Theoretical approaches to logging trail network planning: Increasing efficiency of forest machines and reducing their negative impact on soil and terrain

Abstract

A good part of the forest that survived active logging during the previous period of industrialization is now in remote areas: on steep slopes, in waterlogged or permafrost areas. There, especially on the slopes, the use of land disproportionately affects ecological processes, specifically hydrological (e.g., peak waves, suspended load, etc.). Organizing off-trail transport of log timber under such conditions is a challenge associated with specific difficulties. Almost any cutting area has sites of different capacity (stand volume per ha), which require the use of high flotation machines and have habitats that cannot be disturbed. The frequency of trips to cutting areas increases with the stand volume in these areas, but there are areas that machines have to drive round. Areas with weak soils need forest machines to carry less weight or to use additional attachments to hold the load. Unfavourable grades need the bundle to be limited in weight to maintain the tractive effort of a skidder. Because this activity is carried out with a high impact on ecology, it calls for a mathematical model and technique to evaluate logging routes and to assess the impact that logging activities have on the forest soil and subsoil and on the forest in general. This paper is devoted to the creation and justification of such a technique and offers an algorithm for careful forest use and forest-friendly logging. © 2019 IOS Press. All rights reserved.