Pollinator Habitat in Log Landings: Mitigating Soil Degradation

Log landings (places where loggers stack, sort, and load timber into trucks) result in soil compaction and the removal of vegetation. Although using dedicated landing sites and skid trails during timber harvests limits heavy machine traffic to specific areas of the forest and minimizes soil and vegetation disturbance, these practices can result in severe soil compaction on the small areas used, which can in turn lead to erosion of unprotected soils and provide opportunities for invasive plant species to gain a foothold. The result can lead to poor quality habitat for local wildlife, including pollinators.

The Pollinator Habitat in Log Landings (PHiLL) project aims to mitigate soil compaction in log landings so that these sites can host high quality pollinator habitat between timber harvests.