Effects of tree-length timber skidding on soil compaction in the skid trail in Hyrcanian forests

Abstract

Aim of study: The study was conducted to examine impact of skidding traffic, trail slope, traffic frequency, and soil depth on the soil bulk density.Area of study: This study was carried out in the Kheyrud Forest in Hyrcanian forest, Iran. Material and methods:The level of soil compaction at eight levels of traffic (1, 4, 8, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 passes), four levels of skid trail slopes (0, 10, -10, and -20%) and three soil depth (5, 15, 25 cm) were applied in three replicates consequently. Bulk densities were measured on the undisturbed surface (control) and within the tracks. Timbers were extracted in the tree-length logging method using rubber-tired skidder (Timberjack 450 C).Main results: About 5.2% of total area of harvesting unit were disturbed and compacted. Uphill skidding increases compaction more than downhill skidding. In the four different slopes, the highest increasing of the bulk density was occurred during the first few passes of skidder, although the bulk density continued to increase in amount and depth with the number of passes. The increases in bulk density were still important at the maximum sampling depth of 20-30 cm.Research highlights: The results indicated that slope steepness had a strong effect on the soil physical properties and soil disturbance. Designated skid trails should be used to minimize the influence on the forest soil.

Morphology, Growth and Architecture Response of Beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) and Maple Tree (Acer velutinum Boiss.) Seedlings to Soil Compaction Stress Caused by Mechanized Logging Operations

“…Higher value of bulk density signed the compacting action of the trunk load and the coupled load of trunk and vehicle. Jourgholami et al [38] observed that bulk density significantly increased with the number of vehicle passes, in a mixed forest characterized by a brown forest soil (Alfisols) and well-drained in Iran. Similar results were obtained in other studies in the Hyrcanian forest [22,39,40].…”

Assessing the impacts of log extraction by typical small shovel logging system on soil physical and hydrological properties in the Republic of Korea

“…The extent and severity of soil compaction was significantly higher in STs compared to BTs. Similarly, Startsev and McNabb (2000), Jourgholami et al (2014), Cambi et al (2016a, Marchi et al (2016), andCambi et al (2017) reported numerous changes in physical properties (e.g., bulk density and porosity) of loam-textured soils occurring after 5-10 vehicle passes. Other studies have shown that the degree of soil compaction is affected by road construction activities, such as earth movement (Weindorf et al, 2013;Caliskan, 2013) and scraping (Laurance et al, 2009).…”

Impact on the soil due to forestry tractor trafficking. A case study in central Italy

“…I primi risultati di questo studio mostrano e confermano come per i due maggiori parametri considerati rappresentativi di una situazione di suolo compattato, ovvero la densità apparente e la resistenza al taglio, si abbia un aumento dopo i primi passaggi (Jourgholami et al, 2014). Nel dettaglio possiamo dire che: (i) la densità apparente sembra essere influenzata maggiormente dal numero di passaggi e dalla pendenza e che (ii) il fattore che sembra essere più rilevante per la resistenza al taglio è la pressione di gonfiaggio dei pneumatici.…”