The Potential Ecological Effects of Forest Harvesting on Forest Soil

Year 2016, Volume: 2 Issue: 2, 89 - 97, 22.11.2016

Uğur Kezik H.Hulusi Acar

Abstract

In the last century, economic
function of the forests was the main goal of forest management and wood raw
material was the primary product that potentially provides the highest economic
income. However, nowadays forests are considered as multipurpose resources that
have ecological, economic, and social functions. Concerning this fact,
ecosystem-based management plan, as a tool of sustainable forest management
approach, widely implemented in both global and regional scale. The extraction
stage of wood raw material may result in serious environmental impacts
especially damages on forest soil if harvesting operations are not properly
planned. Thus, the negative effects of forest harvesting on forest soil should
be carefully considered in planning phase. In this study, the ecological
impacts of forest harvesting were examined in a variety of forest ecosystems. Soil compaction and
soil quality loss, as the most important indicators of soil disturbance caused
by logging equipment, were assessed based on a literature review. Besides, some
solutions are presented in order to minimize negative effects of forest
harvesting on forest soil. 

Keywords

Forest harvesting, Logging operations, Environmental impacts, Soil compaction, Soil quality loss

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