ABSTRACT Thinning has a crucial role in retaining the future value of stands; hence, excessive soil disturbance and damage to residual trees can diminish thinning advantages. The research aims were to assess soil disturbance and the level of stand damage from thinning operations. Thinning intensity ranged from 8.3% to 19.1% of the standing volume. Soil disturbance and damage level to residual trees, were determined in five young even-aged hardwood stands, using ground-based extraction systems. Tree felling was done by chainsaw, and full trees were extracted by a skidder. Point-transect method and systematic sampling plots were used to characterize soil disturbance and residual trees damage, respectively. Surface of disturbed soil ranged from 14% to 27% and stand damage ranged from 5% to 18% of the residual trees and they were significantly increased by increasing thinning intensity. Soil resistance to penetration at a depth of 0–10 cm in the shallow disturbed (0.39 MPa), deep disturbed (0.52 MPa), and skid trails (0.79 MPa) were increased by 14%, 27%, and 54%, respectively, compared to the undisturbed soils (0.25 MPa). Winching was the main cause of soil disturbance and damage to residual trees. The highest frequency of damage was observed on trees with a dbh class of 20 cm (24.3%). Most of the stand damage occurred on the bole (55%) of trees, with wound sizes ranging from 50 to 350 cm2, and most of the wounds (53%) showed damage to the cambium and wood fibers, at heights of <1 m above the ground line (76%).