Editing Cut-to-length logging

[[File:Tree harvester.jpg|thumb|Tree [[Harvester (forestry)|harvester]] doing cut-to-length logging<br> ([https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tree%20harvester.webm Click for video])]]
[[Image:Log forwarder.jpg|thumb|Forwarder]]

'''Cut-to-length logging''' ('''CTL''') is a mechanized harvesting system in which trees are delimbed and ''cut to length'' directly at the [[tree stump|stump]].<ref name="timberline">{{cite web |title=Tennessee Logging Family Sticks with Change to Cut-to-Length |url=https://timberlinemag.com/2023/10/tennessee-logging-family-sticks-with-change-to-cut-to-length/ |website=Timberline Magazine |access-date=5 February 2024 |date=30 October 2023}}</ref> CTL is typically a two-man, two-machine operation with a [[harvester (forestry)|harvester]] felling, delimbing, and [[Log bucking|bucking]] trees and a [[forwarder]] transporting the logs from the felling to a landing area close to a road accessible by [[truck]]s.<ref name="ponsse">{{cite web |title=The cut-to-length method |url=https://www.ponsse.com/cut-to-length#/ |website=[[Ponsse]] |access-date=5 February 2024}}</ref><ref name="kotrba">{{cite web |last1=Kotrba |first1=Ron |title=Workhorses of the Woods |url=https://biomassmagazine.com/articles/workhorses-of-the-woods-13266 |website= Biomass Magazine |access-date=5 February 2024}}</ref>

CTL is the primary logging method in European countries,<ref name="forests"/> while [[full-tree logging]] and the even older technique of [[tree-length logging]] are more popular in [[North America]] and less developed countries, where tree sizes can exceed the capacity of the harvester's felling head, i.e., tree stems with a butt diameter of over 90 centimeters.{{cn|date=February 2024}} CTL lends itself to timber harvesting in [[Plantation|plantation forestry]] where stems are often harvested before they reach large dimensions.<ref name="forests">{{cite journal |last1=Spinelli |first1=Raffaele |last2=Magagnotti |first2=Natascia |last3=De Francesco |first3=Fabio |last4=Kováč |first4=Barnabáš |last5=Heger |first5=Patrik |last6=Heilig |first6=Dávid |last7=Heil |first7=Bálint |last8=Kovács |first8=Gábor |last9=Zemánek |first9=Tomáš |title=Cut-to-Length Harvesting Options for the Integrated Harvesting of the European Industrial Poplar Plantations |journal=Forests |date=14 September 2022 |volume=13 |issue=9 |pages=1478 |doi=10.3390/f13091478 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Advantages compared to full-tree logging==
*Cleaner wood since the logs are not [[skidder|skidded]] on the ground to the landing (in tree length more than full tree)
*More fresh wood (in tree length more than full tree)
*Less damage to retained trees in [[thinning]] operations
*Typically requires fewer types of machines in an operation
*No need to clear large landings close to the road
*Greater personnel safety due to enclosed/protected machine cabs
*More environmentally friendly due to:
**less [[soil]] disturbance than in skidding operations (if improper skidding practices take place) 
**no [[Slash (logging)|slash]] dumped at the landing
**higher retention of foliar nutrients within the harvested area

==Disadvantages compared to full-tree logging==
*Somewhat higher capital cost per [[volume]] when used in large scale clear cuts
*Use of more advanced technology requires more operator knowledge and training

==Cost==
The [[capital cost]]s for a typical CTL operation, with one harvester and one forwarder, are quite high. The price of a pair of machines alone are approx. [[US dollar|US$]]1,000,000.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

==See also== 
* [[Logging truck]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://mechmaxx.com/products/mechmaxx-24-cutting-wheel-stump-grinder-for-tractor-3pt-hitch-540-rpm-pto Stump Grinder]

{{Forestry}}

[[Category:Logging]]