Abstract
The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of skidding operations on the physical and chemical properties of soil as well as root and height growth of maple seedlings. Treatment plots with three replications included combinations of three levels of traffic frequency (three, eight, and 16 passes of a rubber-tired skidder Timberjack 450C) and two levels of trail gradient (≤20 and >20 %) to quantify soil disturbance and corresponding seedling growth. Significant differences between undisturbed areas and machine trail areas of bulk density (0.75 vs. 1.26 g cm−3), total porosity (70.6 vs. 50.4 %), macroporosity (44.5 vs. 18.5 %), microporosity (26.1 vs. 31.8 %), moisture content (50.0 vs. 31.3 %), and forest floor biomass (3498 vs. 1271 kg ha−1) were strongly related to the level of traffic frequency and the trail gradient. Similarly, skidding caused significant reductions in the amount of soil OC (by 41 %), concentrations of nitrogen (53 %), phosphorous (28 %), potassium (31 %), and soil acidity (40 %) compared to undisturbed areas. Finally, germination rate, root length, and stem height of seedlings were inversely related to compaction. Physical and chemical soil properties are often significantly impacted by skidding operations, depending on trail gradient and traffic frequency, which resulted in restrictions to seedling growth.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alameda D, Villar R (2009) Moderate soil compaction: implications on growth and architecture in seedlings of 17 woody plant species. Soil Tillage Res 103:325–331
Ampoorter E, Goris R, Cornelis WM, Verheyen K (2007) Impact of mechanized logging on compaction status of sandy forest soils. For Ecol Manag 241:162–174
Ampoorter E, De Frenne P, Hermy M, Verheyen K (2011) Effects of soil compaction on growth and survival of tree saplings: a meta-analysis. Basic Appl Ecol 12:394–402
Ares A, Terry TA, Miller RE, Anderson HW, Flaming BL (2005) Ground-based forest harvesting effects on soil physical properties and Douglas-fir growth. Soil Sci Soc Am J 69:1822–1832
Arocena JM (2000) Cations in solution from forest soils subjected to forest floor removal and compaction treatments. For Ecol Manag 133:71–80
Arvidsson J (1999) Nutrient uptake and growth of barley as affected by soil compaction. Plant Soil 208:9–19
Bassett IE, Simcock RC, Mitchell ND (2005) Consequences of soil compaction for seedling establishment: implications for natural regeneration and restoration. Austral Ecol 30:827–833
Bejarano MD, Murillo AM, Villar R, Quero JL, Zamora R (2005) Crecimiento de plántulas de Quercus pyrenaica bajo distintos niveles de radiación y compactación del suelo. Resumen de Actas del 48 Congreso Forestal. Zaragoza
Bejarano MD, Villar R, Murillo AM, Quero JL (2010) Effects of soil compaction and light on growth of Quercus pyrenaica Willd. (Fagaceae) seedlings. Soil Tillage Res 110:108–114
Berli M, Kulli B, Attinger W, Keller M, Leuenberger J, Flühler H, Springman SM, Schulin R (2004) Compaction of agricultural and forest subsoils by tracked heavy construction machinery. Soil Tillage Res 75:37–52
Botta G, Jorajuria D, Rosatto H, Ferrero C (2006) Light tractor frequency on soil compaction in the rolling Pampa region of Argentina. Soil Tillage Res 86:14–19
Botta G, Pozzolo O, Bomben M, Rosatto H, Rivero D, Ressia M, Tourn M, Soza E, Vázquez J (2007) Traffic alternatives in harvest of soybean (Glycine max L.): effect on yields and soil under direct sowing system. Soil Tillage Res 96:145–154
Brady NC, Weil RR (2002) Elements of the nature and properties of soils, 2nd edn. Prentice Hall, Englewood, pp 202–212
Bray RH, Kurtz LT (1945) Determination of total organic and available forms of P in soils. Soil Sci 59:39–45
Craig RF (2004) Craig’s soil mechanics, 7th edn. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data, Spon Press, New York
Cubera E, Moreno G, Solla A (2009) Quercus ilex root growth in response to heterogeneous conditions of soil bulk density and soil NH4–N content. Soil Tillage Res 103:16–22
Demir M, Makineci E, Yilmaz E (2007) Investigation of timber harvesting impacts on herbaceous cover, forest floor and surface soil properties on skid road in an oak (Quercus petrea L.) stand. Build Environ 42:1194–1199
Dyck WJ, Cole DW (1994) Strategies for determining consequences of harvesting and associated practices on long-term productivity. In: Dyck WJ et al (eds) Impacts of forest harvesting on long-term site productivity. Chapman & Hall, London, pp 13–40
Eliasson L (2005) Effects of forwarder tyre pressure on rut formation and soil compaction. Silva Fenn 39:549–557
Ezzati S, Najafi A, Rab MA, Zenner EK (2012) Recovery of soil bulk density, porosity and rutting from ground skidding over a 20-year period after timber harvesting in Iran. Silva Fenn 46:521–538
Ferree DC, Streeter JG (2004) Response of container-grown grapevines to soil compaction. Hortscience 39:1250–1254
Finzi AC, Canham CD (2000) Sapling growth in response to light and nitrogen availability in a southern New England forest. For Ecol Manag 131:153–165
Frey B, Kremer J, Rüdt A, Sciacca S, Matthies D, Lüscher P (2009) Compaction of forest soils with heavy logging machinery affects soil bacterial community structure. Eur J Soil Biol 45:312–320
Gayoso J, Iroume A (1991) Compaction and soil disturbances from logging in southern Chile. Ann Sci For 48:63–71
Gómez AG, Powers RF, Singer MJ, Horwath WR (2002a) N uptake and N status in ponderosa pine as affected by soil compaction and forest floor removal. Plant Soil 242:263–275
Gómez AG, Powers RF, Singer MJ, Horwath WR (2002b) Soil compaction effects on growth of young Ponderosa Pine following litter removal in California’s Sierra Nevada. Soil Sci Soc Am J 66:1334–1343
Greacen EL, Sands R (1980) Compaction of forest soils: a review. Aust J Soil Res 18:163–189
Grigal DF (2000) Effects of extensive forest management on soil productivity. For Ecol Manag 138:167–185
Heilman P (1981) Root penetration of Douglas-fir seedlings into compacted soils. For Sci 27:660–666
Jaafari A, Najafi A, Zenner EK (2014) Ground-based skidder traffic changes chemical soil properties in a mountainous Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) forest in Iran. J Terramech 55:39–46
Jackson ML (1962) Soil chemical analysis. Constable and Company Ltd., London
Jamshidi R (2005) Effects of ground-based skidding on soil physical properties of skid trails and forest productivity. M.Sc. Thesis (in Persian)
Jobbágy EG, Jackson RB (2001) The distribution of soil nutrients with depth: global patterns and the imprint of plants. Biogeochemistry 53:51–77
Jordan D, Ponder JF, Hubbard VC (2003) Effects of soil compaction, forest leaf litter and nitrogen fertilizer on two oak species and microbial activity. Appl Soil Ecol 23:33–41
Kalra YP, Maynard DG (1991) Methods and manual for forest soil and plant analysis. Forestry Canada, Re NOR-X-319. Northern Forestry Center
Kim H, Anderson SH, Motavalli PP, Gantzer CJ (2010) Compaction effects on soil macropore geometry and related parameters for an arable field. Geoderma 160:244–251
Kobe RK (2006) Sapling growth as a function of light and landscape-level variation in soil water and foliar nitrogen in northern Michigan. Oecologia 147:119–133
Kozlowski TT (1999) Soil compaction and growth of woody plants. Scand J For Res 14:596–619
Krag R, Higgingbotham K, Rothwell R (1986) Logging and soil disturbance in southeast British Columbia. Can J For Res 16:1345–1354
Makineci E, Demir M, Yilmaz E (2007) Long-term harvesting effects on skid road in a fir (Abies bornmulleriana Mattf.) plantation forest. Build Environ 42:1538–1543
McNabb KL, Miller MS, Lockaby BG, Stokes BJ, Clawson RG, Stanturf JA, Silva JNM (1997) Selection harvest in Amazonian rainforest: long-term impacts on soil properties. For Ecol Manag 93:153–160
Mendham DS, Sankaran KV, O’Connell AM, Grove TS (2002) Eucalyptus globules harvest residue management effects on soil carbon and microbial biomass at 1 and 5 years after plantation establishment. Soil Biol Biochem 34:1903–1912
Nadezhdina N, Čermák J, Neruda J, Prax A, Ulrich R, Nadezhdin V, Gašpárek J, Pokornỳ E (2006) Roots under the load of heavy machinery in spruce trees. Eur J For Res 125:111–128
Naghdi R, Solgi A (2014) Effects of skidder passes and slope on soil disturbance in two soil water contents. Croat J For Eng 35:73–80
Naghdi R, Solgi A, Zenner EK (2015) Soil disturbance caused by different skidding methods in north mountainous forests of Iran. Int J For Eng 26:212–224
Naghdi R, Solgi A, Ilstedt U (2016) Soil chemical and physical properties after skidding by rubber-tired skidder in Hyrcanian forest, Iran. Geoderma 265:12–18
Najafi A, Solgi A (2010) Assessing site disturbance using two ground survey methods in a mountain forest. Croat J For Eng 31:47–55
Najafi A, Solgi A, Sadeghi SH (2009) Soil disturbance following four wheel rubber skidder logging on the steep trail in the north mountainous forest of Iran. Soil Tillage Res 103:165–169
Najafi A, Solgi A, Sadeghi SH (2010) Effects of skid trail slope and ground skidding on soil disturbance. Cas J Environ Sci 8:13–23
Picchio R, Neri F, Petrini E, Verani S, Marchi E, Certini G (2012) Machinery-induced soil compaction in thinning two pine stands in central Italy. For Ecol Manag 285:38–43
Powers RF, Tiarks AE, Boyle JR (1998) Assessing soil quality: practicable standards for sustainable forest productivity in the United States. In: Adams MB, Davidson EA, Ramakrishna K (eds) The contribution of soil science to the development of an implementation of criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management. Soil Science Society of America Journal (SSSA), Madison, pp 52–80
Pregitzer KS, De Forest JL, Burton AJ, Allen MF, Reeses RW, Hendrick RL (2002) Fine-root architecture of nine North American trees. Ecol Monogr 72:293–309
Rab MA (1996) Soil physical and hydrological properties following logging and slash burning in the Eucalyptus regnans forest of southeastern Australia. For Ecol Manag 84:159–176
Sagheb-Talebi K, Sajedi T, Pourhashemi M (2014) Forests of Iran. A treasure from the past, a hope for the future. Plant and vegetation 10. Springer, Dordrecht
Singer MJ (1981) Soil compaction-seedling growth study. Technical Report Cooperative Agreement USDA-7USC-2202, Suppl. 43. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region, San Francisco, CA
Smith CW (2003) Does soil compaction on harvesting extraction roads affect long-term productivity of Eucalyptus plantations in Zululand? South Afr For J 199:41–54
Smith RB, Wass EF (1980) Tree growth on skid roads on steep slopes logged after wildfires in Central and Southeastern British Columbia. Information Report, BC-R-6. Environment Canada, Canadian Forestry Service, Pacific Forest Research Centre, Victoria, B.C. November 1980, pp 28
Solgi A, Najafi A, Daliri HS (2013) Assessment of crawler tractor effects on soil surface properties. Casp J Environ Sci 11:185–194
Solgi A, Najafi A, Sadeghi SH (2014) Effects of traffic frequency and skid trail slope on surface runoff and sediment yield. Int J For Eng 25:171–178
Soto DP, Donoso PJ, Salas C, Puettmann KJ (2015) Light availability and soil compaction influence the growth of underplanted Nothofagus following partial shelterwood harvest and soil scarification. Can J For Res 45:998–1005
Souch CA, Martin PJ, Stephens W, Spoor G (2004) Effects of soil compaction and mechanical damage at harvest on growth and biomass production of short rotation coppice willow. Plant Soil 263:173–182
Tan X, Scott XC, Kabzems R (2005) Effects of soil compaction and forest floor removal on soil microbial properties and N transformations in a boreal forest long-term soil productivity study. For Ecol Manag 217:158–170
Thompson SR (1991) Growth of juvenile lodgepole pine on skid roads in southeastern B.C. Synopsis of results. Prepared for Crestbrook Forest Industries Ltd
Walkley A, Black CA (1934) An examination of wet digestion method for determining soil organic matter and proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Sci 37:29–38
Williamson JR, Neilsen WA (2000) The influence of soil and forest site on rate and extent of soil compaction and profile disturbance of skid-trails during ground based harvesting. Can J For Res 30:1196–1205
Yoshida T, Iga Y, Ozawa M, Noguchi M, Shibata H (2005) Factor influencing early vegetation establishment following soil-scarification in a mixed forest in northern Japan. Can J For Res 35:175–188
Zenner EK, Fauskee JT, Berger AL, Puettmann KJ (2007) Impacts of skidding traffic intensity on soil disturbance, soil recovery, and aspen regeneration in north central Minnesota. North J Appl For 24:177–183
Acknowledgments
This paper presents results from a research project entitled “Assessing the effects of various systems of forest wood extraction on the physical, chemical, and micromorphological characteristics of the soil and the regeneration of the forest.” The research was sponsored by the Presidential Office, Department of Science and Technology, Iran National Science Foundation. The authors are grateful to the Iran National Science Foundation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by Dr. Agustín Merino.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Naghdi, R., Solgi, A., Labelle, E.R. et al. Influence of ground-based skidding on physical and chemical properties of forest soils and their effects on maple seedling growth. Eur J Forest Res 135, 949–962 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-016-0986-3
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-016-0986-3