Assessment of procurement systems for unutilized logging residues for Brutian pine forest of Turkey

Abstract

This study examined the possibilities and feasibility of increasing the procurement of logging residues intended for bioenergy from forests in Turkey. The state of the art of potential procurement technology of logging residues was investigated to examine the purposes of configuring a supply system to harvest residues. The costs of wood chip production generated from logging residues were calculated applying economic simulation and estimation method with actual data. Three system scenarios were modeled for the procurement of logging residues left in the forest after clear-cutting operation with cutto- length harvesting method. The first and second systems were the roadside chipping with small and middle sized chipper and the third was the terminal chipping. The results showed that coarse logging residues can be available as firewood in traditional utilization manner, but a thin material is left in the forest because of high collection and extraction costs. However, it was found that the increasing demand for forest biomass as a bioenergy resource encouraged the use of logging residues. The lack of feasibility research and uncertainty on the supply system cost caused the refraining of state owned and private entrepreneurs. The feasibility study suggests that, roadside chipping with mid-sized chipper named as system-2 can be preferable for the initial supply chain configuration in Turkey. The procurement cost of forest chips varied from 47.99 to 76.80 $/t for the sample area. The utilization of logging residues could support energy resource, fuel reduction in forest floor, employment and site preparation.

Key words: logging residue, forest biomass, chipping, supply cost, biomass procurement, Turkish Forestry.