A study of dimensional and quality characteristics of sawlogs of the Vologda region

Abstract

Abstract Following the results of 2019, in the Vologda region harvested 16.9 million m3 of roundwood. Active forest utilization, combined with insufficient road construction, has led to the depletion of the forest resource base at an economically accessible distance from the timber enterprises. The purpose of the study is to assess the potential of wood resources and analyses the dimensional and quality characteristics of roundwood utilized as sawlogs at the sawmills of the Vologda region. As a result of the research, the following has been found out: the average diameter of harvested assortments, the parameters of curvature and taper depending on the apical diameter of pine roundwood. The following parameters have been evaluated: the diameter of the log, curvature, and taper of the roundwood. The studies were carried out by the photometric method. The established dimensional and quality characteristics of round timber allow us to conclude that sawmills in the Vologda region involve wood that has not reached the age of ripeness into industrial utilization, as a result of the depletion of the forest resource base near the infrastructure facilities. Termination of logging on leased areas occurs when the average diameter of the harvested raw material decreases to 13 cm.