Assessment of the impact of skidded timber bunches on forest soil compac-tion

Abstract

The study is focused on establishing a new approach to assess the soil deformation and compaction processes under the influence of individual components of the skidding system such as forwarder, limbs, butts, and tops of tree-lengths in high latitudes, permafrost soil, and forests of the cryolithic zone. This is particularly relevant with respect to global climate change and vulnerability of high-latitude forest ecosystems, as well as the increasing need to reduce the environmental consequences of human activities.