The influence of some morphological characteristics of pine logs on the results of calculating their volume by different methods

Wood industry is a highly developed and complex branch of industry based entirely on raw materials. <em>i.e.</em> wood. The importance of log wood has been steadily growing over the years, and it is of significant value to the industry. One of the key challenges concerning log wood and its role is calculating the volume of logs and assessing the quality. This study aims to determine whether, and if yes to what degree, morphological wood properties (defects) affect the differ− ences in volumes, and volume calculations, when measured manually and electronically. The discrepancies between the volume calculated using conventional methods and the electronic ones may occur due to a number of reasons, including wood defects such as for curvatures. The idea for the article originated from observing significant discrepancies in volume calculations done manually by workers from The State Forests and then compared with measurements carried out using cutting−edge electronic equipment in a wood industry company. Pine wood logs subjected to the analysis come from four forest districts which belong to three regional directorates of The State Forests. The measurements (using a calliper and a measuring tape) were taken on location, and later they were repeated (using specialised measuring devices) at a sawmill. For comparative purposes, the measurements of the same batch of wood were per− formed by workers of The Forest Service. This study analyses the manner in which wood defects can potentially affect calculating wood volume. During the analysis, it was observed that the selected wood defects are not statistically significant in reference to the differences in the volume measured using traditional and electronic methods. Another factors taken into account were the measure− ments, <em>i.e.</em> diameter (minimum, maximum and mean) as well as length (real and nominal) which impacted calculations of the taper stem. The value of taper stem at the level of 0.7 cm/m, <em>i.e.</em>, the value used in the formula adopted for the calculations by the forest rangers (set taper), is too low. Laser used for measuring is the most accurate method for measuring volume.