Masters Degrees (Forest and Wood Science)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Forest and Wood Science) by Author "Ackerman, Pierre Alexander"

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    An investigation into the shorthaul transport of pulpwood in South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2001-12) Ackerman, Pierre Alexander; Pulkki, R. E.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Faculty of Agrisciences. Dept. of Forest and Wood Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Ackerman PA. 2001. An Investigation into the Shorthaul Transport of Pulpwood in South Africa. M.Sc. in Forestry thesis. University of Stellenbosch. 178 pp Shorthaul transport also known as secondary intermediate transport (SIT), a unique feature of pulpwood transport in South Africa, is an additional transport phase within traditional secondary transport. SIT originates at a roadside landing or depot and terminates at another depot, rail siding or merchandising area (not the final destination). The reason for the addition of SIT into the transport chain is identified as the steady decline of forest road conditions to the extent that highway vehicles are unable to reach roadside landings, necessitating the use of intermediate storage sites, from where the timber is once again loaded and transported to final destination. An industry survey established that the decline of forest road conditions are related to excessively high road densities, insufficient funding for road maintenance/upgrading and the lack of understanding by landowners of the importance of maintaining forest road infrastructure. Total funding, by pulpwood companies on roads have shown an increase of R18.55 million from 1997 to 2000, however, subsequent surveys have indicated, that despite this increase in funding, the forest road conditions continue deteriorating. Of the total annual pulpwood intake of 9.39 million tonnes for 1998, 3.7 million tonnes are subject to SIT. Of this 3.7 million tonnes, 2.5 million tonnes are transported from stump to depot and 1.2 million tonnes are transported from landing to depot. The survey identified the agricultural tractor and semi-trailer as the most favoured transport system between stump or landing and depot, responsible for transporting 2.22 million tonnes annually. For 1998, manual loading and three wheel log loaders accounted for the loading of 0.6 and 2.1 million tonnes respectively of the 3.7 million tonnes subject to SIT. This survey information, assisted by newly developed terminology, was used to develop transport scenarios for the economic analysis of total cost of the different transport phases. A network analysis model and pixel-based geographic information system (GIS) were combined to analyse the various transport scenarios within three study areas in the KwaZulu/Natal Midlands, employing SIT on poor, high-density road networks. The simple pixel-based GIS contained information on the forest road network, surface cover and slopes. The results of the economic analysis highlighted the need for the reduction of road network density and for the improvement of the remaining network. This would eliminate the need for extended primary transport and allow the use of highway vehicles transporting from the compartment roadside to and past plantation exits. Results show an average annual cost penalty to the industry, by maintaining SIT, to be R43.25 million or R8.24/m3 . By not employing SIT the industry will potentially save R4.60 for every tonne of the 9.4 million tonnes consumed by the pulpwood processing plants during 1998. Key words: Network analysis. Pixel-based GIS. Timber transport. Secondary transport. Secondary intermediate transport. Secondary terminal transport. Extended primary transport. Primary transport. Dirichlet tessellations. Shorthaul. Note: Throughout this document a full stop (.) is used as a decimal separator.