The forest-wood supply chain is a chain made up of activities that cover the entire forest organization, with forest uses, logging and transport of timber, and the forest processing industry up to the final use. Each phase can make independent decisions generating often entails a series of inefficiencies that could be filled thanks to scientific research that offers techniques useful for improving the performance of the individual activities in the supply chain, but also for improving the interconnection between them. This Ph.D. research aimed to provide information on the current reality that characterizes the forest sector of the Calabria Region, focusing on the different aspects of the forest-wood supply chain, with the aim of support the supply chain through a progressive process dissemination, among forestry entrepreneurs, of the knowledge of the most modern and rational techniques and technologies of forest use. The results can contribute to suggest decision support tools useful to forestry workers can operate with greater economy and respect for the environment as well as strengthen the level of innovation of companies to make them more competitive on the market without compromising the functionality of the forest. In this Ph.D. thesis, a five-step experimental procedure was set up by performing in sequence the following activities: (i) Determine productivity by different kinds of machines comparing specialised and non-specialised in the forestry mechanization (with greater attention paid to the situation in Calabria and Romania where the research period abroad was carried out); (ii) Evaluate environmental impacts of forest utilization focusing on soil compaction during skidding operation; (iii) Develop of Non-Destructive Technologies (NDT) that can predict intrinsic wood proprieties of individual standing trees and assessing wood quality; (iv) Study of a Calabrian forest company from the point of view of suitability and gaps for obtaining forest certification; (v) Valorise of Calabrian wood. The first activity revealed that the use of specialized forestry machines, compared to adapted farm tractors, were more efficient. However, it would be advisable to make improvements in the organization of construction sites, such as intensifying the road network, training skilled operators in the use of particular machines, coordinating the team more effectively. Although the impacts of forest uses on the soil are unavoidable, the study conducted in the second activity has shown that, however, it is possible to mitigate the effects by choosing the appropriate machines for the case, increasing the contact surfaces with the ground, reducing the transported load. The results obtained with the third activity, from the NDT survey conducted on standing chestnut trees, have shown that sonic tomography is able to identify various defects in a tree trunk, including the ring shake, without affecting its biological activity, overcoming the difficulties of forecasting linked only to visual inspection. The fourth activity conducted on forest certification highlighted that the company under study, interested in adhering to the FSC® principles and criteria, is potentially suitable, as it has characteristics of forest management that meet specific environmental protection and equity requirements, social and economic efficiency, as defined by the chosen national reference standard. With the fifth activity, tests were conducted on traditionally seasoned and heat-treated wood of three different forest species from Calabrian woods to determine the variation of some characteristics due to heat-treatment. The results obtained demonstrated that the strength performance in response to screw withdrawal and the resistance to surface abrasion are lower in the heat-treated samples. Furthermore, the heat-treated wood has undergone colour variations acquiring darker shades, and even greater surface roughness, compared to the original wood.
La filiera foresta-legno è una filiera composta da attività che coprono l'intera organizzazione forestale, con le utilizzazioni boschive, l’esbosco e il trasporto del legname, e l'industria di trasformazione forestale fino ad arrivare all'uso finale. Ogni anello della filiera può prendere decisioni autonome generando spesso una serie di inefficienze che potrebbero essere colmate grazie alla ricerca scientifica che offre tecniche utili per migliorare le prestazioni delle singole attività nella filiera, ma anche per migliorare l'interconnessione tra di esse. Questo dottorato di ricerca si propone di fornire informazioni sulla realtà attuale che caratterizza il comparto forestale della Regione Calabria, concentrandosi sui diversi aspetti che la filiera foresta-legno abbraccia, con l'obiettivo di valorizzare detta filiera attraverso un processo di diffusione progressiva, tra gli imprenditori forestali, della conoscenza delle più moderne e razionali tecniche e tecnologie di utilizzo forestale, affinché i lavoratori possano operare con maggiore economia e rispetto per l'ambiente, nonché rafforzare il livello di innovazione delle aziende, strettamente legate alle risorse forestali locali, per renderle più competitive sul mercato senza compromettere la funzionalità del bosco. In questa tesi di dottorato di ricerca, è stata sviluppata una procedura sperimentale suddividendo le attività in cinque fasi: (i) Determinare la produttività mediante diverse tipologie di macchine, confrontando specializzate e non specializzate nella meccanizzazione forestale (con maggiore attenzione alla situazione in Calabria e Romania dove si è svolto il periodo di ricerca all'estero); (ii) Valutare gli impatti ambientali delle utilizzazioni forestali concentrandosi sulla compattazione del suolo durante le operazioni di esbosco; (iii) Sviluppo di tecnologie non distruttive (NDT) in grado di prevedere le proprietà intrinseche del legno dei singoli alberi in piedi e di valutare la qualità del legno; (iv) Studio di un'azienda forestale calabrese dal punto di vista dell'idoneità e delle lacune per l'ottenimento della certificazione forestale; (v) Valorizzazione del legno calabrese. La prima attività ha rivelato che l'uso di macchine specializzate, rispetto a trattori agricoli adattati, era più efficiente. Tuttavia, sarebbe opportuno apportare miglioramenti nell'organizzazione dei cantieri, come l'intensificazione della rete stradale, la formazione di lavoratori qualificati all'uso di particolari macchine, il coordinamento più efficace della squadra ed in generale delle attività del cantiere. Nonostante gli impatti delle utilizzazioni forestali sul suolo siano inevitabili, lo studio condotto nella seconda attività ha dimostrato che è possibile mitigarne gli effetti scegliendo le macchine adatte al caso, aumentando le superfici di contatto con il suolo, riducendo il carico trasportato. I risultati ottenuti con la terza attività, dall'indagine NDT condotta su alberi in piedi di castagno, hanno dimostrato che la tomografia sonora è in grado di identificare vari difetti in un tronco d'albero, compresa la cipollatura, senza intaccarne l'attività biologica, superando le difficoltà di previsione legate alla solo ispezione visiva. La quarta attività svolta sulla certificazione forestale ha evidenziato che l'azienda oggetto di studio, interessata ad aderire ai principi e criteri FSC, è potenzialmente idonea, in quanto presenta caratteristiche di gestione forestale che rispondono a specifici requisiti di tutela ambientale ed equità sociale ed economica, così come definiti dalla certificazione forestale scelta. Con la quinta attività sono state condotte prove su legni tradizionalmente stagionati e termotrattati di tre diverse specie forestali provenienti da boschi calabresi per determinare la variazione di alcune caratteristiche dovuta al trattamento termico. I risultati ottenuti hanno dimostrato che le prestazioni di resistenza in risposta all'estrazione di una vite e la resistenza all'abrasione superficiale sono inferiori nei campioni trattati termicamente. Inoltre, il legno termotrattato ha subito variazioni di colore acquisendo tonalità più scure, e anche maggiore rugosità superficiale, rispetto al legno originale.
Innovations in the forestry sector to optimize and enhance the forest wood supply chain in the Calabria region / Cataldo, Maria Francesca. - (2021 Oct 18).
Innovations in the forestry sector to optimize and enhance the forest wood supply chain in the Calabria region
Cataldo, Maria Francesca
2021-10-18
Abstract
The forest-wood supply chain is a chain made up of activities that cover the entire forest organization, with forest uses, logging and transport of timber, and the forest processing industry up to the final use. Each phase can make independent decisions generating often entails a series of inefficiencies that could be filled thanks to scientific research that offers techniques useful for improving the performance of the individual activities in the supply chain, but also for improving the interconnection between them. This Ph.D. research aimed to provide information on the current reality that characterizes the forest sector of the Calabria Region, focusing on the different aspects of the forest-wood supply chain, with the aim of support the supply chain through a progressive process dissemination, among forestry entrepreneurs, of the knowledge of the most modern and rational techniques and technologies of forest use. The results can contribute to suggest decision support tools useful to forestry workers can operate with greater economy and respect for the environment as well as strengthen the level of innovation of companies to make them more competitive on the market without compromising the functionality of the forest. In this Ph.D. thesis, a five-step experimental procedure was set up by performing in sequence the following activities: (i) Determine productivity by different kinds of machines comparing specialised and non-specialised in the forestry mechanization (with greater attention paid to the situation in Calabria and Romania where the research period abroad was carried out); (ii) Evaluate environmental impacts of forest utilization focusing on soil compaction during skidding operation; (iii) Develop of Non-Destructive Technologies (NDT) that can predict intrinsic wood proprieties of individual standing trees and assessing wood quality; (iv) Study of a Calabrian forest company from the point of view of suitability and gaps for obtaining forest certification; (v) Valorise of Calabrian wood. The first activity revealed that the use of specialized forestry machines, compared to adapted farm tractors, were more efficient. However, it would be advisable to make improvements in the organization of construction sites, such as intensifying the road network, training skilled operators in the use of particular machines, coordinating the team more effectively. Although the impacts of forest uses on the soil are unavoidable, the study conducted in the second activity has shown that, however, it is possible to mitigate the effects by choosing the appropriate machines for the case, increasing the contact surfaces with the ground, reducing the transported load. The results obtained with the third activity, from the NDT survey conducted on standing chestnut trees, have shown that sonic tomography is able to identify various defects in a tree trunk, including the ring shake, without affecting its biological activity, overcoming the difficulties of forecasting linked only to visual inspection. The fourth activity conducted on forest certification highlighted that the company under study, interested in adhering to the FSC® principles and criteria, is potentially suitable, as it has characteristics of forest management that meet specific environmental protection and equity requirements, social and economic efficiency, as defined by the chosen national reference standard. With the fifth activity, tests were conducted on traditionally seasoned and heat-treated wood of three different forest species from Calabrian woods to determine the variation of some characteristics due to heat-treatment. The results obtained demonstrated that the strength performance in response to screw withdrawal and the resistance to surface abrasion are lower in the heat-treated samples. Furthermore, the heat-treated wood has undergone colour variations acquiring darker shades, and even greater surface roughness, compared to the original wood.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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