An investigation on roundwood extraction of Fagus orientalis lipsky, Abies nordmanniana (Stew.) Spach. and Picea orientalis (L.) Link. by Urus M III forest skyline on snow

Harvesting and transportation of woods from forest are extremely difficult, expensive and timeconsuming operations. In the most regions of Turkey, the application of mechanized harvesting equipment is currently very limited due to low labor cost and high fuel cost. In Turkish forestry, the most common harvesting method is cut-to-length system, which is carried out intensively during the late spring and summer, as well as during the winter with a limited extent. In this study, productivity of roundwood extraction (Fagus orientalis Lipsky., Abies nordmanniana (Stew.) Spach. and Picea orientalis (L.) Link.) by Urus M III skyline on snow in Artvin, Turkey was investigated. The average total time of shift was measured as 13.10 min for uphill logging and 22.92 min for downhill logging. Increases in number of pieces, log diameter, log length and log volume increased the total transportation time. The results also indicated that the productivity value of Urus MIII skyline varies among the sites (5.87 m³/h in Site-1, 6.82 m³/h in Site-2, 4.08 m³/h in Site-3 for uphill and 1.69 m³/h in Site-4 downhill), and uphill yarding by Urus MIII was more productive than downhill yarding on snow