Evaluation of soil compaction by a tracked vehicle in a planted Abies sachalinensis forest in Hokkaido, Japan

ABSTRACT

Although harvester–forwarder systems have high work productivity and are safe for the operators, they can cause environmentally detrimental soil compaction and rutting that potentially reduces future tree growth. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate soil compaction by a tracked harvester machine (often used in such systems) and to determine the protective effects of slash matting and snow cover on soil compaction. Soil penetration resistance was increased by machine traffic, whereas rut formation was only slightly increased. Soil compaction caused by the forest machine appeared to be only the initial stages of compaction, and this may have been more severe with the use of machines that impose greater ground pressure. While snow cover provided significant protection, the protective effect of slash mat did not occur. We concluded that snow cover is effective in mitigating soil compaction from forest harvester machines.

KEYWORDS:

• Soil compaction
• forestry machine
• Hokkaido
• slash matting
• snow cover

Acknowledgments

We thank Mr M. Sanada, Dr H. Utsugi, Dr M. Takahashi, Dr T. Yamaguchi and staff in the management subsection of the Hitsujigaoka Experimental Forest for their assistance with the field experiment. We thank Dr Y. M. Ito for his helpful advice on the statistical analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute [Grant Number 201107] and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI [Grant Number JP25450228].