View source for Logging

{{Short description|Process of cutting, processing, and moving trees}}
{{about|cutting, processing, and moving trees|electronic recording of events|Logging (computing)||Log (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Felling a gumtree c1884-1917 Powerhouse Museum.jpg|thumb|A Eucalyptus (''[[Eucalyptus]]'') being felled using springboards, {{circa|1884–1917}}, Australia]]
[[File:McGiffert Log Loader c. 1907.jpg|thumb|McGiffert Log Loader in [[East Texas]], US, {{circa|1907}}]]
[[File:Winter in Montgomery, circa 1880s - DPLA - a85550daf546d80511282cac549cefaa.jpg|alt=Lumber under snow in Montgomery, Colorado, 1880s|thumb|Lumber under snow in Montgomery, Colorado, 1880s]]
'''Logging''' is the process of cutting, processing, and moving [[tree]]s to a location for [[transport]].  It may include [[skidder|skidding]], on-site processing, and loading of trees or [[trunk (botany)|logs]] onto [[logging truck|trucks]]<ref name="dictionaryofforestry.org">[http://dictionaryofforestry.org/ Society of American Foresters, 1998. Dictionary of Forestry.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725234528/http://www.dictionaryofforestry.org/ |date=2011-07-25 }}</ref> or [[flatcar#Skeleton car|skeleton cars]]. In [[forestry]], the term logging is sometimes used narrowly to describe the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the [[forest]], usually a [[sawmill]] or a [[lumber yard]]. In common usage, however, the term may cover a range of forestry or [[silviculture]] activities.

Logging is the beginning of a supply chain that provides raw [[material]] for many products societies worldwide use for [[housing]], [[construction]], [[energy]], and consumer [[paper]] products. Logging systems are also used to manage [[forest]]s, reduce the risk of [[wildfire]]s, and restore [[ecosystem]] functions,<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite journal|last1=Keifer|first1=Matthew|last2=Casanova|first2=Vanessa|last3=Garland|first3=John|last4=Smidt|first4=Mathew|last5=Struttmann|first5=Tim|date=2019-04-03|title=Foreword by the Editor-in-Chief and Guest Editors|journal=Journal of Agromedicine|volume=24|issue=2|pages=119–120|doi=10.1080/1059924X.2019.1596697|issn=1059-924X|pmid=30890041|s2cid=150081506}}</ref> though their efficiency for these purposes has been challenged.<ref>'Logging emits three times as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per acre as wildfire alone. Most of the tree parts unusable for lumber – the branches, tops, bark and sawdust from milling – are burned for energy, sending large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. In contrast, wildfire releases a surprisingly small amount of the carbon in trees, less than 2 percent. Logging in U.S. forests is now responsible for as much annual greenhouse gas emissions as burning coal.'  Chad Hanson, Michael Dorsey,  [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/30/opinion/california-wildfires-oak-fire-yosemite-sequoias.html  'The Case Against Commercial Logging in Wildfire-Prone Forests,'] [[New York Times]]  30 July  2022.</ref>

Logging frequently has negative impacts. The harvesting procedure itself [[Illegal logging|may be illegal]], including the use of corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission or from a protected area; the cutting of protected species; or the extraction of timber in excess of agreed limits.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.illegal-logging.info/ |title=Illegal Logging.Info |access-date=2011-04-25 |archive-date=2019-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602143705/https://www.illegal-logging.info/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> It may involve the so-called "[[timber mafia]]".<ref>[http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/forestry/420-136/420-136.html Virginia Tech: Dealing with Timber Theft] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081017123553/http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/forestry/420-136/420-136.html |date=2008-10-17 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26842098/ msnbc.com&nbsp;– Guilty pleas in cedar tree theft] September 23, 2008 {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Excess logging can lead to irreparable harm to ecosystems, such as [[deforestation]] and [[biodiversity loss]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Putz |first1=Francis E. |last2=Dykstra |first2=Dennis P. |last3=Heinrich |first3=Rudolf |date=2000 |title=Why Poor Logging Practices Persist in the Tropics |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2641994 |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=951–956 |doi=10.1046/j.1523-1739.2000.99137.x |jstor=2641994 |bibcode=2000ConBi..14..951P |s2cid=40156577 |issn=0888-8892|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2020-10-04 |title=Environmental hazards from logging |url=http://encyclopedia.uia.org/en/problem/132946 |website=The Encyclopedia of World Probems & Human Potential}}</ref> Infrastructure for logging can also lead to other [[environmental degradation]]. These negative environmental impacts can lead to [[environmental conflict]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> Additionally, there is significant occupational injury risk involved in logging.

Logging can take many formats. [[Clearcutting]] (or "block cutting") is not necessarily considered a type of logging but a harvesting or silviculture method. Cutting trees with the highest value and leaving those with lower value, often diseased or malformed trees, is referred to as [[high grading]]. It is sometimes called selective logging, and confused with [[selection cutting]], the practice of managing stands by harvesting a proportion of trees.<ref>[http://www.na.fs.fed.us/stewardship/newsltr/newsletter/04fall_stewardship.pdf Forest Matters: Just Say No to High Grading page 8] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926001227/http://www.na.fs.fed.us/stewardship/newsltr/newsletter/04fall_stewardship.pdf |date=September 26, 2007 }}</ref> Logging usually refers to above-ground forestry logging. Submerged forests exist on land that has been flooded by damming to create [[reservoir]]s. Harvesting trees from forests submerged by flooding or dam creation is called [[underwater logging]], a form of timber recovery.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tritonlogging.com/ |title=Triton Logging |access-date=2011-04-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110208120154/http://tritonlogging.com/ |archive-date=2011-02-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Clearcutting==
{{main|Clearcutting}}
[[File:Tree felling at Cwmcarn Forest, Ebbw valley, Wales.webm|thumb|Clearing 150,000 trees at Cwmcarn Forest, Ebbw Valle, Wales]]
Clearcutting, or clearfelling, is a method of harvesting that removes essentially all the standing trees in a selected area. Depending on management objectives, a clearcut may or may not have reserve trees left to attain goals other than regeneration,<ref name="dictionaryofforestry.org"/> including wildlife habitat management, mitigation of potential erosion or water quality concerns. [[Silviculture]] objectives for clearcutting, (for example, healthy regeneration of new trees on the site) and a focus on [[forestry]] distinguish it from [[deforestation]]. Other methods include [[shelterwood cutting]], [[selection cutting#Group selection|group selective]], [[selection cutting#Single-tree selection|single selective]], [[seed tree|seed-tree cutting]], [[patch cut]], and [[Variable retention (silvicultural system)|retention cutting]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

==Other logging methods==
[[File:Washington winch panorama.jpg|thumb|The [[Washington Iron Works Skidder]] in Nuniong is the only one of its kind in Australia, with donkey engine, spars, and cables still rigged for work.]]
The above operations can be carried out by different methods, of which the following three are considered industrial methods:

=== {{vanchor|Tree-length logging}} / stem-only harvesting ===
Trees are felled and then [[delimbing|delimbed]] and topped at the stump. The log is then transported to the landing, where it is [[log bucking|bucked]] and loaded on a truck. This leaves the [[slash (logging)|slash]] (and the nutrients it contains) in the cut area, where it must be further treated if wild land fires are of concern.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

==={{Anchor|Full-tree logging|Whole-tree logging}} Whole-tree logging===
[[File:Zrywka drewna w Masywie Śnieżnika PL.jpg|thumb|[[Horse logging]] in Poland]]
[[File:Larix3T.JPG|thumb|[[Cable logging]] in French Alps (cable grue Larix 3T)]]

Trees and plants are felled and transported to the roadside with top and limbs intact. There have been advancements to the process which now allows a logger or [[Harvester (forestry)|harvester]] to cut the tree down, top, and delimb a tree in the same process. This ability is due to the advancement in the style felling head that can be used. The trees are then delimbed, topped, and bucked at the landing. This method requires that slash be treated at the landing. In areas with access to cogeneration facilities, the slash can be [[Woodchipping|chipped]] and used for the production of electricity or heat. Full-tree harvesting also refers to utilization of the entire tree including branches and tops.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ceres.ca.gov/snep/pubs/web/PDF/VII_C44.PDF|last=Weatherspoon|first=C. Phillip|title=Fire-Silviculture Relationships in Sierra Forests|publisher=[[United States Forest Service]]|place=[[Redding, California]]|volume=II|pages=1167–1176|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926065633/http://ceres.ca.gov/snep/pubs/web/PDF/VII_C44.PDF|archivedate=September 26, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> This technique removes both nutrients and soil cover from the site and so can be harmful to the long-term health of the area if no further action is taken, however, depending on the species, many of the limbs are often broken off in handling so the result may not be as different from tree-length logging as it might seem.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

===Cut-to-length logging===
{{main|Cut-to-length logging}}

Cut-to-length logging is the process of felling, delimbing, bucking, and sorting ([[pulpwood]], sawlog, etc.) at the stump area, leaving limbs and tops in the forest. [[Harvester (forestry)|Mechanical harvesters]] fell the tree, delimb, and buck it, and place the resulting logs in bunks to be brought to the landing by a [[skidder]] or [[forwarder]]. This method is routinely available for trees up to {{convert|900|mm|abbr=on}} in diameter.

==Transporting logs==
[[File:1870-1880-Timber-floating-in-Vilnius.jpg|thumb|Timber floating in Vilnius, 1873]]
[[File:Logging with Belarus MTZ-82-L in Estonia 2021.webm|thumb|Logging with Belarus MTZ-82-L in Estonia 2021]]

Logging methods have changed over time, driven by advancements in transporting timber from remote areas to markets. These shifts fall into three main eras: the manual logging era before the 1880s, the railroad logging era from the 1880s to [[World War II]], and the modern mechanized era that began after the war.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lecture - Hank Johnston |url=https://californiarevealed.org/do/92cdbf57-68c4-48e1-91cb-4d37ae027962 |publisher=Sierra Historic Sites Association |date=April 27, 1980 |access-date=September 29, 2024 }}</ref>

=== Pre-1880s: Pre-Industrial Era ===

In the early days, felled logs were transported using simple methods such as rivers to float tree trunks downstream to sawmills or paper mills. This practice, known as [[log driving]] or [[timber rafting]], was the cheapest and most common. Some logs, due to high resin content, would sink and were known as deadheads. Logs were also moved with high-wheel loaders, a set of wheels over ten feet tall, initially pulled by oxen.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=T-QDAAAAMBAJ&pg=-PA66 "Wanted An-Inventor!" ''Popular Mechanics Monthly'', July 1930, pp. 66–70, see p. 67 middle photo]</ref>

=== 1880s to World War II: Railroad Logging Era ===

As the logging industry expanded, the 1880s saw the introduction of mechanized equipment like railroads and steam-powered machinery, marking the beginning of the [[Forest_railway|railroad logging]] era. Logs were moved more efficiently by railroads built into remote forest areas, often supported by additional methods like high-wheel [[Loader_(equipment)|loaders]], tractors and [[log flume|log flumes]].<ref name="Valley Flumes">{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date= |title=A look back at the history of the Valley's log flumes |url=https://abc30.com/sierra-nevada-central-valley-fresno-county/56206/ |work=ABC 30 (KFSN) |location=Fresno, California |access-date=November 19, 2022}}</ref> The largest high-wheel loader, the "Bunyan Buggie," was built in 1960 for service in California, featuring wheels {{convert|24|ft|m}} high.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=1CoDAAAAMBAJ&dq=popular+science+1930&pg=PA96 "Huge Logging Tractor Moves on Wheels 24 Feet High."] ''Popular Science'', June 1960, pp. 96–98.</ref>

=== Post-World War II: Modern Mechanized Logging ===

After World War II, mechanized logging equipment, including chainsaws, diesel trucks, and [[Continuous_track|Caterpillar tractors]], transformed the logging industry, making railroad-based logging obsolete. With the advent of these tools, transporting logs became more efficient as new roads were constructed to access remote forests. However, in protected areas like [[United States National Forest]]s and designated [[wilderness]] zones, road building has been restricted to minimize environmental impacts such as erosion in [[riparian zone]]s.

Today, heavy machinery such as [[yarder]]s and [[skyline logging|skyline]] systems are used to gather logs from steep terrain, while helicopters are used for [[heli-logging]] to minimize environmental impact.<ref>[http://forestry.com/blog/helicopter-logging-heli-logging/ Helicopter logging or Heli-logging] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090604093745/http://forestry.com/blog/helicopter-logging-heli-logging/ |date=2009-06-04 }}, Forestry.com</ref> Less common forms of logging, like [[horse logging]] and the use of oxen, still exist but are mostly superseded.<ref>{{citation|title=Animal logging in the US South and its application in the developing countries|publisher=[[FAO]]|url= http://www.fao.org/3/XII/0573-B1.htm}}</ref>

==Safety considerations==
Logging is a dangerous occupation. In the United States, it has consistently been one of the most hazardous industries and was recognized by the [[National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health]] (NIOSH) as a priority industry sector in the [[National Occupational Research Agenda]] (NORA) to identify and provide intervention strategies regarding occupational health and safety issues.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nora/councils/agff/default.html|title=CDC – NORA Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Sector Council|date=2019-02-10|website=www.cdc.gov|language=en-us|access-date=2019-03-14}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA"/>

In 2008, the logging industry employed 86,000 workers and accounted for 93 deaths. This resulted in a fatality rate of 108.1 deaths per 100,000 workers that year. This rate is over 30 times higher than the overall fatality rate.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/logging |title=NIOSH Logging Safety |access-date=2010-04-19|publisher=United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health}}</ref> Forestry/logging-related injuries (fatal and non-fatal) are often difficult to track through formal reporting mechanisms. Thus, some programs have begun to monitor injuries through publicly available reports such as news media.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Weichelt|first1=Bryan|last2=Gorucu|first2=Serap|date=2018-02-17|title=Supplemental surveillance: a review of 2015 and 2016 agricultural injury data from news reports on AgInjuryNews.org|url=http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/early/2018/02/16/injuryprev-2017-042671|journal=Injury Prevention|volume=25|issue=3|language=en|pages=injuryprev–2017–042671|doi=10.1136/injuryprev-2017-042671|issn=1353-8047|pmid=29386372|s2cid=3371442|url-access=subscription}}</ref>  The logging industry experiences the highest fatality rate of 23.2 per 100,000 [[full-time equivalent]] (FTE) workers and a non-fatal incident rate of 8.5 per 100 FTE workers. The most common type of injuries or illnesses at work include [[Human musculoskeletal system|musculoskeletal]] disorders (MSDs), which include an extensive list of "inflammatory and degenerative conditions affecting the [[muscle]]s, [[tendon]]s, [[ligament]]s, [[joint]]s, [[peripheral nerves]], and supporting [[blood vessel]]s."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rodriguez|first1=Anabel|last2=Casanova|first2=Vanessa|last3=Levin|first3=Jeffrey L.|last4=Porras|first4=David Gimeno Ruiz de|last5=Douphrate|first5=David I.|date=2019-04-03|title=Work-Related Musculoskeletal Symptoms among Loggers in the Ark-La-Tex Region|journal=Journal of Agromedicine|volume=24|issue=2|pages=167–176|doi=10.1080/1059924X.2019.1567423|issn=1059-924X|pmid=30624156|pmc=7008449}}</ref>  Loggers work with heavy, moving weights, and use tools such as [[chainsaw]]s and heavy equipment on uneven and sometimes steep or unstable [[terrain]]. Loggers also deal with severe environmental conditions, such as inclement weather and severe heat or cold. An injured logger is often far from professional emergency treatment.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

Traditionally, the cry of "Timber!" developed as a warning alerting fellow workers in an area that a tree is being felled, so they should be alert to avoid being struck. The term "[[widowmaker (forestry)|widowmaker]]" for timber, typically a limb or branch that is no longer attached to a tree, but is still in the canopy either wedged in a crotch, tangled in other limbs, or miraculously balanced on another limb demonstrates another emphasis on [[situation awareness|situational awareness]] as a safety principle.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Love |first=Joseph |title=Avoiding Widowmakers - Grit |url=https://www.grit.com/farm-and-garden/do-it-yourself/avoiding-widowmakers-zm0z17sozeva/ |access-date=2024-02-27 |website=www.grit.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

In British Columbia, Canada, the BC Forest Safety Council was created in September 2004 as a not-for-profit society dedicated to promoting safety in the forest sector. It works with employers, workers, contractors, and government agencies to implement fundamental changes necessary to make it safer to earn a living in forestry.<ref>[http://www.bcforestsafe.org/ BC Forest Safety Council]</ref>

The risks experienced in logging operations can be somewhat reduced, where conditions permit, by the use of mechanical tree harvesters, skidders, and forwarders.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Forestry: Guide to Managing Risks of Timber Harvesting Operations. |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3068683592 |access-date=2023-04-20 |website=Trove |language=en}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160
|height=170
|align=center
|File:Horse Logging.webm|Horse Logging in Wales
|File:Logging in North Vancouver.jpg|Log transportation by rail in British Columbia in 1920
|File:Joensuun kanava2.jpg|[[Timber rafting]] in [[Joensuu]] [[canal]], Finland, in 2009
|File:Houtverwerking op de rivier, anoniem, 1850 - 1890 - Rijksmuseum crop.jpg|Log transport in the [[Dutch East Indies]] (now [[Indonesia]]) {{circa|1870}}
|File:Logging in Finnish Lapland.jpg|Bucked old growth wood in Finland
|File:TJ harvesteri.jpg|[[Harvester (forestry)|Mechanical harvester]] at work
|File:Hardwood logs transported down Suriname river.jpg|Hardwood logs transported down the [[Suriname River]] in  South America in 1955
|File:Mexico logs.jpg|Logs in Mexico in  2018
}}

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
*[[Ark (river boat)]]
*[[Cable logging]], [[Skyline logging]]
*[[Deforestation]]
**[[Deforestation and climate change]]
*[[Forest railway]] or logging railroad
*[[Gravel road#Logging roads|Logging road]]
*[[Heli-logging]]
*[[Log driving]]
*[[Log scaler]]
*[[Lumberjack]]
**[[Lumberjack World Championship]]
**[[World Logging Championship]]
**[[Logging camp]]
*[[Logging in the Sierra Nevada]]
*[[Salvage logging]]
*[[Shovel logging]]
*[[Silviculture]]
*[[Timber rafting]]
*[[Wood industry]]
*[[Wood economy]]
*[[World Forestry Congress]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book
|last= Bryant |first=Ralph Clement
|title=Logging; the principles and general methods of operation in the United States
|url=https://archive.org/details/loggingprincip00brya
|place=New York |publisher=[[J. Wiley & Sons]]
|year=1913
}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Costa |first1=F. |last2=Magnusson |first2=W. |year=2002 |title=Selective effects on abundance, diversity, and composition of tropical understory herbs |journal=[[Ecological Applications]] |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=807–819 |doi=10.1890/1051-0761(2002)012[0807:SLEOAD]2.0.CO;2 }}
*{{cite journal |last1=Pinard |first1=M. A. |last2=Putz |first2=F. E. |year=1996 |title=Retaining forest biomass by reducing logging damage |journal=[[Biotropica]] |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=278–295 |doi= 10.2307/2389193|jstor=2389193 |bibcode=1996Biotr..28..278P }}
*{{cite journal |last1=Putz |first1=F. |last2=Sist |first2=P. |last3=Frederickson |first3=T. |last4=Dykstra |first4=D. |year=2008 |title=Reduced-impact logging: challenges and opportunities |journal=Forest Ecology & Management |volume=256 |issue=7 |pages=1427–1433 |doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2008.03.036 |url=https://naldc-legacy.nal.usda.gov/naldc/download.xhtml?id=21098&content=PDF |access-date=2018-04-29 |archive-date=2021-01-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126160219/https://naldc-legacy.nal.usda.gov/naldc/download.xhtml?id=21098&content=PDF |url-status=dead |url-access=subscription }}
*{{cite journal |last1=Shukla |first1=J. |last2=Sellers |first2=P. |last3=Nobre |first3=C. |year=1990 |title=Amazon deforestation and climate change |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=247 |issue=7 |pages=1322–1325 |doi= 10.1126/science.247.4948.1322|pmid=17843795 |hdl=10535/2838 |bibcode=1990Sci...247.1322S |s2cid=8361418 |hdl-access=free }}
*{{cite journal |last1=Sokal |first1=R. R. |last2=Gurevitch |first2=J. |last3=Brown |first3=K. A. |year=2004 |title=Long-term impacts of logging on forest diversity in Madagascar |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|PNAS]] |volume=101 |issue=16 |pages=6045–6049 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0401456101 |pmid=15067121 |pmc=395920|bibcode=2004PNAS..101.6045B |doi-access=free }}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Logging}}
{{Wiktionary}}
* [https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/logging/ National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health] – Logging safety
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180503013549/http://www.myminnesotawoods.umn.edu/2009/12/minnesota-timber-harvesting-publications-and-other-resource-links/ Publications on timber harvesting in Minnesota, US]. Many are applicable elsewhere.
* [http://www.eia-international.org/campaigns/forests/ EIA forest reports]: Investigations into illegal logging.


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[[Category:Forestry occupations]]