Planning of forest harvesting operations is one of the key elements of successful forest management. The integration of modern tools and traditional forestry procedures is something that must be done in contemporary forestry. This research investigated the use of multicriteria decision support (AHP) and GIS in choosing the optimal harvesting system for predominantly selection cutting forest management on the example of two Forest Management Units (FMU). Results showed that AHP could be easily integrated into GIS using the extAHP tool and its results could be of help, along with other input data, in choosing the optimal harvesting system. Spatial analysis of raster data in GIS gives a comprehensive insight into the stand and terrain characteristics and shows the relative share of the area proposed for each system. In FMU »Kozara–Mlječanica«, the harvesting system chainsaw-skidder had the highest relative share with 44% of the area, meaning that it is almost the only harvesting system in current use, followed by chainsaw-forwarder (36%), chainsaw-cable yarder (19%), and chainsaw-adapted agriculture tractor (AAT) (1%). The system harvester-forwarder was not used at all, which is understandable considering that FMU »Kozara–Mlječanica« has a higher average slope and higher diameter of trees to be cut than FMU »Prosara«, where harvester-forwarder system accounts for a significant 36% of the area. The dominant system in FMU »Prosara« was chainsaw-forwarder (42%), followed by chainsaw-cable yarder (17%), chainsaw-skidder (4%) and chainsaw-AAT (1%). It should be noted that the presence of chainsaw-skidder system is insignificant. It is replaced by the system chainsaw-forwarder. Traditional harvesting system chainsaw-skidder, which prevails in Bosnia and Herzegovina, should be upgraded with the new technologies and methods. Using tools like multicriteria decision support and GIS could be of great help in that process.

Forest resource exploitation and the achievement of full forest potential depend on the density and quality of the forest road network. The forest road network has to fulfill multiple functions; it thus has strategic importance in forest management. When planning the forest road network development, decision makers have to consider various technological, economic, social, and environmental factors. A comprehensive and functional approach is needed. A hybrid methodological framework for the formulation of guidelines, within which the strategy for the development of the state-owned forest road network should be defined, is presented in this paper. A fuzzy modification of the A'WOT method is proposed. The model, named FDA'WOT model, is based on an idea to provide a conceptual framework for strategic option selection by combining the fuzzy Delphi technique, the fuzzy SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) and the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP). The FDA'WOT model overcomes the problems of a classical SWOT analysis related to the vagueness and uncertainties in assessment of the character, impact and relative importance of strategic factors. It is a frame for a multicriteria approach in decision making which allows analytical prioritization of alternative strategic options and selection of an optimal one. The proposed model is applied to a case study of the strategy selection for the forest road network development in the Republic of Serbia. The presented results have shown that the FDA'WOT model can successfully create conditions for sustainable strategy formulation.

background and purpose: Optimisation of skid road network is very important in forest utilisation because transport is considered to be the most expensive part of timber production. Designing forest traffic infrastructure means positioning its location in the forest area using traditional or modern methods. Many factors influence the skidding costs, and winching distance is one of them. The use of modern techniques gives an opportunity to forest practitioners that simulate different network variants and choose the most appropriate ones. Materials and Methods: The research object is Compartment 27, which belongs to Forest Administration Unit "Prijedor", with the area of 46.72 ha. Investigation is divided into the phase of field work and the phase of designing secondary forest road network variants in the office. Field work includes the traditional and Global Positioning System (GPS) marking of trees for cutting and the creating of Geographic Information System (GIS) database. In relation to spatial distribution of trees for cutting, skid roads and skid trail networks are laid by using the GPS. The new scondary road network is laid in the field and compared with three simulated variants of secondary road network that are laid by ArcGIS 10.3. Secondary road network is planned by using Network Analyst tools and Shortest path method that is based on Dijkstra's algorithm. These variants are simulated based on different average winching distances of 10, 20 and 30 m. results: The area of the compartment is divided into two transportation zones. Total length of the secondary road network designed in the traditional way is 4816 m, thus achieving the secondary openness of 103 m•ha -1 . In simulated Variant I, with winch pulling distances of 20 m, the total length of secondary roads is 5590 m with costs of 14352.62 €, in Variant II with winching distance of up to 40 m length of secondary roads it is 3228 m with costs of 7426.78 €, and in Variant III with winch rope length of up to 60 m, the length of roads is 2219 m, with costs of 4400.89 €. The achieved mean skidding distances are relatively similar in all variants. When taking into account the average length of the winch rope, considering all three new-design variants, it can be said that there is almost no difference in productivity and skidding costs. conclusions: Mean winching distance has influence on skidding costs, but only in variants where mean skidding distance is decreasing. Smaller winching distance is justified only from the aspect of work humanization. Small differences in skidding costs between variants have no practical significance except for large quantities of wood assortments.

This paper presents the results of an analysis of the position and density of a secondary road network in the group-selection management system. The research was conducted in the economic unit Prosara in the north west of the Republic of Srpska. The network of skid roads in the analyzed sections was recorded using the GPS devices Garmin GPS 60 and Garmin Map 62st, and the analysis software package used was ESRI ArcInfo 10.1. Adhering to the general guidelines, the slope of skid roads was analyzed within six predefined intervals: 0-12 %, 12-16 %, 16-20 %, 20-30 %, 30-40 % and over 40%. Relative openness with a secondary road network was determined for a maximum distance between the skid roads of 130m and it ranged from 82.62 % to 96.37 %. Such openness was classified as very good and excellent. Together with all factors related to stand and terrain characteristics, it appears that in all the compartments, the density of the secondary network of skid roads is adequate for the application of a skidder with a winch, without extending above the maximum length of the winch rope. Out of the total length of analyzed skid roads, 24% is within an appropriate slope interval for a planned conversion to truck roads, whereas 37 % is the maximum slope from the ecological point of view. The average terrain slope for the whole analyzed area is 26.4%. Such moderately sloping terrain is suitable for the construction of skid roads with low investment and small environmental impact. Due to their specific configuration, the main skid roads were designed along the ridge, while the secondary and tertiary skid roads most often separated from them at the maximum slope, forming an irregular fish bone shape

Transport drveta je jedna od najskupljih faza u proizvodnji drveta. Obično se sastoji iz tri faze: primicanje,privlačenje i transport drveta kamionima. Prva i druga faza su najvažnije sa aspekta troškova transporta.Oni zavise od udaljenosti mjesta sječe stabala u šumi do najbližeg šumskog puta. Ta udaljenost je distancaprivlačenja. Određivanje distance privlačenja je veoma važno za operativno planiranje u šumarstvuzbog toga što je to jedan od indikatora otvorenosti šume. Vrijednost distance privlačenja može bitiodređena na više načina: mjerenjem na terenu po vlakama, računanjem uz pomoć matematičkih modelai uz pomoć geografskih informacionih sistema (GIS). Distance privlačenja mogu biti geometrijskei stvarne. Geometrijska distanca je dobijena uz pomoć GIS programa, a definisana je kao udaljenostizmeđu težišta odjela i najbliže tačke na šumskom putu. Stvarna distanca privlačenja je izačunata nabazi dužina vlaka. Faktor privlačenja je izračunat kao odnos između stvarne i geometrijske distance. Onje upoređen sa faktorima privlačenja za slične terenske i reljefne uslove, zbog toga što zavisi od nagibaterena i prisustva prepreka na površini terena. Vlake su snimljene uz pomoć GPS uređaja u 27 odjelana području P.J. „Prosara“ i P.J. „Kozara-Mlječanica“ u šumskoprivrednom području „Kozaračko“, Bosnai Herzegovina.