Impact of skidding operations on soil physical properties in southern Italy

Proto, Andrea Rosario; Macrì, Giorgio; Sorgona, A.; Zimbalatti, Giuseppe

doi:10.12988/ces.2016.68132

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Tavankar et al (2017) showed that the share of wounded trees was directly related to slope steepness, and there is a dominance of large wounds on steeper slopes (Britto et al 2019). In addition, the influence of terrain steepness as found in this study agrees with several studies which suggested that ground-based harvesting operations should be planned whenever possible on slopes less than 20% (Majnounian et al 2013;Jourgholami et al 2014;Solgi et al 2015;Proto et al 2016;Jankovský et al 2019;Labelle et al 2022). However, when terrain steepness is higher and there are no other options available for extraction, winching should be done in an uphill direction which, according to this study, may cause less damage to the trees and soil, particularly when using a pan.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Could timber winching operations be cleaner? An evaluation of two options in terms of residual stand damage, soil disturbance and operational efficiency

et al. 2023

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Forests provide multiple services, products and values and finding ways to preserve their multifunctionality is important. However, all of the currently used harvesting systems produce some degree of environmental damage, potentially affecting the provision services on the long term. Skidding operations are common in many regions of the world. Skidding may suppose three operational steps: winching, strip-road skidding and landing operations. By using cables for winching, wounds are commonly inflicted to the residual trees, while the mechanical traction of logs may cause damage to the residual trees and soil. This study was designed to check if the use of pans during winching deployed in thinning operations of coniferous forests may help lowering the environmental impact in terms of damage to residual trees and soil, while accounting for operational efficiency of such operations. Four treatments were considered and framed around the winching direction (uphill, downhill) and the use of protective devices (use, nonuse) and detailed data was collected on the residual stand damage, soil damage and time consumption. The main finding was that uphill winching by the use of a pan performed the best in terms of lowering the environmental damage. It shown the smallest wounds by their average area per tree, the lowest number of wounds per tree, the lowest rate of wounding per hectare, as well as one of the lowest rates of soil damage. By excluding delays, working with a pan did not cause additional time consumption, supporting acceptable rates of operational efficiency. Further experiments would be needed to validate and extend the results of this study, as the forests and their type of management are heterogeneous systems in terms of terrain configuration and slope, soil, species, stand density, removal intensity, operational timing and operational conditions.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Could timber winching operations be cleaner? An evaluation of two options in terms of residual stand damage, soil disturbance and operational efficiency

et al. 2023

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“…The presence of this innovative, articulated machine purpose-built for skidding logs has attracted particular interest in the forestry industry. Wood extraction has always been challenging, especially in mountainous environments, as in southern Italy, where the slope causes processing limitations [48]. The levels of productivity measured in this research far exceed the average productivity of a typical traditional skidding process and, taking into account the vast incidence of forests cover in southern Italy, the data presented appears to be very significant.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Comparison of Timber Extraction Productivity between Winch and Grapple Skidding: A Case Study in Southern Italian Forests

Proto

Macrì

Visser

et al. 2018

Forests

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Forests in southern Italy are mainly located in mountainous areas, where ground-based extraction is still the most common harvesting technique. In particular, 60% of southern Italy's forests are on slopes with an angle of inclination between 20-60%. The low level of mechanization in forest operations is due to the difficult site conditions, as well as the small-scale characteristics of both the forest owners and the harvesting contractors. The most common work method uses chainsaws to fell the trees, and animals or farm tractors equipped with winches for bunching and extraction. This study assesses the productivity and cost effectiveness of extraction with a purpose-built John Deere 548H skidder, including a comparison of winch and grapple configurations. The results show that the productivity of skidding depends on distance as well as the condition of the skid trail. The number of trees per cycle and volume of each load also had a clear effect. While large purpose-built skidders represent a significant investment, this study demonstrates that the productivity is very high compared to traditional extraction methods and the resulting extraction costs are very competitive. As such, this study indicates that, over time, southern Italian harvesting operations should invest in purpose-built harvesting systems.

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“…Terrain steepness was an important factor that influences the trafficability of ground-based machines on forest soils and has a direct impact on changes in soil physical properties (i.e., bulk density, porosity, perpetration resistance, rut depth) [23,31,37]. Both unbalanced load distribution and wheel slippage on the soil surface are the main contributors to excessive soil compaction on steeper terrains [34,36].…”

Section: Terrain-related Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies to Mitigate the Effects of Soil Physical Disturbances Caused by Forest Machinery: a Comprehensive Review

et al. 2022

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Purpose of Review Ground-based mechanized forest operations can cause severe soil disturbances that are often long lasting and detrimental to the health of forested ecosystems. To reduce these soil disturbances, focus is being increasingly directed at identifying and using appropriate mitigation techniques. This systematic review considered 104 scientific articles and reported the main findings according to four core themes: terrain-related factors, operational planning, machine modifications, and types of amendments used to mitigate machine-induced soil impacts. Recent Findings For terrain-related factors, most severe disturbances occur on machine operating trails exceeding 20% slope and that soil bulk density and rut depth show greater increases in fine-textured soils. When considering operational planning, trafficability maps proved to be helpful in reducing the frequency and magnitude of soil damages as well as the length of trails needed within harvest sites, especially if they are regularly updated with weather information. Machine modifications, through high flotation tires, use of extra bogie axle, lower inflation pressure, and use of steel flexibles tracks, are highly researched topics because of the considerable upside in terms of machine ground pressure distribution and increased traction. Two main types of amendments emerged to mitigate soil disturbances: brush mats and mulch cover. Brush mats created from harvesting debris can spread the load of a machine to a greater area thereby lowering peak loads transferred to the soil. Brush mats of 15–20 kg m−2 are being recommended for adequate soil protection from harvesting operations. Summary To conclude, we outline recommendations and strategies on the use of soil mitigation techniques within cut-to-length forest operations. New research opportunities are also identified and discussed. Considering single factors causing machine-induced soil disturbances remains important but there is a pressing need for having a multi-disciplinary approach to tackle the complex problems associated with machine/soil/plant interactions.

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Impact of skidding operations on soil physical properties in southern Italy

Cited by 16 publications

References 11 publications

Could timber winching operations be cleaner? An evaluation of two options in terms of residual stand damage, soil disturbance and operational efficiency

Could timber winching operations be cleaner? An evaluation of two options in terms of residual stand damage, soil disturbance and operational efficiency

Comparison of Timber Extraction Productivity between Winch and Grapple Skidding: A Case Study in Southern Italian Forests

Strategies to Mitigate the Effects of Soil Physical Disturbances Caused by Forest Machinery: a Comprehensive Review

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