Logging Roads Research Articles

Life Cycle of a Logging Road and Risk Management at the Design and Survey Stages

Life Cycle of a Logging Road and Risk Management at the Design and Survey Stages

ОЦЕНКА ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ ПРИМЕНЕНИЯ РЕКУПЕРАТИВНОГО ПНЕВМОГИДРАВЛИЧЕСКОГО ТЯГОВО-СЦЕПНОГО УСТРОЙСТВА ЛЕСОВОЗНОГО АВТОПОЕЗДА

The relevance of increasing the efficiency of logging road trains by reducing the transport costs spent on the process of hauling timber is substantiated. The analysis of scientific works of foreign authors has been carried out, which made it possible to identify the most important factors influencing the process of the efficiency of timber hauling by timber road trains. A promising design of a two-chamber coupling device for a timber road train is proposed, which provides an increase in the energy efficiency of the timber hauling process. Based on the developed mathematical model and computer program, a preliminary assessment of the efficiency indicators of the proposed road train coupling device was carried out. It has been established that equipping a logging road train with a recuperative two-chamber coupling de-vice will allow generating a recuperated power of about 7.8 kW when the road train moves along an insufficiently equipped logging road. It was revealed that the optimal value of the diameter of the two-chamber hydraulic cylinder of the coupling device is 90 mm, while achieving the maximum value of the recuperated power and the minimum value of the longitudinal acceleration of the trailer with timber relative to the timber vehicle.

АНАЛИЗ ВЛИЯНИЯ УСЛОВИЙ РАБОТЫ ЛЕСОВОЗНЫХ АВТОПОЕЗДОВ НА НАДЕЖНОСТЬ И СВОЕВРЕМЕННОСТЬ ИХ ТЕХНИЧЕСКОГО ОБСЛУЖИВАНИЯ

The description of the road and natural-climatic conditions for the operation of timber-carrying road trains is given. The main features of logging roads, which are characterized by insufficient infrastructure, are considered. The analysis of the negative consequences of the movement of logging road trains along such logging roads in various natural and climatic conditions is carried out. The dependences of the change in the speed of movement and fuel consumption of a logging road train on the nature of the longitudinal profile of the logging road, the performance of the road train on the distance of hauling timber are given. The patterns of change in the speed of movement and the travel fuel consumption of a logging road train depending on its workload and movement along logging roads with different slope values, as well as road roughness parameters, are analyzed. The influence of road conditions of operation of timber road trains on the reliability of their main units and systems is described. The features of maintenance of timber road trains involved in the process of hauling timber are analyzed. The dependences of the change in the flow of spare parts consumption for maintaining the working condition of cars during the year are considered. The patterns of change with increasing mileage of the KAMAZ-53105 vehicle in the mean time between failures and the coefficient of technical readiness are shown.

ОЦЕНКА ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЯ СУЩЕСТВУЮЩИХ СХЕМ КОМПОНОВАНИЯ ЛЕСОВОЗНЫХ АВТОПОЕЗДОВ

This article discusses the relevance of using timber trucks for the removal of timber. The existing schemes for the layout of timber road trains are given. The analysis of the main ad-vantages of logging trucks with trailers, logging truck tractors with semi-trailers, logging trucks with drop trailers, as well as three-link logging road trains is carried out. The dependences of changes in the load capacities of saddle and trailer road trains on their specific load capacity are presented. The regularities of changes in the specific volume of the platform from the carrying capacities of trailer and saddle road trains are given. The dependences of the mounting length of the frame and the specific area of the platform of saddle and trailer road trains on their carrying capacity are analyzed. A comparison of the efficiency indicators of a trailer logging road train and a logging road train with dissolution is given. The patterns of changes in harmful emissions into the environment during a given period of time by heavy-duty multilink timber haulers are shown. The technical and economic efficiency of hauling timber of the same batch by different configurations of timber road trains is con-sidered. The regularities of the performance of three-link and two-link road trains from the permissible speed of their movement, as well as the regularities of changes in their fuel characteristics when driving on roads of a var-iable longitudinal profile, are analyzed.

Компьютерное моделирование работы рекуперативного поворотного коникового устройства лесовозного тягача с прицепом-роспуском

The article validates the necessity of increasing the transportation efficiency of longcut timber (LCT) by hauling tractors with timber drugs during their operation in conditions of poorly equipped logging roads with the presence of irregularities, defects, barriers, as well as frequent turns, ascents and descents. An original scheme of a recuperative swivel bunk device (RSBD) for a hauling tractor (HT) with a timber drug (TD) is designed as a result of earlier research on development and evaluation of various recuperative coupling devices for logging trucks operating in difficult road conditions. A computer program has been developed in order to identify the dependences of change in time of such parameters of the bunk device efficiency as recoverable power and horizontal acceleration of an LCT bundle, as well as to determine the regularities of influence of the studied heights of the logging road bearing area, the driving speed of a logging truck and the inner diameter of longitudinal and transverse hydraulic cylinders of the recuperative device on these parameters. It has been found out that equipping a logging truck with the proposed RSBD is reasonable when LCT transporting, especially in conditions of poorly equipped logging roads. With an increase in speed of the logging truck when it moves in difficult road conditions from 10 to 60 km/h recoverable power increases significantly from 3 to 24 kW, as well as the horizontal acceleration of the LCT bundle relative to HT changes from 0.4 to 2.3 m/s2. It is found that the optimum diameters of transverse and longitudinal hydraulic cylinders of RSBD, providing the maximum recoverable power of 6.7 kW and the average horizontal acceleration of the LCT bundle of 1 m/s2, is 50 mm. The results obtained can be useful to research and design organizations engaged in further improvement of recuperative devices of similar type used for timber road transport.

Информационно-интеллектуальные системы определения геометрических элементов лесовозных автомобильных дорог

This article discusses the issues of using ground-based stereophotogrammetric survey to determine the geometric elements of logging roads. Due to the lack of developments on the assessment of accuracy in determining the geometric elements of roads, the use of terrestrial stereophotogrammetry makes it possible to eliminate the shortcomings of geodetic measurement methods, since it makes it possible to obtain reliable information about the road as a result of the use of modern computer technologies. These issues are very relevant when performing work on the inspection of logging roads for the purpose of their reconstruction. For carrying out the reconstruction of a logging road, along with the definition of its elements, such as the width of the carriageway, the radius of horizontal and vertical curves, it is very important to determine the main points of the curves. This is due to the need to survey the existing road in terms of traffic safety on it. Determining the position of the beginning and end of the curve directly in the field is a rather complex and time-consuming task. The most rational way to determine the main points of the curve will be the one in which all measuring operations will be carried out in the office process and with sufficient accuracy for further design. To determine the main points of the curve, an analytical method is proposed using materials from ground-based stereophotogrammetric survey, which is based on obtaining the polar coordinates of these points of the curve. The use of ground-based stereophotogrammetric surveys makes it possible to obtain objective and high-quality information about a logging road, transfer labor-intensive measurement operations to the cameral process, and automate survey work. Ground-based photo-video recording materials allow directly in office conditions using a stereoscopic terrain model to measure the width of the subgrade of the road, the radii of vertical and horizontal curves, the angles of inclination and slopes of lines, and to determine the position of the main points of the curves. The use of modern computer technologies significantly increases the advantages of the ground-based stereophotogrammetry method.

The Economic Impact of a Renewable Biofuels/Energy Industry Supply Chain Using the Renewable Energy Economic Analysis Layers Modeling System

The University of Tennessee’s (UT) Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics models supply chains for both liquid and electricity generating technologies currently in use and/or forthcoming for the bio/renewable energy industry using the input–output model IMPLAN®. The approach for ethanol, biodiesel, and other liquid fuels includes the establishment and production of the feedstock, transportation of the feedstock to the plant gate, and the one-time investment as well as annual operating of the facility that converts the feedstock to a biofuel. This modeling approach may also include the preprocessing and storage of feedstocks at depots. Labor/salary requirements and renewable identification number (RIN) values and credits attributable to the conversion facility, along with land-use changes for growing the feedstock are also included in the supply chain analyses. The investment and annual operating of renewable energy technologies for electricity generation for wind, solar, and digesters are modeled as well. Recent modeling emphasis has centered on the supply chain for liquid fuels using the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s 179 economic trading areas as modeling regions. These various data layers necessary to estimate the economic impact are contained in UT’s renewable energy economic analysis layers (REEAL) modeling system. This analysis provides an example scenario to demonstrate REEAL’s modeling capabilities. The conversion technology modeled is a gasification Fischer–Tropsch biorefinery with feedstock input of 495,000 metric tons per year of forest residue transported to a logging road that is less than one mile in distance. The biorefinery is expected to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), diesel, and naphtha. An estimated one million tons of forest residue are required at fifty percent moisture content. Based on a technical economic assessment (TEA) developed by the Aviation Sustainability Center (ASCENT) and the quantity of hardwood residues available in the Central Appalachian region, three biorefineries could be sited each utilizing 495,000 dry metric tons per year. Each biorefinery could produce 47.5 million liters of SAF, 40.3 million liters of diesel, and 23.6 million liters of naphtha. Annual gross revenues for fuel required for the biorefineries to break even are estimated at $193.7 million per biorefinery. Break-even plant gate fuel prices when assuming RINs and 12.2 percent return on investment are $1.12 per liter for SAF, $1.15 per liter for diesel, and $0.97 per liter for naphtha. Based on IMPLAN, an input–output model, and an investment of $1.7 billion, the estimated economic annual impact to the Central Appalachian region if the three biorefineries are sited is over a half a billion dollars. Leakages occur as investment dollars leaving the region based on the regions local purchase coefficients (i.e., LPPs), which totals $500 million. This results in an estimated $2.67 billion in economic activity with a multiplier of 1.7, or for every million dollars spent, an additional $0.7 million in economic activity is generated in the regional economy. Gross regional product is estimated at $1.28 billion and employment of nearly 1,200 jobs are created during the construction period of the biorefineries, which results in $700 million in labor income with multiplier effects. Economic activity for the feedstock operations (harvesting and chipping) is estimated at slightly more than $16.8 million resulting in an additional $30 million in the economic impact. The stumpage and additional profit occurring from the harvest of the forest residues result in $40 million directly into the pockets of the resource and logging operation owners. Their subsequent expenditures resulted in a total economic activity increase of $71.4 million. These operations result in creating an estimated 103 direct jobs for a total of 195 with multiplier effects. Direct feedstock transportation expenditures of more than $36.7 million provide an estimated increase in economic activity of almost $68 million accounting for the multiplier effects.

РЕЗУЛЬТАТЫ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ ДВИЖЕНИЯ ЛЕСОВОЗНОГО АВТОПОЕЗДА, ОБОРУДОВАННОГО СЕДЕЛЬНО-СЦЕПНЫМ УСТРОЙСТВОМ С ПРУЖИННЫМ АМОРТИЗАТОРОМ

Based on the analysis of scientific works of foreign authors, the main factors influencing the efficiency of the operation of timber tractors with semi-trailers have been identified. A promising design of a fifth wheel coupling with a spring shock absorber for timber tractors with semi-trailers that haul timber in difficult road conditions is proposed. A mathematical model of the movement along a logging road of a logging tractor with a semi-trailer equipped with a fifth wheel coupling with a spring shock absorber has been developed. Based on the developed computer program, a preliminary assessment of the performance indicators of the proposed design of the coupling device was carried out. It has been established that the spring shock absorber of the fifth wheel coupling provides, during braking and acceleration, a decrease in the amplitude of acceleration oscillations between a timber tractor and a semi-trailer with timber in the range from 0.95 to 0.6 m/s2. It was found that in order to reduce unfavorable vibrations of a semi-trailer with timber relative to a timber tractor, it is advisable to use dry friction in a spring shock absorber.

ОЦЕНКА ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ ПЕРСПЕКТИВНОЙ КОМБИНИРОВАННОЙ ТЕХНОЛОГИИ ДЛЯ ВОССТАНОВЛЕНИЯ ШЕЕК КОЛЕНЧАТЫХ ВАЛОВ ДВИГАТЕЛЕЙ ЛЕСОВОЗНЫХ АВТОПОЕЗДОВ

The negative consequences of exploitation of logging road trains in difficult road and climatic conditions are considered. It has been established that the largest share of failures during the operation of a timber hauling train falls on its engine. Possible defects of the crankshaft, which contribute to the failure of the engine of a logging road train, are described. The expediency of the process of restoration of crankshafts of engines is substantiated. The analysis of the results of the study of foreign authors in the field of development and improvement of various methods for restoring the main and connecting rod journals of the crankshafts of engines is carried out. Among them, the most progressive method of restoration was revealed, which consists in the plasma deposition of coatings of specified properties on the main and connecting rod journals of the crankshafts. In order to increase the efficiency of the coatings obtained by plasma spraying, a combined method for the simultaneous deposition and hardening of the coating is proposed. A preliminary assessment was made on the basis of mathematical modeling of the main physical and mechanical properties of coatings obtained using this technology. The wear resistance of coatings obtained on the developed laboratory installation using compared technologies has been studied.

Even Minor Logging Road Development Can Decrease the Functional Diversity of Forest Bird Communities: Evidence from a Biodiversity Hotspot

Even Minor Logging Road Development Can Decrease the Functional Diversity of Forest Bird Communities: Evidence from a Biodiversity Hotspot

Data sets for the Upper Penticton Creek watershed experiment: A paired‐catchment study to support investigations of watershed response to forest dynamics and climatic variability in an inland snow‐dominated region

AbstractThe Upper Penticton Creek watershed experiment is one of a handful of forestry‐focused paired catchment experiments in the snow‐dominated zone of western North America. The study involves an undisturbed control catchment and two treatment catchments. Streamflow has been monitored at weirs on all three streams since 1985. Following a pre‐harvest monitoring period, the treatment catchments were subject to clearcut harvesting in multiple passes that cumulatively covered ~50% of the catchments. In addition to streamflow, available hydrometeorological data sets include weather observations, snowpack water equivalent, rainfall interception, soil water content and water table levels in soil piezometers and bedrock wells. The data archive also includes digital elevation models, a Lidar‐derived image of tree heights in 2016, and vector data associated with lakes and reservoirs, the stream network, clearcut boundaries, a soil map and the logging road network. Together, these data sets provide a basis for empirical analyses of hydrological response to forest dynamics and climatic variability, and for calibration and testing hydrological models using internal variables. They should also provide useful data sets for educational purposes.Novelty StatementUpper Penticton Creek is the only long‐term, snowmelt‐dominated, experimental paired catchment study in western Canada and one of only a few in western North America. Four decades of environmental monitoring and research at this site provide an important data set to support analysis and modelling of hydrologica response to forest disturbance and climatic variability.

Математическое моделирование трассы лесовозных автомобильных дорог

The implementation of tasks related to the development of the transportation network as a whole and logging roads as an integral part of it requires scientifically based theoretical studies of the patterns of formation of spatial curves when combining elements of the plan and the longitudinal profile, since the rational laying of the route for many years determines its most important transport and operational characteristics (speed, traffic safety, traffic capacity). Consideration of the visual perception of the road by the driver will improve the quality of design decisions, which will allow to avoid emergencies in the future after setting the route into service. On the other hand, a decrease in speed before seemingly sharp turns of the road affects the efficiency of logging road transport. Therefore, the view of the road ahead should strongly orient the driver, i.e. be visually clear and clearly changing, ensuring the constancy or smooth reduction of the traffic flow mode. At the same time, the need for a successful spatial solution of the road increases. In the designs of logging roads, straight lines, transition curves, described in recent years most often according to the clotoid, and circular curves are found as elements of the route plan. It is found that the road view in perspective correctly orients the driver of the car, i.e. it is visually clear, provided that the lines describing the edges of the roadway and the edges of the roadway in the perspective image are curved in the same direction as in the road plan. The purpose of the work is to determine a set of quantitative indicators (curvature, radius of the curve in the plan, maximum curvature, maximum rate of change of curvature) for optimization of the visual smoothness and clarity of the central projections of elementary spatial and plane curves. The performed studies allow us to fully characterize the visual smoothness and clarity of the central projections of elementary spatial and plane curves. The above algorithm makes it possible to compile a computer program to determine the mentioned indicators. The indicators determined by this algorithm allow us to evaluate both the visual smoothness and clarity of curves on logging roads.

Верификация экспериментами моделей скорости движения лесовозов в зависимости от природно-производственных факторов

One of the key production parameters of the forest transport process is the speed of movement of timber carriers when removing wood from the upper warehouse. This speed determines the maximum possible volume of prepared and exported wood. Many natural and industrial factors affect the speed of a timber truck. The speed of transport depends on the traffic conditions on the roads, which are significantly complicated by adverse weather events. Scientists have identified laws in changing the speed modes of moving vehicles based on practical observations of individual road sections. To identify the dependence of the speed of a logging truck on 31 factors under consideration, 162 observations were made on measurements of the speed of logging trucks in various natural and industrial conditions. Mathematical models have been developed for calculating the speed of a logging vehicle, taking into account natural and industrial factors. Verification of the obtained nonlinear and wave regression models is the goal of this article. To verify the models, an additional experiment was carried out to compare the calculated models of speed modes of timber carriers with the actual ones. During the experiment, we used data on the speed of a logging truck when transporting wood from the upper warehouse in the cutting area to the raw material warehouse of a wood processing enterprise on the territory of the Yenisei forest district of the Krasnoyarsk territory. The logging road was divided into six sections, each of which was divided into elementary sections by slopes. At each section, the parameters that affect the speed of the timber carrier were determined using previously identified multi-factor equations, and the estimated time of cargo delivery by the timber carrier to the destination was obtained. Comparing the actual travel time with the calculated one based on previously identified equations for a timber truck with cargo on the way from the upper warehouse to the point of wood delivery, it was found that the estimated time of cargo delivery coincides with the actual one with an error of 7 %, and this is an acceptable norm(less than 30 %) for technological processes. Thus, the obtained results of testing multi-factor models can be considered reliable.

Changes in soil bacterial communities, and carbon and nitrogen metrics as potential indicators of land use effects in a humid tropical forest

It is unclear how different management practices influence tropical soil ecosystems in post-logging habitats over short or long terms. In this project, we demonstrated that critical differences in soil C and N metrics, organic C use efficiency, and DNA-identified bacterial community structures occurred along a land use disturbance gradient in a humid tropical primary forest (PF) Costa Rica following deforestation and conversion of the forest into logging roads (LR), grasslands that were grazed and then abandoned (GR), and regenerating secondary forests (SF). The mean proportion of DNA sequences, their richness and diversity for total bacterial genera and those linked to N-fixation, ammonium oxidation, and degradation of complex organic C compounds were generally greater in the PF than the SF soils, followed by the GR and then the LR soils. The specific land use-associated changes in soil NO3−/NH4+, TN, TOC, and biomass C/TOC best predicted these differences in bacterial communities. The SF soil ecosystems were on a better trajectory towards similarity with the PF soils, followed by the GR soils, with the LR soils still being the most negatively influenced. This study showed that the soil biotic and abiotic factors were clearly different along the disturbance gradient, with each soil ecosystem responding differently to the forest clearing, followed by development of logging roads, abandoned grasslands, and secondary forests. This work also showed that differences in C and N metrics, and the structure of total and functional group communities of bacteria, in particular, the genera Solibacter, Burkholderia, Bradyrhizobium, Comamonas, Geobacter, Azospirillum, Nitrospira, Nitrosovibrio, Rhodoplanes and Phenylobacterium can serve as future indicators of soil damage and recovery following different types of disturbances.

Analysis of the Influence of Temperature and Precipitation on the Beginning of Wood Removal in the Summer

The purpose of logging roads is an effective carting out of the planned amount of harvested wood. Main problems: the problem of increasing transport accessibility of forest resources; the need to take into account and neutralize the negative impact of factors that affect the carting out of harvested wood; minimize costs across the entire supply chain. All these problems are affected by natural and climatic factors. Based on the analysis of the practical experience of logging companies, the amount of moisture in the ground has a large influence on the start of operation of summer roads. It was found that at the beginning of the summer logging road operation season, in addition to the water and heat regime (precipitation and their amount), the amount of moisture in the soil is also affected by the moisture of meltwater. Retention of meltwater in the soil depends on the freezing of the soil in the autumn-winter period, as a result, the most freezing of soils occurs when there is an excess amount of water in the soil. Research in this area is topical, since the amount of precipitation before constantly falling snow in the autumn period has an impact on the process of retention of meltwater in the ground and has a significant influence on the beginning of timber carting out in the summer. As a result, the purpose of the research is to analyze the influence of precipitation in the spring period, positive air temperature and amount of water in the soil in the autumn period on the beginning of timber carting out along summer roads, as well as to compile a corresponding regression model. The object of this research is data on the dates of the beginning of timber carting out in the summer from the logging territories of enterprises in the Krasnoyarsky kray

Research of the Logging Trucks Speed Dependence on Natural and Climatic Factors

One of the parameters that allow us to predict the capacity of forest roads is the speed of the logging truck. It can act as an indicator of the road condition and be used as an optimality criterion for optimizing timber transport processes in the development of forest massive. This article is devoted to the study of the dependence of this indicator on natural and climatic factors when driving on various categories of forest roads at different times of the year. The object of the research is automobile logging roads located in the intensively used logging areas of the Krasnoyarsk territory. To obtain regression equations, the planning of the experiment was performed. Regression models were found that describe the influence of road slope and the amount of precipitation on the speed of a logging truck. The indicated dependencies are obtained for different categories of roads and periods of the year when driving in empty and cargo directions. All equations have fairly high accuracy and are statistically significant. The constructed dependencies are graphically illustrated. The results obtained can be used in planning the development of a road network in the forest area, selecting means, methods, and volumes of wood removal.

Mapping regional forest management units: a road-based framework in Southeastern Coastal Plain and Piedmont

Management practices are one of the most important factors affecting forest structure and function. Landowners in southern United States manage forests using appropriately sized areas, to meet management objectives that include economic return, sustainability, and esthetic enjoyment. Road networks spatially designate the socio-environmental elements for the forests, which represented and aggregated as forest management units. Road networks are widely used for managing forests by setting logging roads and firebreaks. We propose that common types of forest management are practiced in road-delineated units that can be determined by remote sensing satellite imagery coupled with crowd-sourced road network datasets. Satellite sensors do not always capture road-caused canopy openings, so it is difficult to delineate ecologically relevant units based only on satellite data. By integrating citizen-based road networks with the National Land Cover Database, we mapped road-delineated management units across the regional landscape and analyzed the size frequency distribution of management units. We found the road-delineated units smaller than 0.5 ha comprised 64% of the number of units, but only 0.98% of the total forest area. We also applied a statistical similarity test (Warren’s Index) to access the equivalency of road-delineated units with forest disturbances by simulating a serious of neutral landscapes. The outputs showed that the whole southeastern U.S. has the probability of road-delineated unit of 0.44 and production forests overlapped significantly with disturbance areas with an average probability of 0.50.

The impacts of a logging road on the soil microbial communities, and carbon and nitrogen components in a Northern Zone Costa Rican forest

Logging road development is considered as potentially more damaging to a tropical forest than the felling of the actual trees. However, little work has been conducted to determine how logging road development impacts the soil microbial communities and associated C and N cycle activities in tropical forests. This study was conducted within an upland tropical forest in the Northern Zone of Costa Rica that had a 2-year abandoned logging road system (used for harvesting trees felled during a tornado) to determine how development of logging roads affected soil C and N cycle activities, efficiency of organic C use, and bacterial and fungal community compositions. Soil samples from a set of logging roads, the road edges, and adjacent primary forests were analyzed for C, N metrics, the Microbial Quotients, and DNA-based microbial taxonomic community compositions; which were tested for differences using multivariate statistical analyses. The logging road soils had significantly greater bulk density and clay, and lower levels of sand, TN, NO3−, NO3−/NH4+, TOC, C Biomass, and Microbial Quotients compared to the road edge and forest soils. The composition of the total bacterial genera of the road edge and forest soils were similar to one another and different from that of the logging road soils, and the composition of the total fungal genera was unique within each of the three areas sampled. The relative abundance of DNA sequences of N-cycle bacteria were greater, and lignin degrading bacteria and wood rot/lignin degrading fungi were less in the logging roads compared to the edge and forest soils. These results suggest that the rate of recovery of both the C and N cycle activities and associated microbial groups in the soils from the road edges is occurring more rapidly than in the abandoned logging road soils. Thus, we suggest that a new tropical forest management practice should include the movement of the slash and debris from the road edge regions onto the logging roads after abandonment, as it would enhance the rate of recovery of both the C and N cycle activities in the soils, and perhaps begin to address the concern that logging roads add an additional 10–15 years to tropical forest recovery following deforestation.

The effect of information transfer related to soil biodiversity on Flemish citizens' preferences for forest management

Despite its essential role in the delivery of ecosystem services, forest soil biodiversity experiences pressures, especially of anthropogenic origin. Forest management can harm or support soil biodiversity, depending on the management decisions taken, but currently generally overlooks soils. Management decisions considerably depend on public opinion, that often conflicts with foresters' viewpoint and differs from what is ecologically optimal. Moreover, public opinion is mostly ignorant of soil biodiversity, creating opportunities for information to strengthen consideration of soil biodiversity amongst citizens. Therefore, this study assesses public preferences for forest management affecting soil biodiversity, and investigates the effect of an information treatment related to soil biodiversity on these preferences. For this purpose, we conducted a discrete choice experiment with a representative sample of 299 Flemish citizens, including an information treatment in a within subjects study design. Results showed that the information treatment significantly increased preferences for higher shares of old trees and dead wood, tree species mixing and tree logging through fixed logging roads, which support soil biodiversity. Heterogeneity in preferences was found but decreased after the information treatment. Specifically, 67% of the respondents focused on aesthetics and recreation before the information treatment, while their preferences for biodiversity components, tree logging and regulating ecosystem services considerably increased after the information treatment. Providing information is expected to increase preferences of these individuals most, who generally were less familiar with forests and soil biodiversity. On the other hand, familiar individuals more knowledgeable of soil biodiversity disclosed preferences that encouraged a wider set of forest management intensities. Policy makers can use this information to increase valuation of soil biodiversity by citizens regarding their forest management preferences. Eventually, this can help to achieve public acceptance of management choices that support soil biodiversity and foster adoption of such choices amongst foresters.

The reasons great ape populations are still abundant in logged concessions: Environmental drivers and the influence of management plans

Negative short-term impact of logging on great ape distribution has been investigated but very little information is available on the long-term impacts of selective logging and management plans on ape habitats at a broader scale. We carried out a habitat suitability analysis using the presence data of great apes to identify the spatial relationships between their locations, logging activities patterns, and other human impacts (due to activities in rural communities) in an FSC-certified forestry concession (388,949 ha) in Cameroon. First, field data showed that the two great ape species, gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes troglodytes), did not differ in habitat type selection and they particularly appreciated highly dense rainforests which also lie within selectively logged zones. Second, we used MAXENT software to relate ape presence data to a set of predictor variables which represent environmental conditions and human disturbance factors (poaching, farming, trees felled to collect honey, logging roads). The model predicted that half of the whole concession may be suitable for the two primate species. Disturbances stemming from rural communities mainly correspond to poaching in the framework or not of usage rights. Road density was the strongest predictor of habitat choice by the great apes. Whereas the great apes tend to avoid zones with high road density, their population abundance increases in areas with a certain level of old logging roads. The vast majority of the predicted suitable habitats corresponds to areas logged less than 17 years ago (46.8% of the whole suitable area) where sustainable management practices have begun to be implemented, and unlogged areas (34.30%). Unsuitable habitats were mostly located in areas exploited before 2003 (45.46% of the unsuitable zones) with no reduced-impact logging practices, and in unlogged forests (41.51%). Our findings tend to confirm that selective logging combined with reduced-impact logging techniques which were more prevalent in FSC-certified concessions, may maintain or increase the spatial distribution of great ape habitats.