Forestry Operations Research Articles

Оценка мощности амбиентного эквивалента дозы на лесных участках в юго-западных районах Брянской области

The large areas of forests in the Bryansk region are still contaminated with radionuclides released due to the accident at the Chernobyl NPP in April, 1986. The recovery of the economic and ecosystems potentials in the contaminated areas is the need to create a favorable living conditions for the population. This involves a full range of remediation activities in the contaminated areas aimed at the forests protection and regeneration. The aim of the work is to assess the ambient dose equivalent rate (ADER) in forest sites located in the zone of radioactive contamination. More than 1 thousand forest sites in the south-western part of the Bryansk region were surveyed from 2019 to 2022. The ADER and the density of the soil contaminated by Cs-137 for every surveyed forest site are available. The relationship between the ADER and the density of the soil radioactive contamination in various sites was analyzed. The dose rates were normalized with respect to the density of soil contamination. The ADER rates in the Bryansk forest areas ranged from 0.07 to 3.15 mSv/h. No reliable difference between the ADER in the areas of coniferous and deciduous forests was observed. There was reliable linear relationship between ADER and the density of soil contaminated by Cs-137. During forestry operations in radioactive contaminated areas the maximum permissible external radiation effective dose was the dose accumulated for the whole period of work in the forest sites with the average density of soil contaminated by Cs-137 of 450 kBq/m2.

ДВУХОСНЫЕ СОЧЛЕНЕННЫЕ ЛЕСОТРАНСПОРТНЫЕ МАШИНЫ В УСЛОВИЯХ ЛЕСОСЕКИ: ОЦЕНКА ПРИМЕНИМОСТИ

The study can provide decision-making support to loggers and participants in forest relations who are obliged to carry out reforestation activities to assess the factors that change the effectiveness of forestry and logging operations. The balance of production and environmental effects from the use of forest transport machines in the development of forestry is an important step in effective quality management of forest landscape restoration. The degree of compaction of the forest soil from the impact of propellers directly affects both the fuel consumption of the power plant of the forest transport machine and the ability of forest seeds of the main breed to germinate. The primary transportation of trees and their parts (whips, balances, assortments, waste residues and other waste of logging production) occupies an increasing volume in the energy balance of the timber transport machine. It is necessary to solve complex problems of choosing energy-efficient and maneuverable biaxial articulated timber transport vehicles in comparison with machines with a continuous frame for performing transport work in the conditions of a cutting area. In order to maximize the requirements for the efficient operation of machines in difficult cutting conditions, it is necessary to ensure, along with high operational properties (traction, cross-country ability, maneuverability, smooth running), a high level of technical and economic indicators. The assessment of the applicability of existing structures of forest transport vehicles was carried out by statistical methods of Ward and intergroup relations according to the criteria of soil compaction, patency, maneuvering, power circulation, traction losses, balance of weight distribution and purpose. When planning future research, it is necessary to answer a number of questions: which criterion should be used as a universal one for unambiguous selection of the type of forest transport vehicle? Is it possible to estimate the geomorphology of the future cutting area in advance with the use of unmanned aircraft systems and predict the effective trajectories of movement of articulated timber vehicles?

АКТУАЛЬНІ ПИТАННЯ ОБЛІКУ І ОПОДАТКУВАННЯ ФУНКЦІОНУВАННЯ ЛІСОВОГО ГОСПОДАРСТВА

The proposed article is devoted to topical issues of accounting and taxation of forestry operations. The issue of improving the financial condition of forestry through the interaction of certain elements of the system of financial relations of entrepreneurial activity, which is determined by the combination of economic and production categories, is considered. They are the final result of interaction and are also distinguished by a system of models and methods that reflect the availability and use of financial resources at the enterprise. It was noted that profit and profitability are the main conditions of the enterprise's activity, but these indicators do not allow to ensure financial sustainability. The procedure for accounting financial results was studied. The interpretation of the concepts of profit and loss of the enterprise is given. Considered directions for improving the financial results of the enterprise. On the basis of the analysis of the legal basis of taxation of the financial results of forestry activities, the problems of accounting for the operations of forestry land are determined. Forms were reviewed and reasonable terms of rent were proposed. It was noted that an effective tax policy in the field of land use is a significant element of land relations. When studying the instrument of taxation of forestry land, it is possible to obtain certain levers for increasing the amount of income from land fees and creating a reasonable use of land resources. It is noted that for the accounting of financial results it is important to choose a rational accounting policy of forestry. Attention is paid to issues that arise when reflecting income and expenses from investment activities of the enterprise. For this purpose, it is necessary to divide the investment activity into the main investment activity and other investment activity, as well as specify this information on the third-order sub-accounts of the 793 account. Proposals are substantiated when all information about the results of business activity is presented in the financial reports themselves, and is also widely available for calculating the financial stability, level of liquidity and solvency of a given enterprise. Numerous problems have been identified to increase and improve the efficiency of accounting for the financial results of forestry operations.

Enhancing Soil Quality of Short Rotation Forest Operations Using Biochar and Manure

Biochar and manure may be used to enhance soil quality and productivity for sustainable agriculture and forestry operations. However, the response of surface and belowground wood decomposition (i.e., soil processes) and nutrient flux to soil amendments is unknown, and more site-specific information about soil property responses is also essential. In a split-plot design, the soil was amended with three rates of manure (whole plot; 0, 3, and 9 Mg ha−1) and three rates of biochar (split-plot; 0, 2.5, and 10 Mg ha−1). Soil physical properties, nutrients, and enzyme activities were evaluated in two years. In addition, wood stakes of three species (poplar, triploid Populus tomentosa Carr.; aspen, Populus tremuloides Michx.; and pine, Pinus taeda L.) were installed both horizontally on the soil surface and vertically in the mineral soil to serve as an index of soil abiotic and biotic changes. Wood stake mass loss, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) flux were tested. The high rate of both manure and biochar increased soil water content by an average of 18%, but the increase in total soil P, K, organic carbon (C) content, and enzyme activities were restricted to single sample dates or soil depths. Wood stakes decomposed faster according to stake location (mineral > surface) and species (two Populus > pine). On average, soil amendments significantly increased the mass loss of surface and mineral stakes by 18% and 5%, respectively, and it also altered wood stake nutrient cycling. Overall, the decomposition of standard wood stakes can be a great indicator of soil quality changes, and 10 Mg ha−1 of biochar alone or combined with 9 Mg ha−1 of manure can be used for long-term carbon sequestration in plantations with similar soil conditions to the present study.

Ecological Aspects of the Analysis of the Age Structure of the Stand of the National Park “Buzuluksky Bor”

The forests of the steppe Trans-Urals cover a small area and are represented to a greater degree by island forests, birch outlier and inundable poplar forests. However, it is difficult to overestimate their bioecological, habitat forming, soil-fixing, protective and recreational functions. Currently, due to various forest growth conditions and forestry operations, in natural and artificial forest stands, there are processes of shrinking of the stand, epiphytoxics of the stand with harmful insects and fungal diseases, an increase in the proportion of overmature stands, which worsen the general condition of the forest, lead to the development of outbreaks of diseases and create an inflammability. The tree plantations Buzuluksky Bor National Park are exposed to periodic droughts, high temperatures in spring and summer, fires in large areas, diseases, as well as continuous logging carried out in the past, which leads to a change in the structure of the stand. The article provides a history of the bor formation, which in the process of its formation was undergone serai change, the influence of various both positive and negative factors, which can be attributed to an anthropogenous factor. An analytical analysis of the changes in the forest fund of the national park Buzuluksky Bor National Park because of the use of logging of the main use and the impact of the pyrogenic factor is given. Changes in the area of plantings of individual species by years of forest management are also presented. The optimal age structure is determined, the value of the normative distribution of the areas of plantings for each kind of wood is calculated. Conservation and restoration of forest territories of the steppe zone, in particular Buzuluksky Bor National Park, the productive capacity of tree plantations, continuing of protective functions, as well as biodiversity and their contribution to global ecological processes are currently the task of prime importance and criterion for sustainable management of forest resources.

Forest subsidy distribution in five European countries

Forest subsidies are widely used to achieve policy objectives aimed at maintaining and supporting the provision of the various ecosystem services provided by forests. In the European Union, an important instrument is the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) within the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), but countries also have national subsidy systems. In both cases, individual countries determine which objectives they want to achieve with the subsidy schemes and which measures are supported. In this comparative study, we investigate which forest-related measures are subsidized across Europe and which forest owners, representing a very heterogeneous group, are involved in the activities of the subsidy systems.We collected data on subsidies paid out for forest-related measures from Austria, Finland, Germany, Slovenia and Sweden from the EAFRD funding period 2014–2020 for a comparison of the funded activities. Further, we analysed how subsidies were distributed among private forest owners with forest holdings of different sizes by performing G-tests to compare the observed with the expected subsidies received by forest owners in the different size categories.The results show that through the flexibility given by the CAP for countries to adjust their subsidy programmes to the specific national needs, EAFRD funds and equivalent national subsidies are indeed used for a wide range of activities instead of only a few following one common European goal. Reflecting the different needs and various forest functions, the subsidized activities range from the more ecology-oriented “investment to increase resistance and the ecological value of forests” to the more management-oriented “purchase of new machinery and new equipment for forestry operations”.In all five countries, small-scale forest owners with holdings smaller than 200 ha are the largest owner group and manage a large share of the forest area in private hands (from 47% in Austria to 97% in Slovenia). However, especially owners of the smallest holdings (< 20 ha) rarely use the funding scheme of the EAFRD framework and thus receive a disproportionately low share of subsidies. There might be several reasons for this. Small-scale forest owners are generally less involved regarding policy issues (including subsidy schemes) than owners of larger forest holdings and may not be aware of all funding opportunities. In addition, the considerable effort to apply, including project preparation, administration and documentation may be perceived as a barrier.It became clear that the current subsidy systems of the countries focus on different forest policy objectives. Our study further revealed that the documentation of subsidy distribution is partly unclear and inconsistent across countries hampering European comparisons. However, understanding current subsidy distribution is urgently needed for increasing the effectiveness of subsidy systems to achieve European policy goals of vital multifunctional forests.

Edge AI-Based Tree Trunk Detection for Forestry Monitoring Robotics

Object identification, such as tree trunk detection, is fundamental for forest robotics. Intelligent vision systems are of paramount importance in order to improve robotic perception, thus enhancing the autonomy of forest robots. To that purpose, this paper presents three contributions: an open dataset of 5325 annotated forest images; a tree trunk detection Edge AI benchmark between 13 deep learning models evaluated on four edge-devices (CPU, TPU, GPU and VPU); and a tree trunk mapping experiment using an OAK-D as a sensing device. The results showed that YOLOR was the most reliable trunk detector, achieving a maximum F1 score around 90% while maintaining high scores for different confidence levels; in terms of inference time, YOLOv4 Tiny was the fastest model, attaining 1.93 ms on the GPU. YOLOv7 Tiny presented the best trade-off between detection accuracy and speed, with average inference times under 4 ms on the GPU considering different input resolutions and at the same time achieving an F1 score similar to YOLOR. This work will enable the development of advanced artificial vision systems for robotics in forestry monitoring operations.

Non-Road Mobile Machinery Emissions and Regulations: A Review

Non-Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM) incorporate a wide range of machinery, with or without bodywork and wheels, and are installed with a combustion engine and not intended for carrying passengers or goods on the road. These are used in many different sectors including construction, agriculture, forestry, mining, local authorities, airport and port ground operations, railways, inland waterways and within the household and gardening sector. This article presents a review of the state of knowledge with regard to non-road mobile machinery, particularly focusing on their regulation and the atmospheric emissions associated with them. This was undertaken as there is currently a lack of this information available in the literature, which is an oversight due to the potential for Non-Road Mobile Machinery to form a greater part of atmospheric emissions in the future, as other areas of emissions are tackled by regulations, as is outlined in the article. Emissions such as particulate matter (PM), carbon oxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrocarbons (HC), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur oxides (SOx) from NRMM contribute considerably to total emissions released into the air. NRMM are diverse in application, engine type and fuel use, and are therefore difficult to categorise. This leads to numerous issues when it comes to the control and regulation of their emissions. The most recent European and international regulations are outlined in this article. Due to the divergent nature of NRMM, their emissions profiles are highly varied, and in-use emissions monitoring is challenging. This has led to a lack of data and inaccuracies in the estimation of total emissions and emission inventories. It was assumed in the past that emissions from non-road sources did not contribute as significantly to total emissions as those from on-road sources. This assumption was partly due to the difficulty in gathering relevant data, and it was disproven in the 1990s by studies in The Netherlands, Finland and Sweden. It is now understood that NRMM will eventually surpass on-road vehicles as the leading source of mobile pollution due to the continuing efforts to reduce emissions from other sources. Many states worldwide gather emissions data from NRMM, and EU member states are required to report their emissions. As of January 2017, a new European regulation establishing limits for gaseous and particulate pollutants from NRMM applies, and this regulation also defines administrative and technical requirements for EU approval. The exact number of NRMM and the total amount of fuel they use is currently not known. In Ireland, for example, their fuel use has been reported under stationary boilers and engines. However, this results in the underestimation of emissions of some pollutants (NOx in particular) because emissions of air pollutants tend to be higher in mobile than in stationary machinery.

Understanding the effects of forest management on streams and rivers: A synthesis of research conducted in New Brunswick (Canada) 2014–2018

Forests play a major role in maintaining healthy streams and in providing ecosystem services such as clean drinking water, flood/drought protection and biodiversity, but studies have shown that some forestry operations can compromise these benefits. To assess whether current forest management practices impact stream ecosystems, a five-year study was conducted in J.D. Irving, Limited’s Black Brook Forestry District (New Brunswick, Canada) and in other watersheds with varying forest management intensity. This study was divided into two phases, with each addressing one main research question: 1) how different intensities of forest management affect the ecological health of headwater streams and, 2) whether the changes observed in headwater streams accumulate or dissipate in larger downstream rivers. A comprehensive approach to examining these research questions was taken by measuring multiple abiotic and biotic indicators to assess the integrity of stream ecosystems (sediments, water chemistry, insect communities, leaf decomposition, fish condition, mercury concentrations). The purpose of this paper is: 1) to synthesize the results of numerous scientific articles, and 2) to present the science and management implications in terms that regulatory and industrial forest managers can use to incorporate the lessons learned into their decision making. Results in Phase I show that streams in the most intensively managed catchments had greater inputs of terrestrial materials such as sediments, and these were incorporated into food webs, resulting in more terrestrial diets of aquatic consumers. The important stream function of leaf litter breakdown was negatively influenced by increased management intensity. Management practices related to roads warrant special attention, as roads tended to be more related to changes in stream indicators than tree removal. Additionally, results suggest that wet riparian areas were more sensitive to disturbance than drier riparian areas, which has implications for riparian buffer zone configurations. Regarding Phase II, some of the effects of forest management on small streams accumulated in larger downstream rivers (e.g., sediments, use of terrestrial resources by aquatic organisms), while others dissipated (e.g., water temperature, mercury contents). Interestingly, the impacts of forest management on streams were greater in the basin with tree removal but less silviculture than in the basin with more of both, suggesting that greater overall intensity of forest practices does not necessarily translate into greater environmental impacts, for example when considering partial versus clearcut harvesting. Overall, the study suggests that while current best management practices do not eliminate all effects, they do still offer good protection of biological integrity downstream.

Tree detection and diameter estimation based on deep learning

AbstractTree perception is an essential building block toward autonomous forestry operations. Current developments generally consider input data from lidar sensors to solve forest navigation, tree detection and diameter estimation problems, whereas cameras paired with deep learning algorithms usually address species classification or forest anomaly detection. In either of these cases, data unavailability and forest diversity restrain deep learning developments for autonomous systems. Therefore, we propose two densely annotated image datasets—43 k synthetic, 100 real—for bounding box, segmentation mask and keypoint detections to assess the potential of vision-based methods. Deep neural network models trained on our datasets achieve a precision of 90.4 % for tree detection, 87.2 % for tree segmentation and centimeter accurate keypoint estimations. We measure our models’ generalizability when testing it on other forest datasets, and their scalability with different dataset sizes and architectural improvements. Overall, the experimental results offer promising avenues toward autonomous tree felling operations and other applied forestry problems. The datasets and pre-trained models in this article are publicly available on GitHub (https://github.com/norlab-ulaval/PercepTreeV1).

Technological employment of fire-fighting adapter to increase the efficiency of extinguishing forest fires

Abstract The paper presents the results of the solution defining the possible application of the adapter as a fire-fighting mobile device with a base machine of a forest wheeled skidder (LKT) in the fire protection of forests in the Slovak Republic. Following the challenging accessibility to fire-fighting machinery during any intervention in forestry operation, the main aim was formulated. It will be about basic technical parameters of the DATEFF fire-fighting adapter, resulting from operational measures and following specification of its tactical deployment in extinguishing forest fires. This fact also follows from based on statistically processed data on fire in state forests of the Slovak Republic in the last ten years. The greatest damage occurs mainly the forests at a slope gradient of 16%. Designed fire adapter is structurally designed mainly to these terrains. Regarding its design and technical parameters, the proposed DATEFF adapter can be employed tactically as fire-fighting mobile device. In the case of an unavailable water source without access to the forest transport network, the adapter can be used as a part of long-distance water transport or as a mobile device for emergency import of material. Another option is to use it as a water tank in inaccessible terrain with the possibility of refilling using a Bambi bag and a helicopter. This fire-fighting adapter DATEFF is designed for forest wheel tractors that reach 40% slope availability, are able to work on the stand area, overcome obstacles and are available in sufficient quantities in all Slovak forest owners.

Accumulated effects of factors determining plant development from somatic embryos of Abies nordmanniana and Abies bornmuelleriana.

Despite a much later inception of somatic embryogenesis (SE) propagation protocols for gymnosperms than for angiosperm species, SE is becoming increasingly important due to its applications for commercial forestry. For many conifers, there are however still major bottlenecks in the SE plant production process limiting the use of SE for forestry operations, Christmas tree production and research projects. In the present case study, the effects on plant growth from different cultural factors applied during the SE developmental process were studied in two conifer species of high value for Christmas tree production. Seven clones of Abies nordmanniana and two clones of Abies bornmuelleriana were included in the study. Accumulated effects from cultural treatments were recorded from the start of germination of mature embryos of different quality scores through development into plants in the third growing period. Experimental factors of the cultural treatments included were: germination temperature, germination time, light conditions, survival ex vitro and traits for plant growth and vitality. The results reveal that most of the studied experimental factors influenced plant growth during the first three years however their relative importance was different. Plant survival rate at end of the nursery stage was strongly impacted by germination temperature (p<0.001), initial embryo score (p=0.007), clone (p<0.001) and to a lesser extend week of germination (p=0.017). This case-study highlights and quantifies the strong interrelation between the developmental steps of somatic embryogenesis and show the importance of considering all cultural steps when optimizing SE plant production protocols.

The use of UAV-based RTK/PPK method in monitoring the ground change after excavation in open-pit mine sites: A case study in the Düzce-Tatlıdere quarry

Topografyanın engebeli ve ulaşılması zor olduğu alanlarda yersel ölçüm teknikleri ile ölçüm yapmadaki güçlükler nedeniyle uzaktan algılama teknikleri kullanımını bu tür durumlarda vazgeçilmez kılmaktadır. Gerçek zamanlı kinematik (Real Time Kinematic-RTK) tekniği ile konumsal verilerin doğruluğunda santimetre hassasiyetinde çalışmalar ortaya konulabilmektedir. Ancak topoğrafik yapısı, uydu bazlı konumlamaya uygun olmayan bölgelerde ölçü sonrası veri değerlendirme (Post Processing Kinematik -PPK) ölçüm tekniği alternatif çözüm sağlamaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı RTK ve ölçü sonrası veri değerlendirme (PPK) çözümünün Küresel Navigasyon Uydu Sistemleri (GNSS) ve RTK-CORS tarafından sonradan işlenmiş ve düzeltilmiş konumsal ölçümler yoluyla dengelenmiş fotoğraf çiftlerinin ortaya koyduğu hassasiyet değerlendirmektir. Çalışma alanı olarak Düzce ili Tatlıdere Orman İşletme Şefliği sınırları içerisinde kalan özel bir taş ocağı seçilmiştir. RTK ve PPK uygulama modülleri olan DJI Phantom 4 RTK insansız hava aracı (İHA) kullanılarak, taş ocağında eş zamanlı RTK ve PPK modlarında iki uçuş gerçekleştirilmiştir. RTK ve PPK yöntemi ile ortofoto üzerinde belirlenen ortalama konumsal doğruluklar sırasıyla 2,405 cm ve 0,814 cm olarak elde edilmiştir. Bu sonuçlara göre; taş ocağı alanı gibi işletme sonucunda oluşan şevlerde, PPK çözümünün daha uygun olacağı ortaya çıkmıştır.

The investigation of industrial wood raw material production in forested wetlands from technical and environmental aspects

Bu çalışmada subasar ormanlarda odun hammaddesi üretim faaliyetleri, bazı teknik ve çevresel yönlerden incelenmiştir. Çalışma alanı olarak Hendek Orman İşletme Müdürlüğü’ne bağlı Süleymaniye Orman İşletme Şefliği’nde bulunan subasar ormanlar seçilmiştir. Çalışma alanında kesim, bölmeden çıkarma ve uzak nakliyat işleri teknik ve çevresel yönlerden incelenmiştir. Çalışma sonucunda; üretim zamanının, su basması nedeniyle kısıtlı olduğu, az miktarda yağışlı dönemde dahi üretime engel olacak seviyede suyun toprak yüzeyinde bulunduğu ve hatta ağaç damgalama dönemi olan Ocak-Nisan ayları arasında suyun 1-1,5 m yükseldiği belirtilmiştir. Ayrıca kesim ve bölmeden çıkarma işlemini gerçekleştirebilmek için alanda büz yerleştirerek drenajın yapıldığı gözlemlenmiştir. Sahada toplam 32 sefer bölmeden çıkarma işlemi incelenmiştir. İnceleme sonucunda, arazi eğiminin düz ya da düze yakın olması ve piyasa talepleri nedeniyle üretim metodu olarak bütün gövde metodu kullanıldığı belirlenmiştir. Çalışma alanında su basması ortalama 50 cm seviyesinde tespit edilmiştir. Subasar ormanlarda en önemli problemin toprak yüzeyinde biriken ve yükselen suyun olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Bu tür alanların toprak tipi genelde balçıklı olduğundan, bölmeden çıkarma için zemine daha iyi tutunan geniş lastikli traktörler kullanılmalıdır.

An Enhanced Drone Technology for Detecting the Human Object in the Dense Areas Using a Deep Learning Model

During the recent decade, emerging technological and dramatic uses for drones were devised and accomplished, including rescue operations, monitoring, vehicle tracking, forest fire monitoring, and environmental monitoring, among others. Wildfires are one of the most significant environmental threats to wild areas and forest management. Traditional firefighting methods, which rely on ground operation inspections, have major limits and may threaten firefighters’ lives. As a result, remote sensing techniques, particularly UAV-based remotely sensed techniques, are currently among the most sought-after wildfire-fighting approaches. Current improvements in drone technology have resulted in significant breakthroughs that allow drones to perform a wide range of more sophisticated jobs. Rescue operations and forest monitoring, for example, demand a large security camera, making the drone a perfect tool for executing intricate responsibilities. Meanwhile, growing movement of the deep learning techniques in computer vision offers an interesting perspective into the project’s objective. They were used to identify forest fires in their beginning stages before they become out of control. This research describes a methodology for recognizing the presence of humans in a forest setting utilizing a deep learning framework and a human object detection method. The goal of identifying human presence in forestry areas is to prevent illicit forestry operations like illegal access into forbidden areas and illegal logging. In recent years, a lot of interest in automated wildfire identification utilizes UAV-based visual information and various deep learning techniques. This study focused on detecting wildfires at the beginning stages in forest and wilderness areas, utilizing deep learning-based computer vision algorithms that control and then mitigate massive damages to human life and forest management.

Assessment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Use Opportunities in Forest Road Project (Düzce Sample)

Forest roads are important infrastructure facilities that enable forestry activities to continue without interruption. These infrastructure facilities are very important in terms of protection and maintenance of forests, safe transportation of the produced property, afforestation, recreation, and transportation to forest fires as soon as possible. Today, an advantageous environment has been created by the widespread use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software, the increase in its use, as well as the integration of clearer and reliable information within the framework of sensitive forestry understanding, with the acquisition of high-resolution images with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). This study, with the help of UAV data and GIS on forest roads, which serve as the basic infrastructure in the fulfilment of forestry activities, for forest road design and excavation-filling calculations, drones etc. made to demonstrate the applicability of the technologies. The study was carried out on the 164 coded B Type Forest Road belonging to the Cumaova Forestry Directorate affiliated with the Düzce Forestry Operations Directorate. In line with the study, first of all, data were obtained with a multi-copter drone. A Digital Terrain Model (DTM) of the study area was produced with the raw data obtained. The produced DTM data was compared with the 12.5 m Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data showing the land structure before the road was built. At the last stage of the study, the height and position data obtained from the road line with ground measurements and the excavation-fill amounts were compared using the RoadEng software. In the light of the results obtained in this study, it is thought that safer and more precise data can be obtained in forest road design studies, and it can provide a practical approach to road planning studies for planners, decision-makers and practitioners.

Boundary‐Crossing Field Research Marks the Way to Evidence‐Based Management of Mercury in Forest Landscapes

AbstractThe atmospheric deposition of long‐range atmospheric mercury pollution presents forest managers with a “wicked” problem—forestry operations run the risk of mobilizing this pollution legacy. Management of that risk would benefit from a process‐based understanding of how forest management influences the mercury cycle. This commentary highlights the value for building such an understanding of a comprehensive Before‐After‐Control‐Impact study reported by McCarter et al. (2022), https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JG006826 on the Marcel Experimental Forest in the north‐central continental US. That study looked at how different types of forest harvest influenced the movement of mercury through the landscape. The results of this study place it at the minimal end of the range of impacts on Hg mobilization resulting from forest harvest. What makes this paper, together with the companion papers resulting from this study, particularly valuable for improving the understanding of forestry influences on mercury is the number of system boundaries that the study crossed: between land and atmosphere, from a forested hillslope down into a wetland, and finally up into the biota on that wetland.

Habitat availability alters the relative risk of a bovine tuberculosis breakdown in the aftermath of a commercial forest clearfell disturbance

Abstract Human modification of landscapes and associated disturbances may facilitate the emergence and spread of zoonotic diseases. Policy‐makers need better understanding of the link between anthropogenic disturbances and wildlife disease hosts at the interface of human society and the natural environment, for example agriculture, forestry and aquaculture. Empirical research is strongly needed for the control of novel zoonoses which might emerge, as well as the management of existing zoonoses with significant economic repercussions such as bovine tuberculosis (bTB). We aimed to examine the link between ecological disturbance and relative bTB risk using Ireland as a case study. We analysed clearfell forestry operations and assessed bTB breakdowns within cattle farms across different spatio‐temporal scales over multiple years, examining how ecological conditions may modulate this relationship using conditional logistic regression models. We found a significant effect of the interaction between the extent of clearfell forestry removed and the extent of natural grassland and mixed forestry present on relative bTB risk. This interaction was dynamic, leading to an increase or decrease of the relative bTB risk depending on where (between 2 and 6 km from the farm) and when (between 0 and 36 months prior to the bTB outbreak) the clearfell operations occurred. Our study provides empirical evidence of the link between mechanised forestry operations and fluctuating relative bTB risk in cattle farms, although the mechanism behind it is yet to be elucidated. Given our data, we hypothesise that wildlife hosts may abandon the area subjected to clearfell when disturbance is highest (during active operations and shortly afterward) but are subsequently attracted back to the site as they regenerate, potentially affecting the contact rates with livestock and thus, relative bTB risk. Synthesis and applications. Our analysis demonstrates that landscape modification is correlated with a change in relative bovine tuberculosis (bTB) risk that is dynamic in time and space. Understanding that the effect of landscape change is transient allows managers to understand the risk for neighbouring farms and inform policy accordingly. Landscape‐level studies are necessary to unveil subtle‐ecological processes, shifting research and management efforts away from cattle herd‐centric policy and toward macroecological surveillance of wildlife hosts and longitudinal assessment of bTB risk.

Evaluation of musculoskeletal disorders risks in forestry.

The development of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) associated with forestry operations is an alarming issue. In the present paper, an attempt was made to assess the location and the prevalence of the MSDs in timber harvesting tasks. The analysis of logging-related risk factors was carried out by observing working postures with the use of the assessment tool RULA (Rapid Upper Limb Assessment) during harvesting jobs. In addition, the standardised Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was used in order to record self-reported MSDs symptoms. Results revealed that, in all work stages, risk levels were extremely high. According to the results of the RULA analysis, 77.5% of the working postures adopted by the left side of the body and 61.25% of postures involving the right side belong to the very high-risk level. According to the results of the questionnaire, a high percentage of loggers (34%) reported that they were facing problems in their backs and knees. Training and informing operators about the correct positions and the manual movement techniques, as well as increasing the mechanisation level of harvesting operations could reduce physiological work hardship.

A Case-Crossover Study of the Impact of the Modifying Industrial Operations Protocol on the Frequency of Industrial Forestry-Caused Wildland Fires in Ontario, Canada

Wildland fire prevention and mitigation is of mutual interest to both government and the forest industry. In 1989, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry introduced the Woods Modification Guidelines that provided rules on how forestry operations should be modified based on local fire danger conditions. Those guidelines were replaced by the Modifying Industrial Operations Protocol (MIOP) in 2008. One objective of MIOP is to allow forestry operations to be done safely for as long as possible as the fire danger increases. We investigate the impacts of these sets of regulations on the frequency of industrial forestry-caused (IDF) wildland fires in the province of Ontario, Canada. Data from 1976 to 2019 are analyzed. A case-crossover study finds no evidence to suggest that MIOP’s greater flexibility in operating hours has increased the probability of IDF fire occurrences. This result indicates that MIOP’s regulations have had the desired effect of allowing longer working hours on days with heightened fire risk without adding to the seasonal wildland fire load.