Work productivity analysis in thinning intervention of chestnut coppice in central Italy

Thinning interventions are crucial for the correct growth of chestnut coppices. Such intervention generally does not allow for the extraction of high value timber, but it generally produces only low diameter poles and fuelwood. According to this, improving work productivity is fundamental to ensure economic effectiveness of this sylvicultural treatment. This study was set up in Lazio Region in Italy. Work productivity in thinning intervention of a chestnut coppice was analyzed, evaluating the working performance of an unusual harvesting system, the use of which was possible thanks to the low values of slope and roughness in the forest area. Felling and processing operation was motor manual with chainsaw, while bunching-extraction was carried out in part by an excavator equipped with grapple, and the extraction-transport was performed by wheeled truck. Gross productivity of felling and processing operations resulted to be 2.125 t h-1, bunching-extraction productivity was 2.381 t h-1 and, for the extraction-transport, a productivity of 4.791 t h-1 was assessed. Findings show a good work productivity, mainly due to the excellent topographic conditions that allowed the wide use of mechanical means for forest operations. The improvements that can be made consist essentially in the use of mechanization level that allows a lower impact on soil and the implementation of forest operators skill.