FPInnovations investigated the possibility of collecting real time temperature-altitude data that could be used to determine the stability of the atmosphere. Unstable atmospheric conditions have been associated with erratic and extreme fire behaviour. An increased awareness of atmospheric stability conditions would provide fire managers an additional tool to plan firefighting activities. A firefighting aircraft with a specific sensor was sourced and two years of data was collected and analysed to determine if temperature profiles could be built using the data. Results show the data was sufficiently accurate and was collected at a frequency where temperature lapse rates can be calculated, and the stability of the atmosphere in the area of a fire could be determined.
Hemlock can have higher moisture content than most other native trees, causing them to sink. Hemlock lumens have large pits (valves) that allow easy transport of water into the wood.
Bigger rings = bigger lumens. Younger hemlock or hemlock tops are more susceptible to sinking. The bigger the rings the more likely to take on water.
The current regeneration challenges posed by salvage logging following large-scale disturbances in western Canada, such as wildfire and mountain pine beetle, warrant the need for cost-effective reforestation strategies. Mechanized ground-based direct seeding was assessed in a variety of conditions to explore viability, determine which factors influence success, and determine the expected establishment rate when seeding with B.C. tree species. This report includes guidelines and recommendations for implementing direct seeding in B.C., based on observations from operational trials established in 2013-2017 across the province.
Harvest operations on soft soils can be particularly challenging in order to respect site and soil disturbance guidelines as well as operational requirements. To address the challenges of operating on soft soils, FPInnovations has worked on solutions designed to reduce disturbance on weak soils while minimizing implementation and investment costs by using machines already being used in the operation.
The Labrador Forest Management District (FMD) 19A with an annual allowable cut (AAC) of spruce from commercial harvest blocks of 165 000 m3/year is enough to meet the demand of a 40 M fbm/year sawmill (assuming sawmill efficiency factor of 4 m3/MFBM). The estimated average wood supply costs to access all the AAC wood from district 19A for Goose Bay is $58/m3 and Sheshatshiu at $63/m3 (9% price premium paid for wood deliveries to Sheshatshiu caused by the added transport distance of about 40 km per trip to complete the cycle time on average for truck loads). The scenario of a 40 M fmb/year sawmill would require at least 20 full time employees to run the wood supply chain and another 14 part time employees to build and maintain the road network.
The biggest challenges facing the forest sector currently are dealing with labour availability, maintaining a competitive fibre supply, and having flexibility in the supply chain to react quickly to market demands. Driven by the need to respond to these challenges, FPInnovations launched the Forestry 4.0 program.
Les plus grands défis actuels du secteur forestier concernent la disponibilité de la main-d’oeuvre, le maintien d’un approvisionnement en fibre concurrentiel et une flexibilité de la chaîne d’approvisionnement lui permettant de répondre rapidement aux demandes du marché. Pour relever ces défis, FPInnovations a lancé le programme Foresterie 4.0.
Par le biais du programme de Foresterie 4.0, FPInnovations cherche à amener l’accès Internet aux équipes de récolte afin d’améliorer la connectivité des opérations forestières. Pour ce faire, une mise en place d’un réseau local cellulaire en opérations forestières fut réalisée sur une période de trois semaines afin de contextualiser les avantages, les barrières au déploiement ainsi que les coûts. FPInnovations et Produits forestiers Résolu ont fait appel aux services d’Ambra Solutions pour la conception de ce réseau cellulaire et la location des équipements.
En utilisant une tour autodéployante de 30 m de hauteur au centre du secteur de coupe, 53 % des blocs de coupe étaient initialement connectés à l’Internet. Jumelée avec une tour mobile de 9 m ayant comme fonction d’étendre le signal autour d’un camion de service, la couverture réelle est légèrement flexible. D’ailleurs, les essais comparatifs démontrent qu’un amplificateur commercial améliore significativement la réception du signal. En optimisant la bande passante et le mode de propagation du signal selon les besoins, une vitesse de téléchargement de 2Mb/s a été enregistrée à 9 km de la source. Ce déploiement temporaire a permis de comptabiliser les coûts en capital et les dépenses d’exploitation comme la consommation énergétique, la main-d’œuvre, etc. Dans un scénario d’approvisionnement annuel d’une scierie typique, le coût de la connectivité aux équipes de récolte est estimé entre 0,29 $ et 1,01 $ par m3 récolté.
Même si cette technologie offre des avantages en ce qui concerne la sécurité des travailleurs et optimise la récolte, les limitations encourues démontrent que cette technologie n’est pas adéquate pour toutes les opérations forestières au pays. Les opérations très isolées ou dispersées devront attendre la commercialisation d’autres technologies telles que les constellations de satellites en orbite basse pour mettre en place une solution à prix raisonnable.
Evaluating a selective harvest operation as a forest fuel treatment as a forest fuel treatment. A case study in a mature douglas-fir forest in central interior British Columbia
The City of Quesnel, B.C. has applied an innovative selective harvesting technique in a mature Douglas-fir forest stand with the objectives of maintaining biodiversity and reducing fuel-load buildup and consequent wildfire threat. FPInnovations researchers monitored and documented the harvesting operations and measured machine productivity to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the operation.
To support the assessment of fuel-load reduction, FPInnovations’ Wildfire Operations group conducted pre- and post-harvest fuel-sampling activities to evaluate changes in forest fuel components.
Data was collected within a burned out area on a steep mountain slope as part of FPInnovations’s Survival Zone project. The fire was a prescribed burn carried out by Parks Canada in Jasper National Park. The data collected shows that in this one instance, that temperatures and heat flux values fell within survivable range for firefighters wearing PPE. This report does not condone firefighters above a fire on a steep slope, but rather this PB was used as a data collecting opportunity.
The National Fuels Management Reference Database was designed to collect data on wildland fuel treatment implementation and maintenance. This information is relevant to the Emergency Management Strategy in understanding where fuel treatments are located and how they were applied. FPInnovations reviewed the current status and use of the database and data depositories within wildfire management agencies. Combined with the findings of wildfire risk assessment experts’ data requirements, recommendations were provided for the integration of fuel treatment data into the Canadian Wildland Fire Information Framework.
This study investigated the effects of applying three mulch treatment intensities on fuel bed characteristics and the resultant fire behaviour. This is a companion report to a previously published report titled Mulching productivity in black spruce fuels: Productivity as a function of treatment intensity. The findings of these fire behaviour trials, in conjunction with productivity results, can assist fuel management practitioners in developing appropriate cost-effective mulching prescriptions.
FPInnovations collaborated with BC Timber Sales and Hummingbird Drones, a company with expertise in wildfire hotspot detection, to explore the use of a DJI Inspire 1 Pro remotely piloted aircraft system equipped with a thermal sensor as a hotspot detection tool.
Through the Forestry 4.0 program, FPInnovations seeks to bring Internet access to harvest teams to improve the connectivity of forestry operations. To this end, a local cellular network was set up in forestry operations over a three-week period in order to contextualize the benefits, the constraints to deployment and the costs. FPInnovations and Resolute Forest Products commissioned Ambra Solutions to design a cellular network and the leasing of the equipment.
By using a 30 m. high self-deploying tower in the centre of the cutting area, 53% of the cut blocks were initially connected to the Internet. Combined with a 9 m. mobile tower whose function is to spread the signal around a service truck, the actual coverage is slightly flexible. Moreover, comparative tests show that a commercial amplifier significantly improves signal reception. By optimizing the bandwidth and the signal propagation mode as required, a download speed of 2 Mb/s was recorded at 9 km. from the source. This temporary deployment made it possible to record capital costs and operating expenses such as energy consumption, labour, etc. In an annual supply scenario for a typical sawmill, the cost of connectivity to harvesting teams is estimated between $0.29 and $1.01 per m3 harvested.
Although this technology offers advantages in terms of worker safety and optimizes the harvest, the limitations involved show that this technology is not suitable for all forestry operations in the country. Very isolated or dispersed operations will have to wait for the commercialization of other technologies such as low-orbit satellite constellations in low orbit before implementing a reasonably priced solution
This presentation discusses services for logging contractors to help develop their skills in their operational and financial performances. Involvement and engagement with First Nations and using DiagFor are two of the topics presented.
Evaluation of forest environments to assess fuel loading using conventional inventory methods is labour-intensive, time-consuming, and requires extensive training to be completed correctly. Fuels managers would like to apply simpler, less expensive fuel sampling methods and still maintain acceptable accuracy in fuel load measurements.
FPInnovations has explored different fuel sampling techniques that may be applicable to the forest stands of central British Columbia. The photoload sampling technique was deemed to be a valuable tool that can be enhanced to suitably represent the forest fuels in Interior Douglas-fir environments and can be adapted to other fuel environments with appropriate amendments.
The present is a review of current glyphosate use in British Columbia forestry, peer-reviewed forest science on the impacts of glyphosate use on forests, and input from stakeholders. The use of glyphosate in relation to the multiple values pertinent to forest management in British Columbia was considered. This report focuses on the silvicultural application of glyphosate as a vegetation management tool in re-establishing forest stands post-harvest.
FPInnovations has developed a wildfire chemical roadmap to determine the cost and effectiveness of the wildfire chemicals used in Canada.
As part of the roadmap, a survey was developed to gather wildfire chemical use data from Canadian wildland fire agencies. The objective of this survey was to gather information on the current use of wildfire chemicals in Canada and to provide an overview of the state of the practice among Canadian wildland fire agencies.
Based on inventory information and a 10-year harvest queue, estimates of the amount of biomass available from forest harvest residues were estimated in $10 increments of delivered cost. For the study area (Arrow, Boundary, and Kootenay Lake TSA), a total of 154 000 ODT/year was projected to be available, while only 16 000 ODT/year were expected to be available at the economic price of $60/ODT.
