Soil compaction during harvest operations in five tropical soils with different textures under eucalyptus forests

Paula Cristina Caruana Martins,Ernesto Norio Takahashi,Ayodele Ebenezer Ajayi,Moacir De Souza Dias Junior,Diego Tassinari

doi:10.1590/1413-70542018421005217

Paula Cristina Caruana Martins, Ernesto Norio Takahashi + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-70542018421005217

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Abstract

ABSTRACT Traffic of farm machinery during harvest and logging operations has been identified as the main source of soil structure degradation in forestry activity. Soil susceptibility to compaction and the amount of compaction caused by each forest harvest operation differs according to a number of factors (such as soil strength, soil texture, kind of equipment, traffic intensity, among many others), what requires the adequate assessment of soil compaction under different traffic conditions. The objectives of this study were to determine the susceptibility to compaction of five soil classes with different textures under eucalyptus forests based on their load bearing capacity models; and to determine, from these models and the precompression stresses obtained after harvest operations, the effect of traffic intensity with different equipment in the occurrence of soil compaction. Undisturbed soil samples were collected before and after harvest operations, being then subjected to uniaxial compression tests to determine their precompression stress. The coarse-textured soils were less resistant and endured greater soil compaction. In the clayey LVd2, traffic intensity below four Forwarder passes limited compaction to a third of the samples, whereas in the sandy loam PVd all samples from the 0-3 cm layer were compacted regardless of traffic intensity. The Feller Buncher and the Clambunk presented a high potential to cause soil compaction even with only one or two passes. The use of soil load bearing capacity models and precompression stress determined after harvest and logging operations allowed insight into the soil compaction process in forestry soils.

Highlights

Brazil is the fifth largest exporter of wood pulp in the world and currently ranks fifteenth in paper and cardboard exports
The objectives of this study were to determine the susceptibility to the compaction of five soil classes with different textures under eucalyptus forests based on their load bearing capacity models; and to determine, from these models and the precompression stresses obtained after harvest operations, the effect of traffic intensity with different equipment in the occurrence of soil compaction
The amount of soil compaction after traffic varied between the different soil classes and depends on the load bearing capacity models

Summary

Introduction

Brazil is the fifth largest exporter of wood pulp in the world and currently ranks fifteenth in paper and cardboard exports These increases in exports has been associated with an expansion of eucalyptus plantations, higher forest productivity and increased use of machinery in forest management, for harvesting in the last few decades (Carvalho et al, 2010; Souza et al, 2010; Sampietro; Lopes, 2011). This rapid and usually full-scale mechanization of forest harvesting has accelerated the rate of soil structure deterioration in planted forests due to the increase traffic intensity (Sampietro; Lopes, 2011; Silva et al, 2011) This could hamper the long-term productivity of forest soils and may constitute a major limitation to sustainable forest development, if machinery traffic is not properly managed (Silva et al, 2011). The key factors in assessing the impact of harvesting operations on soil quality include an evaluation of the magnitude of soil compaction due to machinery traffic, and the effect of traffic intensity of the equipment used in wood transport (Ampoorter et al, 2010; Silva et al, 2011)

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