Hot Wheels: Assessing Soil Response to Fully Mechanized Timber Harvesting

Stockholm

2024

3409

Bandaufführung

40005287

The increasing demand for wood, driven by the bio-economy, is leading to the increased use of fully mechanized timber harvesting systems. These ground-based harvesting systems typically have a large impact on the soil. This study investigates the impact of fully mechanized winchassisted harvesting systems on sustainability criteria such as soil deformation and soil properties during late thinning in two beech stands on Stagnic Cambisol on Flysch. It is motivated by the need for more precise data to plan future harvesting operations on sensitive soils. A sample of 27 skid trails with an average slope of 35 % were scanned in April 2023. A mobile laser scanning system (GeoSLAM ZEB Horizon) with a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithm was used to generate a 3D point cloud and collect high-resolution data on soil deformation and soil properties in the study area. To our knowledge, this is the first study to use the SLAM algorithm to assess displaced soil volume on skid trails. The effects of harvesting with and without tracks, slope gradient, and number of forwarder passes on the soil will be compared and analyzed. We hypothesize that fully mechanized harvesting systems have a significant impact on soil deformation and soil properties of a Stagnic Cambisol on Flysch. We expect these effects to vary depending on the use of bogie tracks and soil conditions (e.g., moisture content) during logging operations. We anticipate that the results will highlight the need for careful selection of vehicle equipment, route planning, and timing to reduce the likelihood of rutting in fully mechanized harvesting operations. The study contributes to a better understanding of the impact of modern harvesting machinery on soil properties. It provides data to guide future sustainable harvesting operations on sensitive soils under expected future climate conditions.