L’Institut canadien de recherches en génie forestier (FERIC) a étudié une opération de récolte d’arbres entiers en bordure de route, en été, dans un peuplement mixte à dominance feuillue du centre de l’Alberta. Le rapport décrit le compactage du sol dans le bloc, à la suite des phases d’abattage et de débardage.
From July to September 1997, FERIC performed short-term case studies of five different implements used to till compacted landings in the Cariboo Forest Region. The case studies were part of a larger study by Lignum Ltd. and the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Cariboo Forest Region to investigate techniques for rehabiliting compacted medium and fine-textured soils. The five implements studied were: an excavator-mounted six-toothed silvicultural rake; a rake and a high-speed mixing head mounted on skid-steer loader; a Tilth winged subsoiler towed by a crawler tractor; standard ripper teeth mounted on a crawler tractor; and a skidder-mounted powered disc trencher. This report reviews the treatments, productivities and costs of using the five implements.
Forest managers in western Canada are now treating old forest roads and harvested sites to mitigate environmental concerns. This Compendium has been developed to assist practitioners in western Canada in selecting and implementing restoration measures appropriate to their needs and conditions. Watershed restoration activities, techniques and research trials in western North America are described and contacts for further information are given. Additions to the Compendium will be made on an ongoing basis.
The Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada (FERIC) monitored a summer roadside harvesting operation in a hardwood-dominated stand near Dawson Creek in northeastern British Columbia. This report presents the productivity and cost of the harvesting operation and describes the soil disturbance from skidding and loader-forwarding.
Selection harvesting of tolerant hardwoods typically stops during the spring and early summer when there is heightened concern over damage to soils and residual stems from felling trees and machine activity. A feller-buncher and an 8-wheel forwarder modified into a clambunk skidder were evaluated as a lower impact alternative to conventional cable or grapple skidders to operate during the traditional shutdown period within acceptable guidelines for soil disturbance, residual stem damage and trail occupancy. This study showed that the feller-buncher and clambunk skidder used for single-tree and group selection harvesting could potentially extend the logging season into the spring shutdown period without exceeding local site impact guidelines.
When forest harvesting equipment moves across a cutblock, soil compaction and/or rutting can result. Forest practitioners are therefore concerned about the long-term effects of harvesting on forest soil health, water quality, and tree growth. The purpose of this handbook is to provide practical advice to forestry contractors and equipment operators, and their field supervisors, about the risk of damage to forest soils during harvesting operations, and how to avoid it. The opportunity to protect forest soil occurs at each step of the forestmanagement process, from harvest planning to field layout to harvesting and post-harvesting activities. Operators of forestry equipment, harvesting contractors, and field supervisors are vital links in this process. To help identify when the health of forest soil is at risk, this handbook offers a brief introduction about forest soils, and explains why and how soil is susceptible to damage. The soil terminology used is defined in a glossary along with other equipment related terms (Appendix I). For harvesting contractors and equipment operators, the handbook explains how visual indicators like landscape features and tree species can be used to estimate soil moisture, and offers simple field tests to help them anticipate when soils become at risk. For contractors, equipment features that influence soil compaction and rutting are discussed, and operating techniques to reduce soil damage are suggested. For field supervisors, harvest scheduling options that minimize soil damage are included. As well, the handbook offers ways to modify harvesting operations when soils have become susceptible to damage. Maintaining soil health during harvesting requires knowing when soils are at increased risk of compaction and rutting, and understanding how equipment operation interacts with the soil. If contractors, operators, and field supervisors can anticipate susceptible soil types and conditions, they will be able to plan ahead and make changes to their operating schedules and techniques. Recommendations made in this handbook regarding equipment and operating techniques are to serve as guidelines only. Local operating conditions and regulations, as well as equipment availability, must be considered when interpreting this information.
FERIC has produced a guide for equipment operators, contractors and their field supervisors aimed at preventing soil damage from forest operations. A brief description of soils and soil damage categories is provided as are recommendations for choosing equipment options and operating techniques that reduce damaging soil disturbance.
L'objectif du présent guide est de fournir des conseils pratiques aux entrepreneurs forestiers, aux opérateurs de machinerie et aux superviseurs de terrain. Il aborde les risques de dommages aux sols forestiers associés aux opérations de récolte et de préparation de terrain ainsi que la manière de les éviter.
From September 1998 to May 1999, the Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada (FERIC) performed short-term case studies of temporary road and landing rehabilitation operations in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Rehabilitation at each location consisted of ripping potentially compacted road and landing surface, followed by retrieving roadside berms of topsoil and organic material including large and small woody debris. This report reviews the treatments, productivities and costs of rehabilitation at each location.
During both summer and winter seasons, the Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada (FERIC) sampled representative examples of skid-trail construction and rehabilitation using small excavators in southeastern British Columbia. The study documented the operating techniques and identified factors affecting productivities and costs of trail construction and rehabilitation over a range of moderate and steep slopes
