1. Introduction

Forests cover about 4.0 billion hectares in the world. All decisions and/or actions adopted in order to preserve, to conserve, and to harvest forests and trees within them Bettinger et al. [1] Grebner et al. [2] are expression of the forest management. It is also defined as a tool that forest-owners use to achieve social, economic, and environmental targets or also to implement sustainable forest management. Two of the following approaches characterize forest management:


The first approach concerns primary forest area, while the second is adopted in modified forests, planted forests, and other areas with trees that consist of 2.7 billion hectares (Figure 1) of the global forest area. For the modified forests, one of the most relevant actions is stand management. This management is

Using the Italian forest system as background, this topic has been developed in

A complementary relation exists between FLOs and LCs (Figure 2). FLOs are

mechanization level, from an economic and financial point of view, would not be justified if the FLOs manage periodically small forest area, as the majority of FLOs in Europe. According to these evidences, FLOs entrust this job to specialized units, such as LCs, which have machines, technologies, materials, and workers with the knowledge of timber transformation process. Finally, LCs have proper knowledge to achieve the highest market price, given the market situation and the current

Wood It is the hard, fibrous, and structural tissues, composed of chains of cellulose,

firewood, and as other bio-based products.

Price It is the amount of money that a buyer and a seller agree at the end of a

It is all decisions and/or actions related to the stand.

Forest utilization It is the action usually developed from the LC. Selected trees are felled and

processed to obtain marketable timber.

It is the mode by which forest management is implemented.

Timber It is the term to identify products obtained from the trunk, branches, and roofs of

Value It is an amount (or datum) expressed in monetary metric, produced by experts or

which forms the main substance of the trunk, branches, and roots of trees or

trees, at any stage after the tree has been felled. It includes the raw material, also known as rough timber or the processed material, used for construction, as

negotiation to exchange between goods for money. In particular, there are a buyer willingness to pay and a seller willingness to accept in order to exchange the property right of goods and services. That information is collected specifically

single individuals, using simple or complex elaborations, with the support of higher or lower technologies. Given a market price if it was subjected to any elaboration, example timber market price (€) multiply by quality (ton), the result

It is all decisions and/or actions adopted in order to preserve, conserve, and use

responsible overtime for the stand management. Silvicultural managements implemented during forest lifetime have influence on timber and nontimber products. However, FLOs normally do not have resources and knowledge to implement silvicultural management by themselves and sell timber products. The high investments needed for achieving an efficient and technological

Relationship between forest land owners and logging companies. Source: Our elaboration.

Operative Machinery Costs Analysis within Forest Management Implementation Frame

order to provide an international dimension.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87572

shrubs.

from the market.

is a value [€ ton].

forests and trees within them.

economic trends.

Forest management

Stand management

Table 1.

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Silviculture management

Glossary of the terms used in the chapter.

Figure 2.

Figure 1. The 4.0 billion hectares of forest area in the world articulated for anthropization categories (data 1000 hectares). Source: FAO (2015).


This action satisfies the aims of both forest landowners (FLOs) and logging companies (LCs). Using silvicultural criteria and proper manners, FLOs quantify the intervention in order to ensure the perpetuity of ecosystem (long-term vision) given by the forest's natural renovation capacity. LCs' point of view concerns the wood fraction exploitable (stand removal), which is the main output in timber transformation chains (short-term view). In the sustainable economic development policy, forests assume relevant roles [3]. That can be shortly explained as follows:


Operative Machinery Costs Analysis within Forest Management Implementation Frame DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87572

#### Figure 2.

• necessary, given the alteration (structural and compositional) these ecosystems

• functional, to ensure the ecosystem perpetuity and guarantee overtime forest ecosystem services that influence the well-being of the humankind; and

• appropriate, in order to increase the resilient capacity of ecosystems currently under strong pressure due to socio-economic activities, climate change, and

This action satisfies the aims of both forest landowners (FLOs) and logging companies (LCs). Using silvicultural criteria and proper manners, FLOs quantify the intervention in order to ensure the perpetuity of ecosystem (long-term vision) given by the forest's natural renovation capacity. LCs' point of view concerns the wood fraction exploitable (stand removal), which is the main output in timber transformation chains (short-term view). In the sustainable economic development policy, forests assume relevant roles [3]. That can be shortly

• Timber is the main tangible output compared to other nontimber products.

• Forest ecosystems guarantee regulative ecosystem services related to climate

• Forest ecosystems are areas where individuals or groups can live important social and sensorial experiences and increase their knowledge on natural life

• Timber in itself is an ecosystem service provider that provides bio-based

change contrast strategies and other global degradation processes.

resources and also biomass for clean energy production.

have recorded over the centuries due to human activities;

The 4.0 billion hectares of forest area in the world articulated for anthropization categories

other global and local disturbance processes.

• Wood is a renewable natural resource.

explained as follows:

Figure 1.

(data 1000 hectares). Source: FAO (2015).

Timber Buildings and Sustainability

processes.

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Relationship between forest land owners and logging companies. Source: Our elaboration.

Using the Italian forest system as background, this topic has been developed in order to provide an international dimension.

A complementary relation exists between FLOs and LCs (Figure 2). FLOs are responsible overtime for the stand management. Silvicultural managements implemented during forest lifetime have influence on timber and nontimber products. However, FLOs normally do not have resources and knowledge to implement silvicultural management by themselves and sell timber products. The high investments needed for achieving an efficient and technological mechanization level, from an economic and financial point of view, would not be justified if the FLOs manage periodically small forest area, as the majority of FLOs in Europe. According to these evidences, FLOs entrust this job to specialized units, such as LCs, which have machines, technologies, materials, and workers with the knowledge of timber transformation process. Finally, LCs have proper knowledge to achieve the highest market price, given the market situation and the current economic trends.


#### Table 1.

Glossary of the terms used in the chapter.

Regardless of how stand management is entrusted to LCs, one of the mandatory steps is to determine the related costs. In dedicated literature [4–6], this topic is solved considering the operative cost only. However, differences exist between the type of costs and the calculation method, while transaction and overhead costs and revenues are not considered at all.

• Sale: with which the property transfers to the LCs the property rights of the

Operative Machinery Costs Analysis within Forest Management Implementation Frame

• Contract: with which the FLOs entrust through the acquisition of LC services, the forest harvesting operations, while they maintain the timber ownership

• Economy: where the FLOs, in particular the public ones, decide to carry out the work in-house, using the own property, in particular machinery, other tools,

Regardless of the regime, the entrustment can be done in terms of the following:

• Purchase all timber at fixed price: LC undertakes to carry out the intervention at the agreed and invariable price respecting the identified unit and following

technical indications from the project and the subsequent notes of the

• Based on a fixed price for unit: regime that requires the commitment by the property to pay the intervention at the fixed price per unit (usually volume or area), as well as the commitment by the company to quantify ex-post the

• Mixed, partly defined at fixed price, and partly on the fixed price for unit.

• for the FLOs: to certify that they have fulfilled all procedures necessary to obtain the authorization to carry out the silvicultural intervention and all provisions have been transposed in area (boundaries of the forest area under management have been marked, trees that shall be fell are also marked, etc.). Documents produced and received must be available to the LCs, which will be used at the end for monitoring the correctness of developed activity; and

• for the LCs: to be aware of the territorial unit where they must operate, the characteristics of the stand and the area, as well as the nature of the

of the technical and technological complexity level of the silvicultural

Evaluation processes require relevant technical information such as: (a) the forest areas in which the stand involved in the management activity is located; (b) the timber volume that should be felled; and (c) the type of marketable products

If the stand of volume, silvicultural intervention, and felled timber are expressed

in cubic meter, among them, the following relation subsists:

silvicultural intervention to be implemented. The LCs certify to be fully aware

intervention, to be aware of the appropriate methods to carry it out, as well as to have availability of equipment, workers, and materials necessary for its

• These aspects are usually clearly stated in the contract. Further mutual

forest stand destined to be felled

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87572

and forest workers enrolled

competent institutions.

volume or the area.

fundamental obligations are:

execution in due time.

2.2.1 Entity of the volume removal

2.2 Technical aspects

that could be obtained.

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In the 1990s, the reducing impact logging (RIL) technique [7, 8] was introduced in the tropical region. It was defined as an "Intensively planned and carefully controlled implementation of harvesting operations to minimise the impact on forest stands and soils, usually in individual tree selection cutting" [9, 10]. The main idea was to adopt a more rational and structured method for forest exploitation. So far, new transaction and overhead cost were introduced in the forest management. More recently, according to the social and environmental relevance of forests, in many countries, forest management is strongly influenced by decisions of forest institution. The main institutions concern the: (a) introduction of forestry and environmental laws and rules; (b) introduction of administrative procedures for safeguarding forest public interest; (c) definition of roles and responsibilities for the economic subjects involved in the transformation process; and (d) redaction of the accidental risks and promotion of high health standards to forest workers.

The main assumptions adopted in the contribution concern economic subjects, operators, and capitals (workers, machines, material, etc.) involved in the transformation processes. Each of them must be paid for the performances provided. Technical and legal aspects are presented as background, while the core is based on the introduction of transformation steps, from being trees of the forest ecosystem to becoming market products. Timber production is one of the ecosystem services of forest ecosystems. Using the analytical approach, costs and revenue have been identified for each technical centrum of expenditure. Dedicated presentation and information have been provided on calculation method and data sources; however, in Table 1, a glossary of the main controversial terms has been developed.
