Multiple-criteria stem bucking (Picea abies L. Karst.) for maximizing monetary value of timber trade

Teijo Palander, Joonas Mutanen, Kalle Kärhä, Juha-Antti Sorsa, Tapio Räsänen

cut-to-length method, forest industry, forest owner, multi-criteria analysis, stem bucking, wood procurement.

In this study, timber trade scenarios are considered in a wood procurement region of Finland. This multiple objective decision-making situation includes the timber purchase from forest owners and the lumber sales from sawmill to abroad. The situation is further complicated by a number of stem bucking instructions of sawmill during different periods. In practice, this decision problem has been solved by applying single-objective stem bucking instructions in harvesters. Due to the complex nature of the problem, single-objective solution can’t be directly used to support the timber trade in a manner that it is techno-economically relevant to the forest owners and industries. In this study, stand parameters and timber trade attributes were measured in local wood procurement conditions to improving the bucking instructions. Three scenarios of how the simulation system works based on the real stem diameters and optional monetary value of logs are investigated in the timber-trade process. The Finnish timber trade market is subjected to agreements regarding stem bucking regulations. These agreements could be made on the basis of the three criteria suggested in this study accounting for the effects of stand classification on the timber sales of forest owners and the lumber sales of export companies.

10.22161/ijaers.5.3.23