In recent years, rapid changes related to forest operations have been observed in the forestry sector in Poland. A growing number of harvesters, an increased volume of harvested timber and a larger proportion of broadleaved species are considered the most important. The objective of this paper was to recognise the dynamics of harvester fleet change in Poland. In particular, there was an emphasis on finding out: 1) the total number of harvesters currently used in Poland (with respect to regions), 2) where and what type of machines were bought, and 3) which main factors influence the occurrence of these machines. In January 2014, a survey was sent to all forest districts. Questions related to harvesters and relevant for this paper included information about: 1) the number of harvesters in use, 2) the serial number of each harvester, 3) place of purchase (within the country or abroad), 4) status of the machine when bought (new or used), and 5) the forest district, in which an open tender was won for 2014. To avoid double counting the same harvester working in two or more forest districts, the serial number of each machine was used for identification. There were 368 harvesters reported in the survey in early 2014, although at the end of 2015 this number rose to 530 machines. The Central−West, North−West and North of Poland had the highest number of harvesters. Most of the harvesters were bought as used, though there may be a growing trend towards the purchase of new machines. A strong correlation was observed between the number of machines used in a region and the total area of lowland coniferous sites and forests, as well as the volume of harvested merchantable softwood. Currently, private forests and broadleaved species are the main factors limiting the application of harvesters in Poland.
JavaScript jest wyłączony w Twojej przeglądarce internetowej. Włącz go, a następnie odśwież stronę, aby móc w pełni z niej korzystać.