Investigation of timber harvesting impacts on herbaceous cover, forest floor and surface soil properties on skid road in an oak (Quercus petrea L.) stand

Soil properties can be affected by heavy equipment used for skidding but these impacts vary greatly with site conditions and operational practices. We assessed the effects of ground-based skidding on site disturbance and soil physical properties. We also tested the effects of skid trail slope and traffic frequency on soil compaction, total porosity, and moisture content. On average, about 30% of all harvested area was disturbed to varying levels. Intact forest floor (undisturbed) and light slash were the dominant surface conditions, covering an average of 68.9% of harvested area. Deep disturbed soils accounted for only just over 1.1% of observations. Results showed that dry bulk density, total porosity and moisture content were affected considerably on skid trails by traffic frequency and skid trail slope. Measurements of soil properties in the surface layer (0-10 cm) showed that bulk density is 57% higher and total porosity is 31% lower on the skid trail compared to the undisturbed area. Average moisture content has been measured as 35% on the skid trail versus 47% in the undisturbed area.

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confidence: 99%

The impacts of ground-based logging equipment on forest soil

Solgi¹,

Najafi²

2014

“…Soil compaction results in an increase in bulk density (Block et al 2002;Demir et al 2007;Makineci et al 2007), reduction in macroporosity (Rohand et al 2004;Ampoorter et al 2007), saturated hydraulic conductivity (Wood et al 2003; Grace et al 2006), water content, infiltration , N mineralization and microbial number biomass and activity (Ares et al 2005;Tan et al 2008). Each of these features can potentially reduce the tree growth (Froehlich 1979;Corns 1998).…”

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confidence: 99%

Ground based operation effects on soil disturbance by steel tracked skidder in a steep slope of forest

Agherkakli¹,

Najafi²,

Sadeghi³

2010

ABSTRACT:In this study, the effects of slope and traffic intensity on soil compaction, rutting and forest floor removal was evaluated on a skid trail in the natural forest of north of Iran. Combination of two levels of slope < 20% (SC1) and > 20% (SC2) and three levels of traffic (one, five and nine traffics) were studied. Treatment plots, with three replications, were established on the skid trail prior to skidding. The results of this study showed that all bulk densities were considerably higher in SC2 than in SC1 and average soil bulk densities were measured from 1.07 (g•cm -3 ) to 1.23 (g•cm -3 ) on skid trail and 0.91 (g•cm -3 ) in undisturbed areas. With the increment of traffic, soil compaction increased but there was no significant difference among the three levels of traffic frequency in SC1 whereas it was significant between one and five cycles in SC2. Greatest rut depth was measured as 12 cm at nine traffics in SC2, although increase of traffic density caused deeper rut depth at all slope treatments, but it was higher at the SC2 in comparison to SC1. Litter mass decreased considerably on the skid trail with the increasing in slope and traffic. No important difference has been detected between SC1 and SC2 in terms of Litter mass removal. These results provide clear evidence that soil disturbance on steep trail is intensified. 279Several studies have examined the relationship between soil disturbance and the associated number of loaded machine passes. The majority of previous studies investigated the effects of wheeled skidders on soil disturbance while a few studies assessed the impacts of steel tracked skidders whereas in many forest areas, particularly in steep terrain with large trees and high precipitation rates, these machines are likely to remain the most common type of skidding machine used.In mountainous and steep areas, the terrain slope is an important factor that affects operational efficiency, costs and erosion. It may also affect the soil compaction, so in planning forest operations and aligning skid trails the terrain slope may be an important consideration for protecting soil resources (Jamshidi et al. 2008).The objectives of this investigation were to (1) assess the soil disturbance after ground based logging by a steel tracked skidder and (2) determine the effects of slope on the soil disturbance in a skid trail. MATERIAL AND METHODSA field study was conducted at a Forestry Experimental Station of Tarbiat Modares University, located in a temperate forest in the north of Iran, between 36°31'56''N and 36°32'11''N latitudes and 51°47'49''E and 51°47'56''E longitudes, in February 2008. The elevation is approximately 650 m a.s.l. with western aspect, while the average annual rainfall of 1,308 mm has been recorded.The natural vegetation is a deciduous forest with dominant species of hornbeam (Carpinus betulus [L.]) and beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky).Soil samples for detecting the soil texture were collected at ten random points from the top of the 50 cm deep soil profile from an undistu...

“…Soil disturbance in forested ecosystems most commonly occurs from ground-based harvesting and site activities (Makinece et al 2007;). The rate of soil disturbance (specially soil compaction) varies considerably depending on the method of felling, the type of soil preparation, the terrain condition, the timing of the activity and the preparation and personal responsibility of workers (Rab 2004;Demir et al 2007;Makinece et al 2007;. Soil disruption by harvesting is also affected by soil conditions during the activity (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regarding the impact of logging on soil compaction, the authors like Rab (2004); Demir et al (2007) reported on the impact of machinery, transit and traffic intensity on the soil condition. This research was quite different in some aspects as it studied the impact of harvesting operations on soil compaction.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Considering the soil compaction status on logging areas in a Hyrcanian forest

Hosseini¹,

Akbarimehr²,

Emadian³

et al. 2015

This paper deals with the issue of soil compaction during timber harvesting operations on cutting areas. Soil compaction was assessed following the logging operation in Darabkola forest area by measuring soil bulk density. In this research, a completely random sampling method was used to assess the resulting changes in soil bulk density. Soil bulk density was measured using bulk density sampler on felling, bucking, delimbing and control areas. The results showed that the bulk density value in the top soil layer increased with increasing tree volume and was not dependent on the terrain slope on the felling area. Also, there was a significant relationship between the bulk density value of felling area and tree volume. Further analysis showed that there was no significant relationship between bulk density values on felling, bucking, delimbing and control areas. It was shown that careful harvesting planning, restriction, skidding and directional felling limited the soil compaction and helped the soil conservation.