Land and Forest Iceland Staff attended a Forest Roads Course

The three day course was led by Norwegian expert Fredrik Løvenskiold, who is involved in the planning of forest roads in Norway. The course was organised by the Icelandic Forester's Association in cooperation with the Agricultural University of Iceland.

A lot of interest

Forest cover in Norway makes up roughly 33% of the country’s total land area, and there is a deep-rooted tradition of using wood and timber products. To use timber from a mature forest, the trees must be cut down and transported for further processing. The more cubic meters that can be transported at once, the better; otherwise, the transport costs will be too high and time-consuming. Transporting heavy timber loads requires specialised timber trucks. When fully loaded, these trucks require forest roads that can withstand the axle load. Planning and construction of such roads are very important, and various factors must be considered to ensure smooth timber transportation during commercial felling of the trees.

Most of the forests in Iceland are still young and have, at best, only reached the early thinning stage. However, first thinning for wood processing has taken place in some national forests in Iceland, and even the second thinning has occurred. Only a few final cuts have been made. It is important to consider forest roads in Icelandic forests that are wide enough, have the right grade, and have sufficient load-bearing capacity so that timber trucks can move in and pick up the timber without problems. Considering that the course at Hvanneyri was fully booked, there is no doubt that interest in these matters among Icelandic forestry professionals and forestry students is high. Thirty people participated, including nine forestry consultants from the Cultivation and Yields Division of Land and Forest Iceland, plus two other members of staff of the organisation.

Consider the ultimate objective

In forest road planning, several things need to be considered. Of course, you need to look at landscape characteristics such as elevation lines, waterways, and the road system already in place. You also need to consider which parts of the forest will yield the best timber because we want to have the shortest possible route to the most valuable resources. It is advisable to consider whether you have the possibility of sharing roads with neighboring lands, as well as whether you have local access to road-building materials and more. An important topic to keep in mind as well are the limitations on how up to 25-meter-long and tens-of-tons-heavy timber trucks can operate in a forest. The road must be four meters wide, and the gradient must not exceed 12% with an empty truck and 10% with a fully loaded one. Bends must not be too steep. Thus, a road suitable for quad bikes while transporting seedlings in the initial phase of forestry can be entirely inaccessible for timber transport when it comes to the harvesting phase. When designing forest roads in Norway, Frederik Løvenskiold needs to assess the landscape under the trees to lay out the most convenient route possible. A wood-cutting machine then removes all the trees in the planned route before the actual road construction work can begin. In Iceland, it is common to start forestry projects on treeless land. At that stage, it is easy to see the shape of the land. In such cases, it is wise to look to the future and envision the forest roads that will accommodate the large timber trucks fetching the valuable yields of the forestry efforts.

Initially, it is crucial to consider the ultimate objective. Time dedicated to preparation and data collection is well-invested if it obviates the necessity to rebuild roads due to inadequate bend-widths, excessively steep ditch sides, overly steep slopes, and badly prepared water ways, to name a few. This course in forest road planning is therefore highly appreciated and will be a great resource to forest rangers, forestry consultants, forest owners and forest-work contractors.

Source and images: Sigríður Hrefna Pálsdóttir