A versatile machine system for salvaging small-scale forest windthrow

•Windthrown stands were harvested with a fully mechanised system based on versatile equipment.•The new system proved cost effective and generated revenues to the forest owner.•Wind damage determined a strong reduction of value recovery.•Mechanised harvesting generated limited soil disturbance and compaction.•Windthrow steered stand composition towards native hardwoods.

Windthrown stands were harvested with a fully mechanised system based on versatile equipment that could be quickly reconverted to other tasks. The system was tested on two different site types, characterised by different severity of the wind damage. The system required a lower investment cost than a dedicated industrial system and was better suited to small-scale forestry. Productivity was sufficiently high to allow cost-effective salvage harvesting. Soil disturbance was within the limits recorded for other operations in the region, and was generally mild. Soil compaction was moderate, and unlikely to cause adverse effects on advance regeneration. Value recovery depended on stand type and damage severity. Windthrow caused substantial depreciation: between 60% and 85% of the total harvest could only be processed into chips. Under these circumstances, the growing biomass market represents a much needed outlet.