felling small conifer regen to waste

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Morning all, here's a little question for you:

 

I've been asked to quote for some upland regen. clearance. We mainly do climbing work so this is a bit outside my comfort zone pricing wise.

 

The trees are spread out, all less than 15' high (the few that are more are to be brashed and ring-barked) some areas busy, whilst some there's nothing. All broadleafs are to be left.

 

Now I know without seeing the site any answers are at best pretty vague, but if I have a few answers and I consider them along with the site visit I did yesterday that will give me a better idea than had I not asked.

 

So, how many square meters do you think each chainsaw operator could do in a day? The ground is hard going upland boggy / heathery/ tufty grasses and bracen etc. Trees under 15' fell and leave, trees over 15' brash and ring-bark.

 

Thank T.

[s o c]

is it pine or spruce. how clear to walk through?

[Spruce Pirate]

What's to happen to them?

 

Are you just dropping them and leaving them? Drop and sned fully? Drop and partial sned to get them to lie flat? Cross-cutting into set lengths? Cross-cut into random lengths?

 

Do you have a rough stocking density? How much variation in size is there? Are you doing the ring-barking as well? - don't underestimate how long it takes to do it properly. Are you going to be expected to get any really small stuff that's regenerating as well - getting in to hand pulling and lopper work, very unpleasant and time consuming, also easy to miss trees and then have to re-visit to put right.

 

More questions than answer's I'm afraid

 

As far as very rough estimates go I'd guess anywhere between 0.2 and 1.0 ha per man day dependant on stocking density, size and spec.

 

Hopefully the busy bits balance out with the empty bits and you can average it out.

 

For the record, I always find these kind of jobs horrendously difficult to price.

[Tom D]

Is it on Mull?

[[email protected]]

Thanks guys,

 

It's not on Mull.

 

Spec is to drop and leave anything under 15', anything over 15' brash to chest height and ring-bark. Broadleaves left standing. Most is under or close to 15'. Some areas are very sparse others busy, it'll average out.

 

I don't think theres an expectation of us to be pulling up tiny stuff but that's a question I'll be asking.

[openspaceman]

 

Spec is to drop and leave anything under 15', anything over 15' brash to chest height and ring-bark. Broadleaves left standing. Most is under or close to 15'. Some areas are very sparse others busy, it'll average out.

 

Cannot help with pricing but when we did this in scots pine regen we cut at waist height and let the tree fall out of the canopy but still standing, and then moved on. The bigger stuff we ring barked but it was kept alive by root grafts. I have previously posted pictures of the ring barked trees showing diameter increment above the cut 20 years on.

[spuddog0507]

Hi been sorting some infected larch out on some simulare ground, ringbarked some and felled others, no snedding or cutting to lengh just brash of bottom 5 or 6 foot and fell as they are to be winched of next spring and we where getting £1.50 a tree, we averaged about 100-110 trees each a day,best day we had, one man brashing one man felling total 255 trees for the day 8 till 4.30pm.

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Like I say, most are less than 15' tall so single cut, push over and move onto the next.

 

I'm really trying to guage what sort of area can be covered in a day.

[rovers90]

Cannot help with pricing but when we did this in scots pine regen we cut at waist height and let the tree fall out of the canopy but still standing, and then moved on. The bigger stuff we ring barked but it was kept alive by root grafts. I have previously posted pictures of the ring barked trees showing diameter increment above the cut 20 years on.

 

Just as an aside and apologies to op, why would you ring bark and leave the trees standing 20 years??

[openspaceman]

[/b]

 

Just as an aside and apologies to op, why would you ring bark and leave the trees standing 20 years??

 

We cut the smaller stuff to fall out of the canopy, where the bigger stuff risked damaging the crop trees (beech trees which had become suppressed) we ringbarked in order to kill the pine standing. It didn't kill them even though the saw cut did completely ring the tree and they are still standing 20 years later (land was sold to LA for openspace and they ceased management) and most of the broadleaves have become suppressed in a predominantly pine woodland.

 

Picture at

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/picture-forum/65337-odd-thickening-cherry.html#post996098

 

showing suppressed beech in background

Edited August 11, 2014 by openspaceman