FORE205-17S1 (C) Semester One 2017

Introduction to Forest Engineering

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 20 February 2017
End Date: Sunday, 25 June 2017
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Friday, 3 March 2017
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Friday, 19 May 2017

Description

History of logging and reasons for harvesting. Steps in the harvesting process; common equipment use in forest operations; machine capabilities and limitations. Developing harvesting systems, including ground-based, cable and helicopter. Introduction to harvest planning and forest roads; machine costing and system productivity. Environmental and safety aspects of forestry operations; the Resource Management Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Forest hydrology; with a focus on minimising impacts of operations on water quality.

Forest Engineering covers many of the operational aspects of working with forest resources, whereby this course focuses on providing an introduction to harvesting and harvesting systems, roading, environmental best management practices, safety and planning harvesting operations. The course starts with a history of logging and provides reasons for harvesting, including possible economic and environmental benefits. An important focus is learning the steps in the harvesting process and the associated equipment used with machine capabilities and limitations. These include ground-based, cable and helicopter systems and also covers machine costing and system productivity estimation. An overview of forest construction is also given.

To successfully carry out forest engineering operations a person must have a very good understanding of both environmental and safety aspects of forestry operations. In this course we will cover the development of both, as well as review the relevant legislation being the Resource Management Act and the Health and Safety at Work Act respectively.

The culmination of the course is the development of a harvest plan that takes all of the above elements into consideration.

Learning Outcomes

  • The student will:
  • Understand the importance of timber harvesting, including historical developments.
  • Be able to describe the steps in the harvesting process, including alternatives for each step.
  • Know the key factors and variable needed to develop a basic harvest plan.
  • Understand the importance of both safety and protection of the environment in forest operations.
  • Understand the importance of the hydrological cycle as it relates to water quality and forest operations

Prerequisites

Subject to approval of the Chair Board of Studies

Restrictions

FORE305, ENFO343, FORE578

Course Coordinator

For further information see School of Forestry Head of Department

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage 
System Costing 5%
Harvesting Practices Presentation 5%
Group Project 15%
Mid-Term Test 25%
Mid-Year Examination 50%

Textbooks / Resources

There are no prescribed text books for this course. Lecture handouts and other relevant reference sources are provided throughout the course via Learn.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $919.00

International fee $4,275.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see School of Forestry .

All FORE205 Occurrences

  • FORE205-17S1 (C) Semester One 2017