Forest cutting will be well-considered and more profitable with Timbro

Thoughtful and sensible forest cutting with Timbro

Forest cutting is a technically and planning-wise challenging process full of surprises, where unforeseen circumstances such as weather conditions, broken equipment or changes in roundwood prices require changing the forest cutting plan within an hour, so we follow each activity in detail from the first day of logging and make the necessary changes if circumstances require it. Taking into account the diverse experience of the consultants of the Timbro Rural Property Consulting Center in forest management, logging and timber sales, we are able to provide forest land owners with thoughtful and sensible forest cutting, where meticulous planning and supervision of all processes are carried out, observing all legal requirements, and deliver the highest possible benefit to forest owners.

Forest cutting with Timbro includes the following services:

• Determination of the value of the cutting area based on documentation and on-site inspection
• Preparation of documentation – forest inventory, forest management project, cutting area sketch, felling application, reports to the State Forest Service
• Coordination of storage areas
• Preparation of the property before forest cutting works – arrangement of boundaries and boundary markers, marking, timber scaling, surveying
• Preparation of assortment sheets
• Forest cutting - felling and wood delivery
• Logistics and roundwood sales
• Property arrangement – arrangement of ditches, roads and ruts

Forest cutting - possible types of felling

Forest cutting is possible by carrying out various types of felling, which are applicable when permitted by the Forest Law or unforeseen circumstances such as pests or natural disasters. Forest cutting helps to improve the quality of the forest stand and also to obtain roundwood from the forest land. Forest cutting mainly takes place using two main types of felling - main felling or tending felling. Tending felling is mostly used to improve the quality of the forest stand during the growth of the forest stand and at the same time already obtaining the first cubic meters of roundwood. On the other hand, when the forest stand has reached the felling age, then main felling is applied – clear cutting, gradual or selective cutting. It may happen that due to the impact of forest pests, forest animals or natural disasters, sanitary, reconstruction and landscape felling must also be carried out in the forest.

Main felling

Main felling is forest cutting when the felling age or diameter of the forest stand has been reached. This felling has 2 possible types of execution – clear cutting and gradual felling. Clear cutting is forest cutting where the forest stand is cut down in one go, where the clear cutting area may be from 2-5 hectares depending on the type of forest stand - in a dry pine forest, swampy forest, transitional forest, damp forest, greenwood forest and hardwood forest the maximum area can be 5 hectares, in other forest types no more than 2 hectares. After clear cuttings, it is mandatory to carry out forest regeneration - artificial planting of trees or allowing the forest stand to regenerate naturally within 5 years.

In rarer cases, gradual felling is carried out as the main felling. In this case, forest cutting takes place in several passes, where the aim is to achieve natural forest regeneration under the crowns of the remaining trees. The forest stand is completely cut down when the number of naturally regenerated trees is in accordance with the law to consider the forest stand as regenerated.

Main selective felling

Main selective felling is forest cutting that does not involve complete cutting down of the forest stand. Selective cutting is applied in forests of different ages, periodically cutting down a part of the forest stand that does not exceed the growth. Forest cutting with selective cutting stipulates that the cross-sectional area must not be reduced below the critical cross-sectional area. Selective cuttings are mostly used in cases where clear cutting is prohibited.

Tending felling

The main purpose of forest cutting using tending felling is to improve the growing conditions of the trees in the forest stand and to leave the desired and most profitable tree species. Tending felling is divided into 2 stages - tending of young stands and tending cutting of growing stock. Tending of young stands begins when low-quality tree species begin to suppress high-quality species and the desired tree species composition must be achieved, freeing up space for them to grow faster.

Tending cutting of growing stock

Forest cutting using tending cutting of growing stock makes it possible to obtain the first income. In younger forests, mostly less valuable assortments such as firewood and pulpwood will be obtained, while in older forests you will also get valuable assortments such as logs and veneer. There is no point in carrying out tending cutting of growing stock in forest stands older than 50 years, as it will no longer improve the growth productivity of the remaining trees.

Sanitary felling

Forest cutting using sanitary felling is possible if the forest stand has suffered from natural disasters, or pest and animal damage. Forest cutting in sanitary selective felling is carried out until the cross-sectional area of the remaining, healthy trees is greater than the critical cross-sectional area. On the other hand, if the cross-sectional area of healthy trees is less than the critical one, then the forest stand is cut down in sanitary clear cutting.

Reconstructive felling

Forest cutting using reconstructive felling is possible if there is an opinion from the State Forest Service that the cross-sectional area of the forest stand is below the critical value, or if the forest stand is irreversibly damaged as a result of pests, animals or diseases.

Forest cutting - delivery of roundwood to the storage area

An integral and very important part of forest cutting is the delivery of roundwood to the storage area, for which a forwarder is used. Of the forest cutting stages, roundwood delivery is often the most complex and challenging stage, so it is very important to study the property in nature before forest cutting and develop a well-thought-out roundwood delivery plan. This is such an important stage of logging because it can significantly affect the forest owner's profit. For example, in summer, it is critical to take softwood out as soon as possible, as softwood can get bluish even within 2 days if the weather is hot and sultry, therefore Timbro develops several roundwood removal strategies as far as possible, and also ensures that several forwarders are available if circumstances require it.

Forest cutting permit - measures to be taken to obtain a cutting permit

A forest cutting permit is obtained by submitting the necessary documents to the State Forest Service to receive a cutting permit. The application must indicate in which forest compartments and what type of cutting is planned. If you want to carry out sanitary felling, then the type of forest damage must be indicated in the application. In the case of main felling/clear cutting, it is mandatory to mark the cutting area and a cutting area sketch must be attached to the application, including the following information:

1. Property name
2. Cadastral number of the land unit
3. Indication of the north side
4. Location of the cutting area boundary contours and coordinates of the boundary points
5. Attachment to the quarter line, land unit boundary marker, route, ditch, cutting area, intersection of a forest infrastructure object or coordinates of the cutting area tops
6. Owner's details

You will not be able to obtain a forest cutting permit if there is no valid forest inventory/valuation. The valuation is valid for 20 years. If there is an intention to sell the cutting area at a cutting area auction, timber scaling must be carried out to know the exact volume of cuttable m3.