Cultivation of the Targeted Forest Plantations

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2020, Volume 4, Issue x, Pages: 1385-1393

J. Environ. Treat. Tech.

ISSN: 2309-1185

Journal web link: http://www.jett.dormaj.com

https://doi.org/10.47277/JETT/8(4)1393

Cultivation of the Targeted Forest Plantations

Ol'ga Kunickaya *, Vadim Tanyukevich , Daria Khmeleva , Anastasia Kulik , Elena Runova ,

Vera Savchenkova , Anna Voronova , Mikhail Lavrov

Yakut State Agricultural Academy, Yakutsk, Russian Federation

Novocherkassk Reclamation Engineering Institute named after A. K. Kortunov - branch of Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of higher

professional education “Don State Agrarian University”, Novocherkassk, Russian Federation

Federal Scientific Centre of Agroecology, Complex Melioration and Protective Afforestation Russian Academy of Sciences, Volgograd, Russian Fed-

eration

Bratsk State University, Bratsk, Russian Federation

Mytischi Branch of Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Moscow, Russian Federation

Petrozavodsk State University, Petrozavodsk, Russian Federation

North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, Yakutsk, Russian Federation

Received: 06/05/2020

Accepted: 17/09/2020

Published: 20/12/2020

Abstract

Targeted reforestation refers to ecosystems with natural and artificial energy reserves. Additional energy reserves are spent on grow-

ing and harvesting, various types of forest care, forest use, and delivery of products to consumers, including energy costs for all types of

preparation. The wood to be harvested must be assessed on the energy consumption required for its production. The purpose of this work

was to develop a comprehensive methodology to assess the energy effect, model the process of plantation operation considering the soil

type, tree species, and technical parameters of operating machines. According to the estimation results of the trunk wood energy value,

it has been established that depending on the growth rate and maturity level, the target plantations are divided into two types, which

should be taken into account during planting and subsequent rotation. It is shown that with regard to the technological features of machine

systems and the type of plantation, it is necessary to consider dimensional characteristics of the planting scheme and the technological

cycle of exploiting the forest plantation. The results of mathematical modeling following the technological parameters of operating

machines and all types of costs showed that the cost of the selected target species for reforestation can provide sufficient profit when

optimizing the machine system operations. The principle of modular division of machines system on power, technological, and transport

modules is offered, which vary in purpose, criteria of parameters optimization, and indicators of work. The obtained mathematical model

and methodology of target planting optimization can be applied in forestry and agricultural complexes, as well as become the basis for

further research in this direction.

Keywords: Targeted reforestation, Wood energy value, Productivity, Ecosystem management, Plantation preparation, Planting systems

Introduction¹

5 years. The first target energy plantations for research pur-

poses were planted in the USA, then in Germany and Yugosla-

via, and after in Sweden [4]. In Sweden, for example, planting

of fast-growing tree species for the pulp and paper industry be-

gan in the 1960s, and energy plantings of willow trees began in

Targeted forest plantation is the result of artificial reforesta-

tion or forest-growing activities. Their creation is a very prom-

ising area of forest business and may have several objectives,

for example, accelerated growth of target timber (forest planta-

tions), creation of shelterbelts, as well as reducing greenhouse

gas emissions through biophysical processes of carbon dioxide

sequestration [1]. In all cases, forest plantations with specified

operational and ecological properties are artificially created. In

order to increase the efficiency of target forest plantations, the

optimal choice of tree species to be planted is required, which

will best meet the soil, climate, and operational objectives of

their creation. An optimal choice of machine system and tech-

nological processes for site preparation, planting, and cultiva-

tion are needed as well [2].

970 resulting in approximately 1% of country's annual timber

harvest [5], mainly in southern and middle Sweden, where is

the most favorable climate for this purpose. In Sweden, energy

plantations with short cutting times are grown on an area of

.200 ha for heat and electricity production. Whereas in 1984,

about 14% of the energy produced in Sweden was derived from

the dendro-mass, it was planned to increase this figure to 61%

by 2015 [6]. The assessment and comparison results of the re-

gional capacity in Northern Europe to cultivate fast-growing

woody biomass showed that the potential for biomass produc-

tivity in fast-growing forest plantations is 58.5 million cubic

meters per year [7]. Besides, according to these results, it has

been established that the management strategy for the target

forest plantations should be local rather than general. A review

of the project results on fast-growing hybrid poplar and willow

trees in various plantations of Canada also showed that these

species are well adapted to climatic and soil changes and can

be used to plant abandoned ores and old landfills to restore the

The history of target forest plantations spans several dec-

ades, which allowed gaining significant forestry experience. At

that time, countries such as Sweden, Finland, England, Serbia,

Croatia, Hungary, the United States, Australia, and New Zea-

land began to pay considerable attention to this issue [3]. En-

ergy plantations are those that have a harvest turnover of 2 to

Correspoding author: Ol'ga Kunickaya, Yakut State Agricultural Academy, Yakutsk, Russian Federation, E-mail: kunickaya_ol@ram-

bler.ru

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2020, Volume 4, Issue x, Pages: 1385-1393

fertility of these lands [8]. Similar results have been obtained

for long-term monitoring and evaluation of shale quarries in

Estonia [9]. Thus, the development and application of targeted

reforestation strategies are relevant in terms of economic and

environmental issues associated with increased carbon dioxide

emissions into the atmosphere and intensive logging of natural

forests.

time. A universal indicator of the qualitative forest manage-

ment process that considers all the differences in natural and

productive conditions of the forest area location can be deter-

mined based on the concepts of "ecological efficiency" and "en-

ergy quality".

Problem Setting

Unfortunately, almost no co-educational forest plantations

for growing the target timber were initiated on the territory of

the Russian Federation until now. However, there is a great ex-

perience in creating forest shelterbelts for agricultural lands, es-

pecially in the regions of Krasnodar Krai, as well as creating

fire spacings in the forests. For example, for improving fertile

soils in the Kuban, large-scale activity has been carried out on

protective forestation since 1949 [10], and as of 2013, the area

of such plantations in the region was 122778.5 ha. Fire breaches

are created by planting deciduous strips in coniferous forests,

and after felling, the main part of the logging site begins to

overgrow intensively with deciduous species of trees. Forest re-

generation with hardwoods contributes to diminishing inten-

sive burning and spread of the fire area in the initial stage of a

forest fire [11]. Therefore, target forest plantations can be cre-

ated both for obtaining target timber (fuel, balances, saw logs)

and achieving environmental effects.

In terms of negative climate change, environmental pollu-

tion, increasing overcrowding, frequent droughts and crop fail-

ures, food shortages and clean drinking water shortages, and

quickly evolving migration processes in this regard, the issue

of sustainable and efficient land use is becoming increasingly

important. Thus, more and more forest land is being used for

agricultural crop planting after harvest. The principal differ-

ence between plantations of forest and traditional crops is the

duration of the harvest, its size, as well as the fact that in forest

plantations, a wide range of useful products, including fruits of

forest plants and shrubs, mushrooms, etc. can be obtained for

the turnover of felling [12]. It should be noted that conventional

forest management significantly differs from agricultural pro-

duction, which is mostly designed for the production of mono-

cultures on certain areas, i.e. separate areas are allocated for

animal husbandry, separate for annual and perennial monocul-

tures, and the collection of products is usually performed at a

certain time — the time of maturity of the harvest. In this case,

the main difference of a natural forest is that a wide range of

useful products can be obtained in one area at different times

that provide multiple benefits for the livelihoods of local com-

munities, as well as regional and national economies [13]. For

example, a study on the economic benefits of target plantations

and reforestation in China shows that it depends on such factors

as population density, gross forest output, forest area, crop area,

and area burned by forest fires. Positive correlations with forest

plantations had areas planted with crops and population density

depending on the region and the main activity performed in this

region [14]. This information is also important when develop-

ing reforestation and target plantation projects. The willingness

to adopt energy plantations is influenced, in particular, by farm-

ers' and foresters' perceptions of the potential for continued

profitability and flexibility in managing land resources. The

widespread adoption of targeted plantations requires a range of

socio-economic benefits, flexibility in land management, and

sustainable land use [15].

Exploitable forests, as well as agricultural land, are ecosys-

tems with natural and artificial energy subsidies. As in agricul-

ture, additional energy subsidies are spent on growing and har-

vesting various types of forest care, forest use, and delivery of

products to consumers. It should also include energy costs for

all types of preparation, especially transport routing. By anal-

ogy with productivity in agriculture, the harvested wood can be

estimated by the energy required for its treatment. The purpose

of this work was to develop a comprehensive methodology for

assessing the energy effect, to model the process of plantation

considering the soil type, tree species, and technical parameters

of the operating machines. To achieve the set goal, it is neces-

sary to perform the following tasks using mathematical model-

ing: (a) to develop a methodology for assessing the efficiency

of forest management based on the energy effect; (b) to create

a decision-making system that allows selecting units for ex-

ploiting forest tree plantations at maximum profit; and (c) to

create a system for making optimal decisions on the choice of

the target species, composition and the amount of fertilizer ap-

plied, as well as technology for the preparation of seeds or seed-

lings.

Methods and materials

To evaluate the energy consumption required for wood har-

vesting, the method of measuring the energy intensity of the

logging operations developed by the scientific school "Ad-

vances in lumber industry and forestry" is used in this work

[16].

The difference between the energy production costs (energy

consumption for all phases of forest management) and energy

value (energy intensity) of these products will show the abso-

lute ecological effect of the process, i.e., its optimality. That is:

푊_푝_푟− 푊_푐_표_푛_푠= 푊_푒_푓_푓

(1)

where Wpr is the energy intensity of forest products; "Wcons is

costs required for all phases of receiving forest products; "Weff

is the energy effect of the forest management process. Another

requirement of the universal quality indicator for the forest

management process can also be presented:

ꢀ

ꢁꢂ

⇒ 푚푎푥.

However, when assessing the quality of the forest manage-

(2)

ꢀ

ꢃꢄꢅꢆ

ment process by the proposed criterion, the indicators of energy

intensity of forest products and the costs for all phases of ob-

taining forest products should be reduced to a single denomina-

tor based on the principle of improving the quality and decreas-

ing the amount of energy in the chain of its transfer. To predict

and analyze the dynamics of energy intensity required for trunk

wood harvesting, the following comparative calculation was

performed within the frameworks of methodology develop-

ment for assessing the efficiency of forest management by the

energy effect. The proposed comparison characterizes the en-

ergy intensity of coniferous and softwood plantations. It is

known the relationship between the age of the secondary forest,

average tree height, trunk diameter, and a number of trees per

hectare (single-age undisturbed plantations) and the yield class.

This information was used to obtain approximate dependencies

Considering the productivity of ecological systems, the

process of industrial production of agricultural products is cy-

clical and results in the appearance of a certain number of var-

ious products. In forest biogeocenosis, as in most other biolog-

ical communities, the process of production is continuous in

time, so the products should be attributed to the selected unit of

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2020, Volume 4, Issue x, Pages: 1385-1393

for determining the wood stock per hectare of forest-covered

areas depending on the age of the timber stand. Afterward,

using the recommendations for determining the wood density

in the air-dry state, the obtained dependencies were converted

into the air-dry wood mass distributed on 1 hectare of forest-

covered area. Thus, the formula for determining the energy

value of trunk wood per 1 ha of the area obtained using the data

on the ratio between the calorific value of the wood mass unit

and its moisture content (depending on the species) is as

follows (GJ/ha):

plantations from poplar clones, the scheme of 3.0x0.5 m is

employed. At that, the distance between the tree rows of 3 m is

chosen based on what is the most suitable in terms of the

parameters of applied machines for the plantations care and

machines for the chips preparation, and the distance of 0.5 m

between the trees is most suitable for maximum yield of

phytomass and is optimal for manual care of trees. Germinated

and not germinated seeds, cuttings, seedlings, and nurslings can

be used as planting material. The cuttings are carved out of

quality branches and usually have a length of 20 cm, while for

certain species, this length reaches 1-3 m. The cuttings are

soaked in water 24 hours before planting. Planting of cuttings

can be performed either by landers or manually.

ꢏ1

]ꢌꢇꢈꢇ1ꢇ2

(

ꢊꢈꢊ1ꢊ3+ꢊ2)⋅ꢋ

ꢇꢈꢇ1ꢇ2 푒ꢉ푝[

ꢊ1

푊 (푡) = 퐴 {

}

(3)

푝푟

(ꢊꢈꢊ1ꢊ3+ꢊ2)⋅ꢋ

ꢇꢈꢇ1ꢇ3ꢍꢇ2 푒ꢉ푝[ ꢌꢎ]

ꢊ1

In both cases, compaction of the soil around the cuttings is

mandatory as a prerequisite for the formation of a quality root

system. For cuttings, the planting is possible only in spring,

while planting from germinated cuttings can be carried out both

in early spring and autumn. Based on the scientific and design

developments of the Hungarian specialists, a scope of special

forestry machinery for the energy plantation of planting cut-

tings was created [4]. For example, a single or multi-row cut-

tings planting machine with a sliding plowshare without a feed

gearbox (Fig. 1), twinned (one or 2-3 pairs) cuttings planting

machine with a sliding plowshare without a feed gearbox (Fig.

Afterward, the empirically determined coefficients

included in the formula (3) for different species were calculated

Table 1). For growing the specified timber yards, e.g., for use

as fuel, such tree planting parameters as row spacing and tree

spacing are selected depending on the technical parameters of

the harvesting machine complex and the type of plantation. The

distance between rows of trees is 2.5–3 m due to the use of

specific harvesting equipment. Consequently, from 5000 to

(

0000 seedlings can be planted on 1 hectare, and this number

varies depending on the quality of soil, growing time, and an

available fleet of harvesting machines. For example, for energy

), or a two-row cuttings planting machine with a semi-auto-

matic push-up feeding system (Fig. 3), etc.

Table 1: Regression model factors (3) for determining the energy intensity of forest products (trunk wood) as a function of timber

stand age and yield class

Factor

Species

Yield class

I (Ic)

II (Ib)

III (Ia)

IV (I)

V (II)

VI (III)

VII (IV)

VIII (V)

IX (Va)

I (Ic)

II (Ib)

III (Ia)

IV (I)

0.9

0,9

45.268

40.75

0.6883

0.596

0.5104

0.4303

0.348

0.0225

0.0239

0.0249

0.0229

0.0201

0.0209

0.022

0.0273

0.0337

0.0322

0.0326

0.0334

0.036

35.723

31.966

28.536

24.057

19.948

15.141

11.143

47.588

42.902

38.279

33.741

29.036

24.32

19.545

15.617

12.375

37.24

33.785

29.805

26.68

21.172

16.688

13.526

40.485

37.197

33.071

28.012

23.763

19.513

0.5282

1.1244

0.2615

0.186

0.1258

0.0772

0.4045

0.3538

0.2999

0.2375

0.1708

0.1196

0.0802

0.0511

0.0353

1.1125

0.8575

0.6116

0.4244

0.2726

0.1639

0.0942

2.4002

1.6509

1.0526

0.6504

0.4005

0.2451

V (II)

0.1692

0.1371

1.4654

VI (III)

VII (IV)

VIII (V)

IX (Va)

II (Ib)

III (Ia)

IV (I)

V (II)

VI (III)

VII (IV)

VIII (V)

I (Ic)

II (Ib)

III (Ia)

IV (I)

0.038

0.0398

0.0438

0.0419

0.0146

0.0108

0.0146

0.017

0.0268

0.0343

0.0399

-0.015

-0.007

0.0106

0.027

0.9

0.95

1.5369

1.7243

.0884

V (II)

VI (III)

0.0355

0.0372

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2020, Volume 4, Issue x, Pages: 1385-1393

Figure 1: Single-row planter for cuttings planting

Figure 2: Planter for cuttings planting in one twinned row

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Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2020, Volume 4, Issue x, Pages: 1385-1393

with the maximum felling turnover of 8-15 years is planted.

Elaborating such types of plantations results in obtaining fuel

chips and technological wood. Depending on the age of the har-

vesting (felling turnover), the target energy forest plantations

are classified into the following groups: (a) short (cutting turn-

over of up to 5 years); (b) medium (cutting turnover of 5-10 or

0-15 years); and (c) long (cutting turnover of 10-20 or 15-30

years).

Figure 3: Planter (two-row) with semi-automatic push-up feeding sys-

tem for energy plantations

The methods of mathematical modeling and optimization

are proposed to solve the set tasks.

Results and discussion

Assessing the accumulation of wood energy value

The graphs in Fig. 4 are constructed according to formula

(3) with the application of empirically determined factors and

show the dynamics of accumulating energy value of trunk

wood on 1-hectare area (by the example of II yield class for

aspen and birch and I yield class for the other species consid-

ered). Thus, by the maturity age of deciduous tree species (60

years), they accumulate more energy than conifers, whose ma-

turity age is much higher, especially for willow. Afterward, the

energy reserves of the soft-wood species decrease due to over-

maturity and increasing tree mortality. The reforestation of co-

niferous stands after the final felling requires significant energy

costs for the soil preparation and production of the planting ma-

terial in case of artificial reforestation, while softwood species

have twice as smaller felling turnover. Therefore, in terms of

ecological (energy) efficiency of forest management, it is pref-

erable to make a crop rotation, alternating in time coniferous

trees with softwood ones. Target energy plantations are divided

into two main types. The first type is energy plantations of tree

species on a coppice basis, the main difference of which is

planting a significant number of seedlings (12-15 thousand

pcs./ha). At that, the maximum age of cutting is 2-5 years.

When using this type, the main purpose of the plantation is to

produce a phytomass of wood in the form of fuel chips. The

data on the mass accumulation of energy wood in a completely

dry state, or atrophies for three tree species, are given in Table

Figure 4: Accumulating the energy value of trunk wood per 1-hectare

area (on the example of II yield class for aspen and birch and I yield

class for other species considered)

and illustrated in Figure 5. The second type is the energy tree

plantations of trunk origin, i.e., with planting trees at each rota-

tion. In this case, the fast-growing tree species are planted,

which most correspond to the available soil quality in the high-

est possible quantity. Usually, 8-10 thousand pieces per hectare

Figure 5: Mass accumulation of energy wood in absolutely dry condi-

tion: 1) poplar; 2) willow; 3) acacia

Table 2: Mass accumulation of energy wood in absolutely dry condition

Poplar

Acacia

Willow

Age

Optimal location

Accumulated

Optimal location Accumulated

Optimal location

Accumulated

of growing

at/ ha/years

yields

at/ha

of growing

at/ha/years

yields

at/ha

of growing

at/ ha/years

yields

at/ha

years

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2020, Volume 4, Issue x, Pages: 1385-1393

Assessing technological requirements for exploitation of tar-

get plantations

care, which consists in creating optimal conditions for the

growth of the target tree species. At this stage, cultivators, ma-

chines for additional fertilization, machines for controlling tree

species pests, e.g., sprayers, hand pruners, etc. are used; (d)

Harvesting the grown crop and logging, when the specified

turnover of felling is achieved. At this stage, different techno-

logical equipment is used, depending on the purpose and size

of the grown wood. When growing structural or balance wood,

a system of machines for logging operations consists of har-

vester and forwarder, or felling and packaging machines, as

well as skidder and processor. For small areas and reserves, the

chainsaws and harvester, or combination of chainsaws, har-

vester and processor in the upper stage are applied. For energy

wood (thin wood, respectively), the felling and chopping ma-

chine, or mulch and skidder are used. (E) The last stage of the

technological chain is clearing of the plantation from the vege-

tation remainders, collection of cutting residues, dressing or

shredding of stumps, roots, and re-cultivation of the land for

transfer to other uses, or the return to the first stage, i.e., prepa-

ration of the site for a new cycle of target cultivation of forest

plantations.

For planting and maintaining energy plantations according

to the technical characteristics of the planting machines, the fol-

lowing requirements must be considered. The dimensional

characteristics of the single-row cuttings plantation scheme are

as follows (Fig. 6): row spacing is 1.5–2.8 m and the spacing of

cuttings is 0.4–1.0 m. Dimensional characteristics of the twin-

row cuttings planting scheme (Fig. 7) are as follows: row spac-

ing is 2.0-2.8 m, the spacing of cuttings is 0.4-1.0 m, and the

twin-row spacing is 0.6-0.8 m.

To meet these conditions in Hungary, a team of employees

[4] has developed the BGT-ETG-E machine system, which can

perform all the necessary operations. These machines and

equipment allow planting with different spacing between rows

of trees. Also, this system includes soil tillage equipment, seed

drills, planting machines, and care machines. At target refor-

estation, the careful choice of the target species, cutting turno-

ver, composition and quantity of fertilizers applied, as well as

technology for preparing seeds or seedlings is required. The

technological cycle of exploiting the forest plantation can be

divided into stages: (a) preparing the site for planting (sowing)

of wood species. This stage involves mainly the preparation of

soil, in some cases, preliminary clearance of the site from

stumps. The technological equipment used in this process in-

cludes pullers, mulchers, plows, harrows, harrows, rippers,

soil-cutters, etc. (b) Planting (sowing) of woody crops depend-

ing on the selected species for target forestry. At this stage,

planting machines, seeders, rollers, etc. are used. (c) Planting

Each step requires a set of operations to be performed. Op-

erations can be performed by various units at different costs,

performance, energy efficiency, and technical availability. An

assembly will be considered as a set of machines and equipment

designed to perform a specific operation. Depending on the soil

type, contamination, and target species, a set of operations is

assigned to each stage. A set of possible machine units and

equipment is assigned for each operation.

Figure 6: The scheme of planting is one-row

Figure 7: The twin-row planting scheme

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Model for optimized selection of technological parameters

The mathematical model describing the rationale of tech-

nologies and the choice of parameters for the machine’s opera-

tion at timber enterprises is based on the following assump-

tions. Some works are seasonal, e.g., planting. The equipment

for these works is idle most of the time. Other works are de-

pendent on weather conditions and may continue most of the

year. Accordingly, there can be several options for the selection

and operation of machines and equipment. It should be noted

that one operation can be performed by different units and one

machine or equipment unit can be used to perform different op-

erations. For example, it is possible to install different types of

attachments on a tractor: plows, pullers, stump cutters, spray-

ers, manipulators, mulching machines, etc. Consequently, dif-

ferent operations can be performed with one machine [17]. The

following designations are to be presented:

where 퐷 is quite high constant (a number, which is higher than

any other possible value of the variable 푧 );

푖푗

푥 ≥ 푏 푧 , ꢗ ∈ 푄, ꢓ ∈ 푀, ꢔ ∈ 푁.

(10)

푞

푞푖 푖푗

In such a mathematical model, the target species for plan-

tation are assumed as selected, and the amount of wood grown

on the site is known accordingly. The cost of providing a suffi-

cient percentage of profit should be determined as well. Other-

wise, a change is required, e.g., in the target species.

Principle of modular machine’s system construction

Machines and technological equipment are used periodi-

cally and consistently when creating target forest plantations.

This, in turn, assumes that the system of machines in the pro-

cess of target reforestation is optimally created according to the

modular principle similar to the layout of machinery systems of

agricultural production. It should be noted that different time

intervals are allocated for different types of work in the same

area, i.e., if to bring the productivity of all operations to a single

denominator, hectares of the target forest area, their productiv-

ity can be different. The principle of modular construction of

the machine system consists of the division into three types of

modules: energy, technological, and transport. Energy modules

are tractors of different traction class, providing with energy the

performance of workers, mixed, and transport operations. For

the latter, the issue should be considered only within the area

allocated for the target forest plantation with a loading platform

ꢐ is number of stages; 푁 is indices multitude of technological

operations; 푁 is indices multitude of technological operations

ꢑ

for the stage 푡, 푁 ⊂ 푁, 푡 = ꢒ, … , ꢐ; 푀 is indices multitude of

ꢑ

machine’s assembly; 푄 is indices multitude of machine and

equipment units; 푅 is relation that defines the connection be-

tween technological operations and the units performing them,

푅 ⊂ 푀 × 푁; 퐴 is relationship matrix 푅, which consists of ele-

ments 푎 , ꢓ ∈ 푀, ꢔ ∈ 푁, where 푎 = ꢒ, if operation ꢔ can be

푖푗

performed by the equipment unit ꢓ and 푎 ꢓꢕ ꢖ, otherwise; 퐵 is

푖푗

matrix, that consists of elements 푏 , ꢗ ∈ 푄, ꢓ ∈ 푀, where

푞푖

푏_푞_푖= ꢒ, if the equipment unit ꢓ includes a machine or a facility

ꢗ and 푏_푞_푖= ꢖ, otherwise. Exogenous variables (input parame-

ters): 푆 is square of the area (ha); 푤_푖_푗is unit efficiency ꢓ ∈ 푀 at

(upper storage) at it. When creating and operating forest plan-

tations, transport modules should carry out delivery of seeds or

seedlings to the place of sowing (planting), as well as the deliv-

ery and application of fertilizers, pesticides, etc., and skidding

of harvested wood biomass and cuttings residue. Technological

modules, in their turn, provide soil preparation, seeds or seed-

lings embedding, loosening, as well as other necessary forestry

operations like cutting and treatment of cultivated woody and

shrub vegetation. Based on the different purposes of the mod-

ules, the criteria for optimizing their parameters and perfor-

mance will also vary.

performing technological operation (ha/h) ꢔ ∈ 푁; 푇 is critical

ꢑ

time for one stage 푡, 푡 = ꢒ, … , ꢐ; ꢘ_푞is cost of one equipment

^uⁿⁱ^t^ꢗ^∈^푄^.^Eⁿ^d^o^g^eⁿ^o^u^s^v^a^rⁱ^a^b^l^e^s⁽^uⁿ^kⁿ^o^wⁿ^m^o^d^e^l^s⁾^:^푥푞 is

number of units of type ꢓ used in technological cycle ꢗ ∈ 푄; 푦_푖_푗

is binary variable equal to 1, if the equipment unit ꢓ is used for

technological operation ꢔ ∈ 푁 and 0 – otherwise, ꢓ ∈ 푀; 푧_푖_푗is

number of units of type ꢓ used for technological operations ꢔ ∈

푁, ꢓ ∈ 푀. Target function is minimal costs for equipment and

machines:

For the overall machine’s system layout, it is highly desir-

able to have as few modules as possible, at least in terms of

reducing the required capital investment. It is well known that

one of the criteria for the optimal choice of machine system is

that the most expensive machine, or equipment, would have the

maximum load. That is, any equipment must pay off itself and

still bring profit during the time of resource development. The

criterion of the energy module optimality is the correspondence

of power unit (engine) capacity and concentration of energy on

the needs of technological and transport modules working with

it. If a large and powerful tractor will be equipped with a small

trolley to transport the necessary cargo, or cultivator with a

small grip, the energy efficiency of such a system will be ex-

tremely low, if not negative. Alternatively, by using a tractor

with a small traction class and an engine power greater than

required to perform the technological or transport operation at

a given speed, the operation will either not be completed at all

interrupting, thus, the entire process chain, or the operation will

eventually be completed, but the operational schedule will be

disrupted. In turn, the amount of power consumption of the

technological or transport module will depend on the forces of

resistance and speed of operations to be performed. The speed

of executing the operations will depend on the required produc-

tivity. Resistance forces will depend on several factors, and, of

course, the type of operations performed. For example, when

cultivating stumps - on the composition, moisture, and physical

and mechanical properties of the soil, as well as the thickness

of the cultivated soil layer, the width of the working surface of

∑_푞_∈_ꢙꢘ 푥 → min,

(4)

푞

The scope of work on every stage should be performed

completely:

∑_푖_∈_ꢚ푤 푧 푇 ≥ 푆, ꢔ ∈ 푁 , 푡 = ꢒ, … , ꢐ,

(5)

푖푗 푖푗

ꢑ

For every operation, one type of equipment should be cho-

sen:

∑_푖_∈_ꢚ푦_푖_푗= ꢒ, ꢔ ∈ 푁,

(6)

All operations should be performed on specified equip-

ment:

ꢖ ≤ 푦_푖_푗≤ 푎 , ꢓ ∈ 푀, ꢔ ∈ 푁,

(7)

(8)

(9)

푖푗

The number of equipment used is integer:

^푦푖푗^–^ꢓ^ꢐ^푡^ꢛ^푔^ꢛ^ꢜ^,^ꢓ^∈^푀^,^ꢔ^∈^푁^,

Units are complemented only for planned operations:

^ꢖ^≤^푧푖푗 ≤ 퐷푦 , ꢓ ∈ 푀, ꢔ ∈ 푁,

푖푗

391

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2020, Volume 4, Issue x, Pages: 1385-1393

the site, the quality of execution and maintenance of the work-

ing bodies of soil cultivation facilities. When harvesting the

grown wood biomass - on the breed, moisture, wood tempera-

ture, quality of execution, and service of technological equip-

ment – chainsaws or disk cutter. The results of this work are

original and valuable from a practical point of view and can

help forest and farm households to assess the effectiveness of

the target tree species in terms of soil type. It is also important

to evaluate the choice of techniques and technological solutions

that can be provided by the modeling considering the technical

parameters of the equipment. The works Marinov and Jor-

danova [18, 19] present the results of the study of some logging

machines` characteristics with a multi-purpose forest cultivator

during the excavation of poplar areas in north-western Bul-

garia. As indicated, optimal conditions for high productivity at

shredding stumps with a diameter of up to 65 cm, as well as

cleaning debris and milling soil depths up to 0.5 m were estab-

lished for a tractor PT-400 with a cultivator FAE 300 / S con-

sidering technical parameters and fuel consumption. A similar

study evaluated the costs and revenues of poplar plantations in

Serbia, where trees were cultivated on different types of soils

under similar planting conditions [20]. The results also demon-

strate differences depending on soil type and socio-economic

level in the region. These works are in good agreement with the

results of this research, which also indicates the importance of

different aspects in the target forest plantation to make this type

of economy and environment more attractive.

The sustainability of targeted plantations not only ensures

a constant profit but also provides sustainable management of

arid and semi-arid forests and areas to create new forests on

barren landscapes. According to a study of dry forests in Tur-

key [21], the increase in agricultural land, fires, and intensive

deforestation have resulted in a 26% reduction of forest area

between 1945 and 2014. The practice of target planting and re-

forestation also demonstrates high economic development and

ecological level in the abandoned farms of Brasilia [22], semi-

arid areas of China [23], Spain [24], etc. Besides, according to

Ersson [5], mechanized tree planting is a promising method in

terms of economic efficiency through training, planting plan,

and technology development. An analysis of the productivity

of the Swedish and Finnish forest industries shows that the

technical improvement of planting machines increases eco-

nomic efficiency, even if yields do not increase. It points to the

importance and value of developing the scientific and techno-

logical potential to generate not only the energy value of the

product but also the technologies and techniques for growing.

this work provide a valuable contribution both from a scientific

and experimental point of view. The obtained mathematical

model of target planting optimization can be applied in forestry

and agricultural complexes. The developed methods can be

studied for other types of planting systems used in other coun-

tries, which allows for further research in this area.

Acknowledgments

The work was carried out within the confines of the scien-

tific school “Advances in lumber industry and forestry”.

Ethical issue

Authors are aware of, and comply with, best practice in

publication ethics specifically with regard to authorship

(avoidance of guest authorship), dual submission, manipulation

of figures, competing interests and compliance with policies on

research ethics. Authors adhere to publication requirements

that submitted work is original and has not been published

elsewhere in any language.

Competing interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest that

would prejudice the impartiality of this scientific work.

Authors’ contribution

All authors of this study have a complete contribution for

data collection, data analyses and manuscript writing.

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