Soil compaction monitoring of the Pool Timber Sale, Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado, 16 years after logging

Abstract

We conducted a soil monitoring project in 1992 after a shelterwood harvest. One year after harvesting, we determined that 21.32 percent of the area in Unit 5 of the Pool Timber Sale was considered to have detrimental soil compaction. In 2007, we conducted another monitoring project on the same stand by the same person to determine the degree of soil compaction recovery on skid trails. Results from the 2007 monitoring showed that detrimental soil compaction still existed in the stand and that there was no significant difference between the 1992 and the 2007 skid trail bulk densities. Monitoring the occurrence of platy structure on these sites was not an accurate predictor of detrimental soil compaction.

Citation

Rawinski, John J.; Page-Dumroese, Deborah S. 2008. Soil compaction monitoring of the Pool Timber Sale, Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado, 16 years after logging. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-215. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 12 p.