Basic Steps in Timber Harvesting

Harvesting timber is a complex process of interconnected activities. The purpose of the harvest is defined by the resource manager’s prescription for the stand. All of the harvesting functions have to be organized and operated to achieve the prescription while extracting the most value from the material that will be removed. Harvest planning is the first step in the process, and a good plan defines the types of operations that will follow. Actual on-the-ground activity begins with access development by extending roads to the harvest area and constructing landings where the material will be processed and loaded. With access established, felling commences. After trees are on the ground, some degree of processing may take place before the wood is extracted to the landing. Trees may be delimbed, bucked, or topped in the woods. In some harvesting systems, felled material may be bunched into larger piles before extraction. Wood moves from stump to landing in some form of an extraction process. At the landing, further processing may occur, and the wood is sorted and loaded for transportation to a wood-using facility.