Measures and operating standards for assessing Montreal process soil sustainability indicators with reference to Victorian Central Highlands forest, southeastern Australia

Abstract

The State Government had adopted the principles of Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators for sustainable management of forests in Victoria. The performance measures and operating standards for quantifying the Montreal Process soil indicators 4a, 4d, and 4e were reviewed and developed with particular reference to the Victorian Central Highlands forest. A simple framework for estimating the extent of total soil disturbance on harvesting coupes is presented. The performance measures and operating standards for each indicator and the framework were applied and evaluated over 20 coupes in this forest. Following harvesting and site preparation, the proportion of the coupe area affected was 22–45% associated with the indicator 4a, 12–45% associated with the indicator 4d, and 38–51% associated with the indicator 4e. The total area affected varied depending on type of forest operations, type of measure and levels of operating standard used. Using a 20% operating standard for bulk density and 30% operating standard for organic matter content, it was found that the total area affected varied from 38 to 52% of the coupe area. The major source of detrimental soil disturbance and methods for minimising soil impact were identified.