Factors affecting industrial wood, material production yield in Turkey’s natural beech forests

The objectives of the present study are to determine the most important factors affecting industrial wood material production yield in natural oriental beech forests in Turkey using a multifaceted approach and to help entrepreneurs consider these factors to develop more sensitive and realistic production plans. In Günye Forest Management in Bartın province of the West Black Sea Region of Turkey, 41 production units were chosen as the study area. The 1277 ha study area was included in the 2007 and 2010 production management plan. The general state of the stand, natural stand structure, and production methods and tools are the factors thought most strongly affect industrial wood material production yield; 26 variables representing these factors were evaluated in the study. Through multidimensional statistical analyses, including main components, factor and regression analysis, we found that the most important factors affecting production yield were fertility, aspect of land, skidding method, stand structure, skidding distance, growing stock, transportation and harmful abiotic factors. Production units were divided into three groups based on yield rates and the 26 variables, using discriminate analysis. From the results of the study, a sample model can be developed to help forest managers predict and plan annual industrial wood production more sensitively and realistically.