Abstract
Aim of study: The main aims of this study were to determine of damage level to residual stand and soil disturbance from mechanized selection logging. Area of study: Mixed beech stands in Caspian forests, northern Iran.Material and methods: Point-transect and systematic plot sampling were used for assessing damages to soil and trees, respectively.Main results: 89% of forest soil area was undisturbed or shallow disturbed, and 5.2% was deep disturbed. Soil bulk density of top 10 cm in the winching corridors, ruts and skid trails were increased 10.7%, 20.6% and 32.1% respectively than controlled area. Frequency of damages to regeneration and trees were 12% and 11.2%. The frequency of damages to regeneration was increased with increasing of their heights, but frequency of damages to trees was decreased with increasing of their diameter. The most type of damages was bole wounds in sizes of 100 to 200 cm2 within 1 m from the ground level, and deep wounds. The frequency of damages was different in tree species (p = 0.001). The mean size of bole wounds was 174 cm2, and the mean height of bole wounds was 70 cm from ground level. The intensity of wounds on trees bole were decreased with increasing of their heights from ground level (p = 0.02), while their sizes were increased (p = 0.001).Research highlights: Winching of logs was the main cause of damages to soil and residual stand. The detailed planning strategy will reduce damage to level which is acceptable and predictable.
Highlights
Cable-skidding can damage residual trees in natural forests, can disturb soils, and alter potential habitats for regeneration (Sist et al, 1998; Iskandar et al, 2006; Tavankar et al, 2015)
The main aims of this study were to determine of damage level to residual stand, and soil disturbance from mechanized selection logging in the Caspian hardwood forests, highlighting the potential applications of the selection cutting
The results showed that about 5.2% of the forest surface soils were deep disturbed, and about 89% were undisturbed or shallow disturbed following selection cutting and cable-skidding
Summary
Cable-skidding can damage residual trees in natural forests, can disturb soils, and alter potential habitats for regeneration (Sist et al, 1998; Iskandar et al, 2006; Tavankar et al, 2015). Planned logging will minimize adverse impacts on the environment of forest (Picchio et al, 2012; Tavankar et al, 2013; Marchi et al, 2014). Uncontrolled mechanized logging resulted high damaging on forest structure, composition and regenerating capacity (Sist et al, 1998; Picchio et al, 2012). Soil disturbance by logging can increase erosion potential (McIver, 2004)
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