In modern forest production wood harvesters represent important working assets. The main objective of the study is to present the importance and perspectives of mechanized timber harvesting based on domestic and foreign experiences. The author describes the course of evolution of mechanized timber harvesting in the world and in Slovenia and its role in the future. The paper presents a number of categories of harvesting machinery with their fundamental characteristics, particularities and way of use. The complex structure and function of these machines requires knowledge about the main component parts, which are described in a separate chapter. Scientific findings on fieldwork and technological possibilities of using mechanized harvesting in Slovenia and the approach to initiation, exposure problems and challenges of modern Slovenian forestry experts in this field are presented. Through targeted interviews with local experts for mechanized harvesting the author obtain a complex insight into understanding, expectations and practical experience of the experts which they have acquired through more than a decade of activities in the field of management, organization and maintenance of wood harvesting machines in Slovenia. The forecast of mechanized harvesting technology development bases on global indicators of wood consumption and the share of machine-harvested timber and modern concepts of reducing the costs of forest production, taking into account the permissible impact on the environment.
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