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Abstract
There are about 303 million hectares (ha) of forest lands in the U.S. (Oswalt and Smith 2014). National forests comprise 58 million ha (or roughly 145 million acres). Conducting silvicultural maintenance and restoration on these lands is important in correcting the current degraded state of overstocking or excess downed woody debris (Reinhardt et al. 2008). Overstocked trees and understory competition can induce physiological stress, and trees may become more susceptible to wildfire, insect pests, and disease (Weatherspoon and Skinner 2002). These conditions ultimately increase the collective amount of biomass fuels that forest land managers may need to remove.
Keywords
detrimental soil impact,
dry and wet snow,
forest floor ecology,
forest health,
frost tube,
frozen ground,
geocells,
organic matter,
road cover mat,
rock fragments,
snow depth,
SnowPaver,
soil moisture regimes,
soil quality,
soil rutting and puddling
Citation
Nash, Mohammad; Napper, Carolyn; Page-Dumroese, Deborah; Alger, Russ; Wagenbrenner, Joe; Tirocke, Joanne; Amman, Amy; Courtney, Anna; GriesI, Jim. 2020. Winter logging for mechanical harvesting and fuel treatment operations. 2025-2806-NTDP. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Technology and Development Program. 40 p.
