Intensifying Wood Production on Slopes: Everything You Need to Know
While it’s true that paper consumption is reducing, demand for other wood materials continues to increase.
These challenges will only continue to intensify as time goes on.
- Home
- Blog
- Post
Realistically speaking, the growing world population will need more food to survive in the long term.
If it remains unchecked, climate change will destroy large areas of farmland. Droughts will force us to find more fields for everything from cattle grazing to seeding. Key crops for world food production need flat ground and fruitful soil to flourish.
While it’s true that paper consumption is reducing, demand for other wood materials continues to increase.
These challenges will only continue to intensify as time goes on.
Enter wood production on slopes. Reforesting and establishing forests on slopes help solve the need for flat land for farming while balancing silvicultural needs.
To learn more about how planting trees on slopes can help keep the earth sustainable in the long-term, keep reading.
Foresters can use integrated mechanical approaches without sacrificing growth and quality standards and worker safety.
The Future of Wood Production on Slopes
The demand for wood products will continue in the future. The forestry industry needs to rethink how wood products are grown. Production for our different needs – energy, construction, and various other paper products – needs to be done sustainably in the future.
Take energy production as an example. There are various methods for producing energy, with the potential for new variations as technology advances. Currently, solar power, wind power, and even wood chip power are ways of the future.
Though there are benefits to the wood-burning and charcoal industry, it comes at a cost. Continuing this production method will lead us to a situation where we have to consider more sustainable ways to grow wood.
Also, the demand for materials including cardboard, wood fiber, plywood, and timber, will not slow down any time soon.
But how do we find more land to grow wood if we are competing with farmers for this space? Plus, while farmers and arborists are busy fighting over land—global warming is working to take even more away.
Mechanical Wood Production on Slopes
The simple answer is intensive wood production on slopes. Though problems are remaining with this method, harvesting in slopes is not a new concept.
Given the nature of the practice, it is not a simple procedure. There are still several remaining issues. One example of this is determining the best way to keep the costs of tree work down.
Another significant issue is worker safety. Working on slopes is dangerous due to the apparent factor caused by the ascendage. Besides rocks and other topographical hindrances contributing to the risk of injury – the work itself is tough on rocky and steep terrain.
With such a heavy dependency on general labor, this is not easy. Though terrace roads are a viable solution, the costs are high as they require many labor hours. A more simple planting method is to simply climb the route with a feller buncher or powerful excavator.
Once there the excavator can perform the following tasks in an integrated way:
- Soil cultivation in rocky terrain
- Terracing for heavy rains
- Irrigation
- Fertilizing
- Control – since heavy variance may be caused by having to circle features with the added benefit of mapping the area
Coming up with a long-term solution will be more of a challenge. Although it will require more work, using slopes for eucalyptus production, pine production, and other materials can solve a significant sustainability problem. Moreover, foresters can use integrated mechanical approaches without sacrificing growth and quality standards and worker safety.
Risutec Solutions for Planting on Slopes
Luckily, Risutec has developed a solution for wood production on slopes.
We currently have a wide variety of forestry machinery to ensure more efficient and effective planting—even on an incline.
For wood production on slopes, you can select the SKB or PM forest builder. The latter is suitable for smaller carriers, such as excavators under 10 tonnes.
Contact us for more information on how to plant trees on slopes productively!