Soil compaction due to forest harvest operations

Moacir De Souza Dias Junior,Cezar Francisco Araújo Júnior,Arystides Resende Silva,Sebastião Da Fonseca

doi:10.1590/s0100-204x2007000200015

Moacir De Souza Dias Junior, Cezar Francisco Araújo Júnior + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s0100-204x2007000200015

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Abstract

The objective of this work was to determine, through the use of the bearing capacity model, the traffic effects of the forest harvest operations on the preconsolidation pressure (sigmap), during one cycle of the eucalyptus plantation. The work was conducted using undisturbed soil samples, collected at the surface of the A horizon and in the top of the B horizon of an Udult (PA), Aquox (FX) and Udox (LA) soils. The undisturbed soil samples were used in the uniaxial compression tests. The soil sampling was done before and after the harvest operations. The operations performed with the Forwarder caused greater soil compaction than the ones done with the Feller Büncher and Harvester. The percentage of soil samples, in the region with additional soil compaction, indicated that the Udult was the soil class more susceptible to soil compaction, followed by the Aquox and Udox. Despite Udult is the more susceptible to soil compaction, the regeneration of the soil structure in this soil class was more efficient than in Aquox. The percentage of soil samples with sigmap values in the region with additional soil compaction in 1996, 1998 and 2004, after harvest operations, indicated a sustainable forest exploration in this period.

Highlights

In the modern forestry industry there is a concern about the sustainability and longevity of the exploration system
Considering that the preconsolidation pressure is an indicator of the soil bearing capacity (Dias Junior et al, 2005; Silva et al, 2006) and of the maximum pressure that should be applied to a soil, in order to avoid soil compaction (Defossez & Richard, 2002; Barbosa et al, 2003), the objective of this study was to determine, through the use of the bearing capacity model, the traffic effects of forest harvest operations on the preconsolidation pressure during one cycle of the eucalyptus plantation
The harvest operations performed with the Forwarder, in 1996, caused larger increase in the soil bulk density values than the operations with Feller Büncher and Harvester, in the same year, at 0–0.03 m depth in the Udult and Aquox

Summary

Introduction

In the modern forestry industry there is a concern about the sustainability and longevity of the exploration system This is justified by the fact that the machinery used for harvest is becoming heavier and more powerful (Horn et al, 2004; Dias Junior et al, 2005), which may cause long-term reductions in forestry productivity. In both cases, soil susceptibility to compaction increases as the soil becomes wetter (Arvidsson et al, 2003; Barbosa et al, 2005; Silva et al, 2006), or when harvest operations are conducted with heavier and more powerful machines (Horn et al, 2004) operating repeatedly (Raper, 2005) through the eucalyptus cycles. Sustainable forest development is related to the traffic of machinery used in the harvest operations (Dias Junior et al, 2003, 2005). It is important to determine the soil bearing capacity as a function of soil moisture, and to quantify the damages caused to soil structure, when applied pressures exceed the soil bearing capacity (Dias Junior & Pierce, 1996; Oliveira et al, 2003; Silva et al, 2003)

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