Mechanization, Harvesting and Forestry Transportation: IV MECFOR
The IV National Conference on Mechanization, Harvesting and Forestry Transportation (IV MECFOR) was held on September 21st, 22nd and 23rd, 2022, in the in the city of Campina Grande, Paraíba State, in the Northeast Region of Brazil. The objectives of the conference are: to contribute to the academic education of undergraduate and graduate students of Forestry Engineering courses and related areas; to discuss the problems related to the professional performance of the Forest Engineer in the area of Forestry Techniques and Operations; to discuss the problems that involve the curricular matrix of Forestry Engineering courses in Brazilian universities; and to disseminate the research, extension, and innovation results related to the following themes: Mechanization, Harvesting, Exploitation, Roads and Infrastructure, Forest Transportation, Logistics, Ergonomics and Safety in forest operations. Papers were selected during the event for publication in the International Journal of Forest Engineering, since the journal has great international visibility and the group of researchers that compose MECFOR seeks this visibility and strengthening of scientific activities related to Forest Operations and Techniques. For those authors wishing to submit to this collection, who are unrelated to the conference, submissions are welcome to articles of high quality if the article content represents that of the conference focus. The conference was jointly held by the following institutions: UFCG-Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, UFERSA-Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, UFRN-Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, UFRB-Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia, UFS-Universidade Federal de Sergipe, and UESB-Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia. The IV edition of the conference perpetuated the goal of bringing together professors, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as researchers and professionals in the areas of forestry techniques and operations.