Pienuratekniikka is a new method, and part of its vocabulary is still taking shape. This page collects the key terms with definitions and their Finnish and Swedish equivalents. Terms introduced by this site are marked as such.
Method terms
Narrow-trail harvesting (fi: pienuratekniikka · sv: smalstråksgallring)
A thinning method in which the first thinning is done with a compact forest machine along narrow trails spaced roughly 10 metres apart, without permanent strip roads. Described in full on What is Narrow-trail harvesting. Alongside the Finnish name pienuratekniikka, this site uses the descriptor narrow-trail harvesting (a term introduced by this site).
Narrow trail (fi: pienura · sv: smal stickväg)
A trail roughly 2.5-3 metres wide, used by both the harvester and the forwarder. It curves with the trees and closes over out of sight: the trail's location remains available for later use, but it takes no basal area and does not hinder the second thinning.
Strip road (fi: ajoura · sv: stickväg)
The permanent road of conventional mechanized harvesting, opened at first thinning for the whole rotation period. Guideline width at least 4.5 metres, spacing about 20 metres.
Cutting trail (fi: hakkuu-ura · sv: slingerstråk)
A narrow trail used only by the harvester, not for forwarding. Swedish has an established name for the concept, slingerstråk.
Ghost trail (fi: haamu-ura · sv: spökstråk, slingerstråk)
A descriptive name for a cutting trail: a trail that blends into the stand and leaves no visible trace. The official Swedish environmental guidance for forestry uses the corresponding concept spökstråk (Skogsstyrelsen, Målbilder för god miljöhänsyn) – the English ghost trail renders the same image.
Collector trail (fi: kokoojaura · sv: basstråk)
A trail along which timber is forwarded to the roadside landing and into which the harvesting trails feed. In Sweden, basstråk: a trail reinforced with slash to carry a fully loaded forwarder to the road.
Strip-road spacing (fi: ajouraväli · sv: stickvägsavstånd, förband)
The distance between trail centre lines. Roughly 10 metres in pienuratekniikka, about 20 metres in conventional harvesting.
Machine terms
Compact forest machine (fi: pienmetsäkone · sv: småskogsmaskin)
A narrow, lightweight forest machine with long reach for its size, moving between the crop trees. For example the Alstor 850H: width 1.65 m, weight about 4,000 kg. More on the compact forest machine.
Stand-going (fi: puustossa kulkeva · sv: beståndsgående)
A machine that advances between the growing trees without opening separate strip roads. The Swedish term beståndsgående is established; the Finnish and English equivalents are used by this site.
Harvester (fi: harvesteri · sv: skördare)
The felling machine that fells, delimbs and cuts the stems with its harvester head. In the machine chain, the harvester does the felling and the forwarder the forwarding. In pienuratekniikka both travel the same narrow trails – with machinery of the same size class.
Forwarder (fi: ajokone · sv: skotare)
The machine that carries the timber from the stand to the roadside. In Finnish professional use the term is ajokone when a harvester is part of the chain; the older term kuormatraktori is nowadays used mainly of landowners' own equipment.
Harvester head (fi: hakkuulaite · sv: skördaraggregat)
The device at the end of the harvester's boom that fells, delimbs and cuts the stem. Fed either by strokes or by rollers. On a compact forest machine, the head's low weight is essential for boom reach and machine stability.
Accumulating energy-wood head (fi: keräävä energiakoura · sv: ackumulerande energiaggregat)
A head that gathers several small stems at once. Used in young-stand improvement.
Stroke-fed / roller-fed (fi: sykesyöttöinen / telasyöttöinen · sv: stegmatad / valsmatad)
The two feed principles of a harvester head: stroke feed pushes the stem in cycles and runs on low hydraulic power; roller feed pulls the stem continuously and is faster on easily delimbed stems.
Silvicultural terms
First thinning (fi: ensiharvennus · sv: förstagallring)
The forest's first commercial thinning, at which a permanent strip-road network is conventionally opened – in pienuratekniikka it is not.
Rotation period (fi: kiertoaika · sv: omloppstid)
The time from regeneration to final felling. The benefits of pienuratekniikka are calculated over the rotation period, not as the cost of a single harvest.
Harvesting quality (fi: korjuujälki · sv: drivningsresultat)
The measurable outcome of a harvest: damage to the remaining stand, soil damage, trail widths and spacings, and stand density.
Continuous-cover silviculture (fi: jatkuva kasvatus · sv: hyggesfritt skogsbruk)
Forest management without clearcuts. Compact machinery offers harvesting options for continuous cover that heavy equipment cannot.
Metka subsidy (fi: Metka-tuki · sv: Metka-stöd)
The Finnish state subsidy for sustainable forestry. Support is available for, among other things, young-stand improvement. Terms: the Finnish Forest Centre.
Term sources: forest.fi dictionary (en), Skogskunskap and Föreningen Skogen's glossary (sv), Skogsstyrelsen: Målbilder för god miljöhänsyn (2016), Metsänhoidon suositukset (Tapio). Terms introduced by this site are marked as such.