Costs of logging thinnings and a clearcutting in Appalachia using a truck-mounted crane

Four timber cutting treatments-three levels of thinning and a clearcutting ---were applied on 60-year-old mountain stands of Allegheny hardwoods.The stands were logged by a three-man crew using chain saws and a truck-mounted crane.bogging operations were studied, and production rates determined for tree-length logs decked at roadside.Work efficiency and productivity of the logging crew were somewhat higher on the thinning operations than on the clearcut.Labor, equipment, and road construction costs were determined and applied to production rates.Comparison of logging costs among the four cutting treatments showed that the cost of wood decked at roadside was less for thinnings than for clearcutting.Silvicuitural and environmental consideralions of truck-crane logging are discussed.