Protective role of mats in maintaining soil integrity on temporary forest roads: An in-depth analysis of their application

Abstract

Forest resources have paramount importance for countries around the world. Among these resources, forest soils bear the brunt of the negative impact resulting from logging, especially during the transportation of wood. In this regard, the construction of temporary forest roads using soil-protective materials can become mandatory. This study involved the immediate application of shrubs and plastic mats to previously untreated trails. The study found that these methods have a less negative effect on the soil bulk density: 10.2-43.6% for shrub mats and 3.4-38.5% for plastic mats compared to the baseline values. At the same time, the density increased by 8.5-64.1% in the control area. The content of moisture and organic matter changed relative to the initial values by -14.1-0.6% and 0.1-5.2% for shrub mats. The differences were -5.2-0.0% (moisture) and -1.3-0.0% (organic matter) for plastic mats. These results demonstrated that the use of plastic mats to protect the soil from the adverse effects of logging equipment is becoming a very promising and effective strategy. This study highlights the importance of these soil protection measures to maintain the health and viability of forest ecosystems during logging.