Bucking of conifers using the woody H60 processor on the Syncrofalke 3 T cable yarder in Alpine foothills

The paper investigates mechanized bucking of conifers with a processor mounted on a cable crane system in the mountain conditions of the Alpine foothills. It analyses the measurement accuracy of various log types and explains its effect on the market price of these products. In the studied area, trees were felled by chain saw and the full-tree method was used to skid the felled trees to the cable yarder site using the Syncrofalke cable crane with a mounted Woody H 60 processor head. Further wood processing operations were carried out at the yarder site. Length measurement accuracy was illustrated through the frequency distribution and the modus of various lengths. The share of logs within a 5 cm interval - modus - (the best five) was 54.3%. The difference between the nominal log length and the minimum required length resulted in a loss of 4.38% of the total log value. Further more, it was established that the first quarter of the stem actually contained 64% of the total stem value. This means that the first cross-cut was responsible for nearly 50% of the total loss and the second crosscut pushed the figure to 80%. The present research only considered the losses incurred either by positive or negative cross-cut allowance or by insufficiently accurate length measurement of a certain log type