Harvesting Productivity and Cost of Clearcut and Partial Cut in Interior British Columbia, Canada

Clearcutting has been the dominant harvesting method in British Columbia (representing 95% of the total area harvested annually). However forest managers are increasingly recommending the use of alternative silvicultural systems and harvest methods, including various types of partial cutting, to meet ecological and social objectives. In this study we compared harvesting productivity and harvesting costs between treatments through detailed and shift level time studies in 300-350 year-old Interior Cedar-Hemlock stands in British Columbia, Canada. Recommendations for improving operational planning/layout and the implementation of clearcut and partial cutting silvicultural systems were made. Harvesting costs varied in the ground-based clearcut treatments from $10.95/$m^3$ - $15.96/$m^3$ and $16.09/$m^3$ - $16.93/$m^3$ in the group selection treatments. The ground-based group retention treatment had a cost of $13.39/$m^3$, while the cable clearcut had a cost of $15.70/$m^3$. An understanding of the traditional and alternative wood products that could be derived from the harvested timber was imperative to increasing the amount of merchantable volume and reducing the corresponding harvesting costs. Stand damage was greatest in the group selection treatments; however, mechanized felling showed an increase in stand damage over manual felling while grapple skidding showed a decrease in skidding damage compared to line skidding.