Forest management today has to meet a number of objectives. Planning of multi-functional forest road networks is one essential for meeting the aims of the sustainable forest concept. Road construction damages the natural environment unless it is carefully thought out. As forest engineers we have to consider the protection of nature when designing forest roads. With this aim in mind, a new network planning approach was developed for wood-harvesting. A geographical information system (GIS) was used to evaluate the data and planning process. The new forest road network plan for Catak Forest District constituted the addition of a new 16-road segment, total length 59.067 km, to the existing road network plan, for the purpose of wood-harvesting operations. Forest road density value was determined as 22.8 m/ha: the opening-up rate of the area was increased to 77.8% and the opening-up rate of the existing stand value was increased to 94.3% after close examination. 90.2% of roads were planned for the forest areas where there is likely to be minimal negative environmental impact.

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The safety and health conditions of forestry workers in Turkey were surveyed, as there are currently no statistics on these topics despite the occurrence of accidents and health problems caused by forestry work. We used a questionnaire that inquired about safety and health conditions, job satisfaction, and cumulative fatigue symptoms of forestry workers. Of the respondents, 24% experienced accidents during work, many of which consisted of cuts by chain saws or axes. Also, most respondents indicated that they did not use any personal protective equipment (PPE), although the use of PPE is strongly recommended to avoid fatal or serious accidents. With respect to job satisfaction, 43% of the respondents were dissatisfied with their job mainly because of the low salary and heavy work. Marital status, educational background and period of employment had the potential to greatly affect job satisfaction. As a result of research using the Cumulative Fatigue Symptoms Index (CFSI), mental, physical and social aspects of cumulative fatigue were recognized in the respondents. Furthermore, it can be concluded that job dissatisfaction negatively affected the incidence of cumulative fatigue in forestry workers, and that taking measures to enhance job satisfaction among forestry workers would improve their quality of life through lessening of cumulative fatigue. It should also be noted that 'sustainable forestry and environmental protection' were the greatest concerns beyond salary and insurance among the respondents.

The present study focuses on assessing the effects of different numbers of skidders on soil compaction. To assess the skidding effects, four-wheeled small-scale logging equipment attached to an ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle) was used. Skidding operations were carried out on undistributed forest corridor (20 × 3 m).To measure soil compaction, 11 measurement lines were used, spaced at 2-m intervals. A total of 33 measurement points were used to measure soil compaction. Soil compaction values were measured for different soil depths with 5 cm intervals in the 0-40 cm range as MpA. The results were evaluated for the skidding zone and the wheel zone. Prior to skidding, soil compactions at 0 cm (top soil) is almost 2.5-3 times lower than those at the other depths. The p values indicate that the numbers of passes and the compaction values belong to nonidentical groups. The Bonferroni method was used to determine whether the compaction values are similar. The Dunn test results demonstrate that there were statistically significant differences between the mean values of the number of passes up to the 60th pass. However, there are no statistically significant differences between the means of the compaction values occurring between 60 and 80 and 100 and 120 passes. Generally, soil compaction is expressed as an increase in the soil bulk density. Soil bulk density and soil porosity are negatively correlated. It was found that for each of the zones, soil compaction values between the depths of 15 cm and 40 cm are approximately 4 times higher than at the 0 cm soil depth. Soil compaction values increased 3 times at the depths of between 0 cm and 5 cm. The average soil compactions values in the skidding zone are approximately 1.5 times higher than those at the wheel zones at the depth greater than 5 cm. The use of different skid trails will decrease soil compaction of the forest stand, provide uniformity of soil compactions in forest stand.

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