Mohammad Reza Ghaffariyan

University of the Sunshine Coast | USC · AFORA

Frame and Truss Offcut Utilisation Case Study

Forest fires are one of the most severe incidents that can destroy large areas of forest lands and cause substantial damages to the nearby residential areas and farmlands. Human efforts to reduce the likelihood of starting forest fires include prescribed burning, mechanical fuel load reduction and livestock grazing. Following natural disasters in f...

Biomass characteristics play an important role in product classification, economic values, and types of usage. This research was initiated by the IEA Bioenergy Technology Collaboration Programme, which aimed to review and identify the top biomass characteristics as they relate to commercially viable biomaterial and bioenergy processes. An online se...

Purpose of Review The comprehensive assessment of timber and fuelwood harvesting operations through the consideration of the three pillars of sustainability: Economic, social, and environmental has not received much attention. The use of criteria can significantly improve impact assessment. Therefore, the objective of this review paper is to compil...

Timber transport is one of the main components of woody supply chain which requires significant costs and causes considerable emissions which varies depending on truck size, type, transport distance, payload etc. A cradle to gate life cycle assessment of Softwood plantations and regrowth hardwood native forests (England et al., 2013) estimated the...

Wood has many positive environmental attributes including excellent physical and mechanical properties, reduced energy requirements for processing, and the ability to sequester carbon. Wood is also susceptible to biodegradation under proper conditions. Preservative treatment markedly reduces the risk of degradation but many chemicals used for wood...

Tree felling and processing can create harvesting residues including leaves and twigs (needles), cones, barks, and branches. Collecting forest harvesting residues requires application of suitable machines and working methods. This article is aimed at reviewing the published reports to identify new harvesting machines and working methods for recover...

Tree felling and processing can create harvesting residues including leaves and twigs (needles), cones, barks, and branches. Collecting forest harvesting residues requires application of suitable machines and working methods. This article is aimed at reviewing the published reports to identify new harvesting machines and working methods for recover...

Biomass supply chains and bio-hubs are systems and intermediate facilities to enable landowners and managers to deliver biomass resulting from land management to markets. To support the effective communication of knowledge and best practice from around the world on biomass supply chains and biohubs, a unique web-based dashboard was developed in 202...

There are two types of forwarders available in the practice including conventional forestry forwarders and farm tractors equipped with a trailer/grapple loader that operate as a forwarder. Forwarders loading capacity can vary depending on the machine size. This paper aimed to review the work productivity of small size forwarders (payload< 10 tonnes...

This report focused on the feasibility of using new harvesting technologies and processes in Queensland’s forest operations. Significant forest resources in Queensland can be sustainably used by an improved forest operation which helps achieving higher values and products. Key challenges include limited pruning activities, poor access to productive...

Forest industry is one of the high-risk industries. Machine operators and forestry workers are a vital part of the forest industry and their health and well-being can greatly impact their work quality and efficiency. It is important to consider the safety of the cabins of harvesting machines, as machine operators spend a long time there during thei...

Development of best practice guidance for protective guarding of mobile plant used in Australian forests

Farm tractors have been applied in forest operations to carry out several tasks such as tree/felling/process-ing, forwarding, loading, skidding and cable yarding. Farm tractors can be equipped with special logging equipment that allows for their safe and efficient work in the harvesting of forest stands. This research is aimed to collect and review...

Progress update on supply chain value optimisation program and other research activities, Newsletter 03: April 2022

The utilization of forest harvest residues for renewable bioenergy production and bioproducts has increasingly become an integrated part of forestry that helps to meet the needs of climate change mitigation and a future carbon neutral economy. An essential element in the planning of any harvesting residue recovery operation is a reliable assessment...

New global and domestic policy and regulatory initiatives promoting a circular economy have renewed interest in the beneficial repurposing of commercial waste streams. Likewise, consumer trends and customers’ increased understanding of what they purchase, where it comes from, and what happens to it post-consumption have forced firms to consider red...

We need to learn from examples. IEA Bioenergy Task 43 provides a dashboard where biohub case studies come together, each with an indication of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Available at: https://arcg.is/qLqaK

Mountainous hardwood mixed stands offer challenges to timber harvesting operations in practice, including a harsh climate, variable topography, steep terrain, and large-sized timbers. This paper aims to develop productivity and cost models for a mountain-ground-based harvesting operation across the terrain (e.g., slope conditions), stand (e.g., tre...

Progress update on supply chain optimisation program and other research activities at USC/Australia, Newsletter issue 02

Loading is considered a bottleneck of the forest harvesting system as it acts as a connection between primary transport and secondary transport (from roadside/ landing to mills or central yards). Any delay during the loading component can cause delay in the primary wood extraction and/ or secondary transportation. This article reviewed the current...

A Bio-hub refers to an intermediate place where farmers/growers can deliver their by-products (such as straw, harvesting residues, etc.) to be processed into some commodities (e.g. dried wood, pellets, etc.) that can yield higher quality and values along the supply chain (Kulisic et al. 2019). Biohub concept can provide feedstock collection, interm...

Reforestation can be carried out using natural regeneration or artificial regeneration. There are vari-ous methods for the artificial regeneration, including manual planting, mechanical planting and aerial/or ground seeding. This article aimed to review the current reports on the productivity of mechanical planting to provide a summary of productiv...

Timber extraction from forest to the roadside/landing can be operated using cut-to-length (wood assortments e.g. logs, pulpwood etc.), whole stem (without branches/tops) and whole tree. Skidding is one of the options for wood extraction. This review aimed to review the available studies on work productivity of skidders in Eucalypt plantations. Revi...

Many parameters can influence the weight of harvesting residues per hectare that remain on plantation sites after extracting sawlogs and pulpwoods. This study aimed at quantifying the impact of the cut‐to‐length and whole‐tree harvesting methods on the weight of harvesting residues using 26 case studies in Australian plantations. A database was cre...

Plantation-grown Eucalyptus pellita in Sabah, Malaysia, was analysed for compression and flexural properties to assess the potential for solid-timber and engineered wood product end uses. It is necessary to consider not only the volume of wood produced in a plantation but also the wood quality, particularly those aspects important for end-product p...

Two systems of additive equations were developed to predict aboveground stand level biomass in log products and harvest residue from routinely measured or predicted stand variables for Pinus radiata plantations in New South Wales, Australia. These plantations were managed under three thinning regimes or stand types before clear-felling at rotation...

Globally, about 20 million ha of land area is occupied by plantations of Eucalyptus . Motor-manual tree harvest-ing techniques (using chainsaws) are still applied in eucalypt plantations, especially in difficult terrains or for large- sized trees where mechanised felling may not be an effective and safe possible option to apply. There is little inf...

This consultancy project explored the woody waste material that is potentially available for recovery by a timber company at its existing panel customers in South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales. An online questionnaire was developed and distributed to 26 industry participants who utilised the timber products and had issues with their...

Progress update on supply chain optimisation program and other research activities at USC/Australia

ABSTRAC Plantation-grown, high-value timber species producing high-value end products are key to optimising land utilisation in Sabah and Sarawak states in Borneo, Malaysia, while meeting the demand for downstream processing. Eucalyptus pellita is one such species suitable for the tropical climatic conditions and exhibits considerable potential for...

Skidding is an important element of harvesting operations, which contributes to the extraction of wood. A skidder can be used in different types of harvesting operations, such as thinning, clear fell, native forest thinning or salvage work. The main goal of this article was to review the available studies on productivity of skidding operations in c...

This research determines the potential contribution of utilising forest biomass resources for bioenergy production. A strategic method was developed integrating spatial and programming techniques to examine the theoretical, available, technological, economical and environmental potential of forest biomass. There are large volumes of forest biomass...

Many parameters influence the weight of harvesting residues on sites after industrial wood recovery. This study provides knowledge about the weight of harvesting residues produce by cut-to-length followed or not by biomass recovery and whole-tree to the roadside harvesting methods, in Australian plantations. The other objective of this study is to...

Timber extraction from forest to the roadside/landing can be operated using cut-to-length, whole stem and whole tree. Skidding is one of the options for wood extraction. This paper aimed to review the available studies on work productivity of skidders in Eucalypt plantations. Reviewing the machine productivity information indicated that skidding pr...

Transport costs of logs and forest biofuel can make up 50% of their delivered costs. As approximately 50% of fresh logs and forest biofuel is water, infield drying of this material presents the Australian forest industry with the opportunity to reduce delivered costs through reductions in transport costs, and increased calorific value in the case o...

This report include information on value and quality assessment, measurement/inventory assessment, phytosanitary test and wood loading technologies.

The use of forest biomass for bioenergy in Australia represents only 1% of total energy production but is being recognized for having the potential to deliver low-cost and low-emission, renewable energy solutions. This review addresses the potential of forest biomass for bioenergy production in Australia relative to the amount of biomass energy mea...

Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) generates accurate data for calculating forest metrics, such as canopy height, yet can be cost-prohibitive. Satellite-based stereo pair photogrammetry has the potential to overcome this limitation of ALS to facilitate multi-temporal change analysis when ALS data capture is unfeasible; however, it remains largely untest...

A new model for predicting the total tree height for harvested stems from cut-to-length (CTL) harvester data was constructed for Pinus radiata (D.Don) following a conceptual analysis of relative stem profiles, comparisons of candidate models forms and extensive selections of predictor variables. Stem profiles of more than 3000 trees in a taper data...

Investment in thinning as part of forest management is generally for one of three purposes: improved future stand growth and quality to produce higher value products for later final harvest, removal of fuels to reduce fire risk or to meet ecological goals such as increasing biodiversity. The focus of this paper is on the thinning operations in Aust...

The moisture content of logs, stemwood pieces and other harvesting residues can significantly impact the energy content (or calorific value) of the forest biomass product. Moisture content may also affect the economics of chipping and transportation. In this project, the natural drying process of logs and harvest residues was studied to better unde...

Purpose of Review This paper aims to provide a comprehensive but concise review of the various quantitative methods, in particular, optimization techniques, for the efficient management and control of complex forest biomass supply chains. The review is structured around a top-down hierarchical planning approach that includes strategic, tactical, an...

The article includes a summary of five research projects on different biomass harvesting systems in Australian plantations. The first trial assessed the productivity and cost of slash-bundling the harvesting residues in clear felled area using Pinox slash-bundler in Eucalypt plantation in Tasmania. Second project investigated the efficiency of a Eu...

The current technology in Australia is mainly large swing tower yarder with grapple. These yarders operate under whole tree or cut-to-length methods in steep terrains of Victoria, Tasmania and South-East Queensland. Cable yarding is often applied in clear fell operations in pine or Eucalypt stands in Australia. Felling operations prior to yarding a...

As the demand and production for renewable energies increases there is a growing need to research new technologies to increase the efficiency, productivity and profitability of production. This study aimed to investigate the priorities of bioenergy stakeholders on Geographic Information Systems based research in a variety of countries including a n...

The article presents a summary of five research projects on different biomass harvesting systems in Australian plantations. The first trial assessed the productivity and cost of slash-bundling the harvesting residues in clear felled area using Pinox slash-bundler in Eucalypt plantation in Tasmania. Second project investigated the efficiency of a Eu...

Steep country harvesting has been identified as the main bottleneck to achieving greater profitability in the forestry sector of New Zealand and Australia. An improvement of efficiency, work safety and environmental sustainability should be realized by developing an advanced steep terrain timber harvesting system based on innovative Austrian techno...

The fuel consumption of equipment during forest harvesting operations is still not well known and existing measurement technologies are largely untested. Considering forest industry’s need, some countries have developed and compared tools to quantify, control and analyses fuel consumption to create suitable analysis methods. Comprehensive trials ha...

Previous trials on separate forest biomass harvesting (e.g. using slash-bundlers or mobile chippers) can result in high operating cost/low productivity. Biomass or energy wood harvesting can be integrated with conventional log harvesting (saw log or pulpwood production) to allow more cost-effective energy wood supply. The efficiency of an integrate...

This research aimed to define to potential biomass supply from forest in Queensland to source bioenergy productions through pyrolysis with co-production of biochar in a simple assessment.

There is little knowledge available regarding Australian forestry work safety and accident rates. Machine operators and forestry workers are a vital part of the forestry sector and their health and well-being can greatly impact on their work quality and efficiency. To increase our knowledge on forest workers' safety this project aimed to analyse th...

The potential contribution of using forest biomass as renewable bioenergy is proven not only cost-effective but also know to mitigate effects of climatic change. This study aims to measure the availability of forest biomass for bioenergy production and climate change mitigation with a focus on forest in Queensland. Forest biomass has economic and e...

This research deals with productivity and cost of rock disintegration and side casting of materials with the use of a hydraulic hammer mounted on a PC 220 Komatsu crawler excavator, which is used on rocky slopes of Hyrcanian forests of Iran. A continuing time study was applied during the road construction. To estimate the volume of rock disintegrat...

Optimum road spacing (ORS) of forwarding operation in Styria in Southern Austria is studied in this paper. In a harvesting operation it is important to compute the ORS to minimize the total cost of harvesting and roading. The aim of this study was a comparison of different methods to study ORS. Data from 82 cycles were used to develop two models fo...

To reduce the fuel consumption costs, it is important to understand the impact of the different factors such as transport distance, truck weight and payload. This report aimed to review previous studies in Europe, Canada and Australia to achieve the following objectives; • to create an international data base on truck fuel consumption. • to examine...

Integrated biomass harvesting system is one of the conventional biomass utilisation methods applied in Australian pine plantations. This project studied the productivity-cost and yield of this harvesting system in 32 years old Pinus radiata plantations located in South West Western Australia. The harvesting systems consisted of a harvester and a fo...

Efficient supply of biomass is critical to the success of any bioenergy facility. With advances in technology increasing the use of bioenergy to meet renewable energy needs, biomass supply chains are reaching even further to meet demand. Supply chain development around the globe has driven innovations that improve the quality and reduces the costs...

This study provides an overview of most efficient biomass harvesting technologies and supply chains applied in North America, Europe and Southern Hemisphere. The productivity and cost of selected efficient technologies have been presented for each country with a brief description about source of the biomass and working method. Expert’s opinions on...

The presentation includes a summary of five research projects on different biomass harvesting systems in Australian plantations. The first trial assessed the productivity and cost of slash-bundling the harvesting residues in clear felled area using Pinox slash-bundler in Eucalypt plantation in Tasmania. Second project investigated the efficiency of...

The presentation includes a summary of five research projects on different biomass harvesting systems in Australian plantations. The first trial assessed the productivity and cost of slash-bundling the harvesting residues in clear felled area using Pinox slash-bundler in Eucalypt plantation in Tasmania. Second project investigated the efficiency of...

Central Tire Inflation Systems (CTIS) have been introduced to forestry transportation in the last 30 years to the point the forest industry is one of the biggest users of the technology (Pletts 2006). The benefits of operating with this CTIS technology mentioned in the literature include: (i) reduced road surfacing and/or base course requirements,...

To ensure biomass resources mapping project outcomes match with Australian bioenergy industry’s research and development requirements this project was initiated to conduct a survey to measure stakeholders’ preferences for different types of assessments. The preferences of key bioenergy stakeholders (including biomass producers, biomass processors,...

This study provides a state-of-the art overview of forest biomass harvesting technologies and supply chains used in North America, Europe and the Southern Hemisphere. The productivity and cost of selected efficient technologies is presented for each country with a brief description about the source of the biomass and harvesting method. Expert opini...

In many cases tree felling and processing operations are carried out motor-manually and knowledge about fossil fuel consumption and direct energy inputs when using such equipment is required for different purposes starting with operational costing and ending with environmental assessment of forest operations. In this study, fuel mixture, chain oil...

Ignea Gh., Ghaffaryian M.R., Borz, S.A., 2017. Impact of operational factors on fossil energy inputs in motor-manual tree felling and processing: results of two case studies. Ann. For. Res. 60(1): _-_. Abstract. In many cases tree felling and processing operations are carried out motor-manually and knowledge about fossil fuel consumption and direct...

There is little knowledge available regarding Australian forestry work safety and accident rates. Machine operators and forestry workers are vital parts of the forestry sector and their health and well-being can greatly impact on their work quality and efficiency. To increase our knowledge of forest workers’ safety this project aimed to analyse the...

Mallee plantations have been integrated into wheat farms in Western Australia as a large-scale and multi-purpose woody crop in 1990s. These types of plantations could be a considerable source of biomass to produce renewable energy. In this project the supply chain of Mallee was modelled using BIOPLAN’s linear programming model to investigate the im...

A project was carried out to investigate the impact of four different weighing methods on over/under load of forestry trucks operating in New South Wales (NSW) under two types of roads; gazetted (approved for higher legal gross vehicle weight limits) and non-gazetted (standard public road gross vehicle weight limits). For all the technologies teste...

Integrated biomass harvesting system is one of the conventional biomass utilisation methods applied in Australian pine plantations. This project studied the productivity-cost and yield of this harvesting system in 32 years old Pinus radiata plantations located in South West Western Australia. The harvesting systems consisted of a harvester and a fo...

This report provides an overview of most efficient biomass harvesting technologies and supply chains applied in North America, Europe and Oceania. The productivity and cost of selected efficient technologies have been presented for each country with a brief description about source of the biomass and working method. Expert’s opinions on the most su...

A project was carried out to investigate the impact of four different weighing methods on over/under loading of forestry trucks operating in Forestry Corporation of New South Wales under two types of roads; gazetted (approved for higher legal gross vehicle weight limits) and non-gazetted (standard public road gross vehicle weight limits). For all t...

Mallee plantations have been integrated into wheat farms in Western Australia as a large-scale and multi-purpose woody crop since the 1990s. Mallee describes the growing habit of certain eucalypt species that grow with multiple stems shooting from an underground crown root (lignotuber), usually to a height of up to 10 meters. These types of plantat...

The Australian forestry industry currently spends over one million dollars per day in transporting wood from coupes to mills. Until recently, investigating and implementing strategies to reduce these costs had received limited attention from industry, despite international examples illustrating the potential for significant cost savings. To address...

The quantity and quality of the harvesting residues in a balsa plantation in East New Britain Province of Papua New Guinea are reported in this paper. The plantation was harvested manually with a chainsaw and manpower to extract the industrial wood at age 6 years. A modified standard harvesting residue assessment method using plots on line transect...

The quantity and quality of the harvesting residues in a balsa plantation located in East New Britain Province of Papua New Guinea has been evaluated in this paper. The plantation was harvested manually with a chainsaw and man-power to extract the industrial wood at age six years. A modified standard harvesting residue assessment method was applied...

A project was carried out to investigate the impact of four different weighing systems on over/under load of forestry trucks operating in Australia for 7-axle and 6-axle trucks under two types of roads; gazetted (approved for higher legal gross vehicle weight limits) and non-gazetted (standard public road gross vehicle weight limits). For all the t...