and most of the studies consider different aspects of environmental or economic impacts. It is important to determine the system boundaries and select the appropriate indicators in order to have a comprehensive SIA. Different harvesting technologies and their deployment can influence costs, productivity, environment, and safety risk. Some indicators, such as cost and productivity, can vary between countries and different scenarios. Efficient machines, appropriate technical systems, innovative products, and up-to date training of operators can have a positive impact on sustainability. Economic factors can change at a rapid pace, and new machines can play a positive role in forest operations (e.g., lower fuel consumption, higher level of safety and comfort for operators). The inclusion of indicators measuring the extra value of the forest should be considered. We suggest adopting sensitivity analysis during the assessment of key processes to observe the effect on the hot spots.

ACS Style

Janine Schweier; Natascia Magagnotti; Eric R. Labelle; Dimitris Athanassiadis. Sustainability Impact Assessment of Forest Operations: a Review. Current Forestry Reports 2019, 5, 101 -113.

AMA Style

Janine Schweier, Natascia Magagnotti, Eric R. Labelle, Dimitris Athanassiadis. Sustainability Impact Assessment of Forest Operations: a Review. Current Forestry Reports. 2019; 5 (3):101-113.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Janine Schweier; Natascia Magagnotti; Eric R. Labelle; Dimitris Athanassiadis. 2019. "Sustainability Impact Assessment of Forest Operations: a Review." Current Forestry Reports 5, no. 3: 101-113.

Journal article
Published: 21 September 2018 in Forests
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An effective way to reduce off-road traffic in forests is to implement greater distances between skid trails. However, this implies that trees beyond the boom reach of the harvester need to be felled motor manually before being winched to the skid trail, for example using a remote-controlled mini forestry crawler (MFC). They are only a few local studies which have evaluated the performance of such MFCs. The use of MFCs for wood extraction operations in mixed soft- and hardwood stands is presented in this study conducted in Southwestern Germany. The aim of this study was to analyze the productivity, costs, and selected environmental impacts of mini forestry crawlers during winching operations through a time study. Using statistical regression, time consumption was analyzed in order to determine significant explanatory variables. Environmental impacts were evaluated using the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology with Umberto software. The mean net cycle time was 4.82 min and the net productivity rate was 7.77 m3 by productive machine hour (PMH0). Explanatory variables which significantly affected the net cycle time were the winched volume, the number of trees per load, and winching distance. Environmental analysis showed that inputs of fossil energy were mostly due to diesel and lubricant consumption. Raw materials for machine manufacture and maintenance showed the highest impact in human toxicity potential category. The MFCs showed good environmental performances, but the harvesting system should become more productive in order to be more cost effective.

ACS Style

Ferréol Berendt; Mathieu Fortin; Christian Suchomel; Janine Schweier. Productivity, Costs, and Selected Environmental Impacts of Remote-Controlled Mini Forestry Crawlers. Forests 2018, 9, 591 .

AMA Style

Ferréol Berendt, Mathieu Fortin, Christian Suchomel, Janine Schweier. Productivity, Costs, and Selected Environmental Impacts of Remote-Controlled Mini Forestry Crawlers. Forests. 2018; 9 (10):591.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ferréol Berendt; Mathieu Fortin; Christian Suchomel; Janine Schweier. 2018. "Productivity, Costs, and Selected Environmental Impacts of Remote-Controlled Mini Forestry Crawlers." Forests 9, no. 10: 591.

Journal article
Published: 21 June 2018 in Forests
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Mediterranean pines account for 14,000 ha in Tuscany alone, where they form large and homogeneous stands and represent an important resource for the forest economy. Among the harvesting systems applied to thinning operations, the most popular are whole-tree and cut-to-length harvestings. Both systems can be deployed with different levels of mechanization. The decision about which system might be the best option in a specific case possibly leads to conflicts due to different management goals, for instance when the shift from cut-to-length to whole-tree harvesting systems results in a decrease of costs and an increase of environmental burdens. Thus, an accurate determination of economic, environmental and social indicators is crucial to make balanced decisions. With that in mind, we carried out a sustainability impact assessment of typical forest-wood chain alternatives applied to young Mediterranean pine plantations and made a comparative evaluation by means of multi-criteria analyses. Trials were carried out in umbrella pine (Pinus pinea L.) plantations in Tuscany. The analyzed cases considered four thinning operations and included the processes of harvesting, extraction and chipping. In the analysis, 12 indicators were considered (e.g., global warming potential, fatal accidents). Results of the investigation allow quantifying possible sustainability impacts and, thus, supporting management decisions.

ACS Style

Janine Schweier; Raffaele Spinelli; Natascia Magagnotti; Bernhard Wolfslehner; Manfred J. Lexer. Sustainability Assessment of Alternative Thinning Operations in Mediterranean Softwood Plantations. Forests 2018, 9, 375 .

AMA Style

Janine Schweier, Raffaele Spinelli, Natascia Magagnotti, Bernhard Wolfslehner, Manfred J. Lexer. Sustainability Assessment of Alternative Thinning Operations in Mediterranean Softwood Plantations. Forests. 2018; 9 (7):375.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Janine Schweier; Raffaele Spinelli; Natascia Magagnotti; Bernhard Wolfslehner; Manfred J. Lexer. 2018. "Sustainability Assessment of Alternative Thinning Operations in Mediterranean Softwood Plantations." Forests 9, no. 7: 375.

Journal article
Published: 01 September 2017 in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
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Short-rotation coppice (SRC) is an important source of woody biomass for bioenergy. Despite the research carried out on several aspects of SRC production, many uncertainties create barriers to farmers establishing SRC plantations. One of the key economic sources of uncertainty is harvesting methods and costs; more specifically, the performance of contemporary machine methods is reviewed. We collected data from 25 literature references, describing 166 field trials. Three harvesting systems predominate: 127 used single pass cut-and-chip harvesters, 16 used double pass cut-and-store harvesters, 22 used the cut-and-bale harvester, and one study used a cut-and-billet harvester. Mean effective material capacity (EMC) was 30 Mg fresh weight h-1 (cut-and-chip technique), 19 Mg fresh weight h-1 (cut-and-store technique) and 14 Mg fresh weight h-1 (cut-and-bale technique). However, this comparison does not consider engine power, which varies with harvesting technique; cut-and-chip harvesters are by far the most powerful (>200 kW). When limiting harvesters to a maximum engine power of 200 kW, cut-and-chip harvesters achieved the lowest EMC (5 Mg fresh weight h-1), but they also perform a higher degree of material processing (cutting and chipping) than cut-and-store harvesters (only cutting) or than the cut-and-bale harvester (cutting and baling). The trend in commercial machinery is towards increased engine power for cut-and-chip and cut-and-store harvesters. No trends in EMC were documented for the recently developed cut-and-bale harvesting technique, which is presently produced in one version only. Field stocking (5–157 Mg fresh weight ha-1 in the reviewed studies) has a significant effect on harvester EMC. Lower field stocking can constrain the maximum EMC achieved by the machine given that harvesting speed can only be increased to a point. While the reviewed studies did not contain sufficient harvesting cost data for a thorough analysis, harvesting costs ranged between 6 and 99 € Mg-1 fresh weight

ACS Style

Stefan P.P. Vanbeveren; Raffaele Spinelli; Mark Eisenbies; Janine Schweier; Blas Mola-Yudego; Natascia Magagnotti; Mauricio Acuna; Ioannis Dimitriou; Reinhart Ceulemans. Mechanised harvesting of short-rotation coppices. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2017, 76, 90 -104.

AMA Style

Stefan P.P. Vanbeveren, Raffaele Spinelli, Mark Eisenbies, Janine Schweier, Blas Mola-Yudego, Natascia Magagnotti, Mauricio Acuna, Ioannis Dimitriou, Reinhart Ceulemans. Mechanised harvesting of short-rotation coppices. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2017; 76 ():90-104.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Stefan P.P. Vanbeveren; Raffaele Spinelli; Mark Eisenbies; Janine Schweier; Blas Mola-Yudego; Natascia Magagnotti; Mauricio Acuna; Ioannis Dimitriou; Reinhart Ceulemans. 2017. "Mechanised harvesting of short-rotation coppices." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 76, no. : 90-104.

Journal article
Published: 16 August 2017 in Forests
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In order to accommodate foreseen climate change in European forests, the following are recommended: (i) to increase the number of tree species and the structural diversity; (ii) to replace unsuitable species by native broadleaved tree species, and (iii) to apply close-to-nature silviculture. The state forest department of Baden-Württemberg (BW) currently follows the concept of Forest Development Types (FDTs). However, future climatic conditions will have an impact on these types of forest as well as timber harvesting operations. This Geographic Information System (GIS)-based analysis identified appropriate locations for main FDTs and timber harvesting and extraction methods through the use of species suitability maps, topography, and soil sensitivity data. Based on our findings, the most common FDT in the state forest of BW is expected to be coniferous-beech mixed forests with 29.0% of the total forest area, followed by beech-coniferous (20.5%) and beech-broadleaved (15.4%) mixed forests. Where access for fully mechanized systems is not possible, the main harvesting and extraction methods would be motor manual felling and cable yarding (29.1%). High proportions of large dimensioned trees will require timber extraction using forestry tractors, and these will need to be operated from tractor roads on sensitive soils (23.0%), and from skid trails on insensitive soils (18.4%).

ACS Style

Ferréol Berendt; Mathieu Fortin; Dirk Jaeger; Janine Schweier. How Climate Change Will Affect Forest Composition and Forest Operations in Baden-Württemberg—A GIS-Based Case Study Approach. Forests 2017, 8, 298 .

AMA Style

Ferréol Berendt, Mathieu Fortin, Dirk Jaeger, Janine Schweier. How Climate Change Will Affect Forest Composition and Forest Operations in Baden-Württemberg—A GIS-Based Case Study Approach. Forests. 2017; 8 (8):298.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ferréol Berendt; Mathieu Fortin; Dirk Jaeger; Janine Schweier. 2017. "How Climate Change Will Affect Forest Composition and Forest Operations in Baden-Württemberg—A GIS-Based Case Study Approach." Forests 8, no. 8: 298.

Journal article
Published: 21 January 2017 in GCB Bioenergy
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For avoiding competition with food production, marginal land is economically and environmentally highly attractive for biomass production with short-rotation coppices (SRCs) of fast-growing tree species such as poplars. Herein, we evaluated the environmental impacts of technological, agronomic, and environmental aspects of bioenergy production from hybrid poplar SRC cultivation on marginal land in southern Germany. For this purpose, different management regimes were considered within a 21-year lifetime (combining measurements and modeling approaches) by means of a holistic Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). We analyzed two coppicing rotation lengths (7 × 3 and 3 × 7 years) and seven nitrogen fertilization rates and included all processes starting from site preparation, planting and coppicing, wood chipping, and heat production up to final stump removal. The 7-year rotation cycles clearly resulted in higher biomass yields and reduced environmental impacts such as nitrate (NO3) leaching and soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. Fertilization rates were positively related to enhanced biomass accumulation, but these benefits did not counterbalance the negative impacts on the environment due to increased nitrate leaching and N2O emissions. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the heat production from poplar SRC on marginal land ranged between 8 and 46 kg CO2-eq. GJ−1 (or 11–57 Mg CO2-eq. ha−1). However, if the produced wood chips substitute oil heating, up to 123 Mg CO2-eq. ha−1 can be saved, if produced in a 7-year rotation without fertilization. Dissecting the entire bioenergy production chain, our study shows that environmental impacts occurred mainly during combustion and storage of wood chips, while technological aspects of establishment, harvesting, and transportation played a negligible role.

ACS Style

Janine Schweier; Saúl Molina-Herrera; Andrea Ghirardo; Rüdiger Grote; Eugenio Diaz-Pines; Jürgen Kreuzwieser; Edwin Haas; Klaus Butterbach-Bahl; Heinz Rennenberg; Joerg-Peter Schnitzler; Gero Becker. Environmental impacts of bioenergy wood production from poplar short-rotation coppice grown at a marginal agricultural site in Germany. GCB Bioenergy 2017, 9, 1207 -1221.

AMA Style

Janine Schweier, Saúl Molina-Herrera, Andrea Ghirardo, Rüdiger Grote, Eugenio Diaz-Pines, Jürgen Kreuzwieser, Edwin Haas, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Heinz Rennenberg, Joerg-Peter Schnitzler, Gero Becker. Environmental impacts of bioenergy wood production from poplar short-rotation coppice grown at a marginal agricultural site in Germany. GCB Bioenergy. 2017; 9 (7):1207-1221.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Janine Schweier; Saúl Molina-Herrera; Andrea Ghirardo; Rüdiger Grote; Eugenio Diaz-Pines; Jürgen Kreuzwieser; Edwin Haas; Klaus Butterbach-Bahl; Heinz Rennenberg; Joerg-Peter Schnitzler; Gero Becker. 2017. "Environmental impacts of bioenergy wood production from poplar short-rotation coppice grown at a marginal agricultural site in Germany." GCB Bioenergy 9, no. 7: 1207-1221.

Journal article
Published: 01 February 2016 in Biomass and Bioenergy
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ACS Style

Janine Schweier; Jörg-Peter Schnitzler; Gero Becker. Selected environmental impacts of the technical production of wood chips from poplar short rotation coppice on marginal land. Biomass and Bioenergy 2016, 85, 235 -242.

AMA Style

Janine Schweier, Jörg-Peter Schnitzler, Gero Becker. Selected environmental impacts of the technical production of wood chips from poplar short rotation coppice on marginal land. Biomass and Bioenergy. 2016; 85 ():235-242.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Janine Schweier; Jörg-Peter Schnitzler; Gero Becker. 2016. "Selected environmental impacts of the technical production of wood chips from poplar short rotation coppice on marginal land." Biomass and Bioenergy 85, no. : 235-242.