Project Code:	MDFP-01-025
Area:	Applied Research
Sponsor:	Manning Diversified Forest

The primary goal of of this Study was to assess the soil compaction/damage risks associated with winter harvesting and develop preventative measures to alleviate or reduce its impact.

Study objectives included quantifying soil compaction by skidder traffic during winter operations as a function of freezing depth and water content in the unfrozen layer; determining the efficiency of snow compression to minimize soil disturbance during winter harvesting; and to validate a computer simulation model of soil freezing as a decision support tool.

Field work, data collection/analysis/report writing was carried over the period October 2000 to March 2002.

Project results are contained in a twenty-three page report entitled "Evaluation of Winter Harvesting Impacts in Boreal Forests – Phase 1", written by Andrei Startsev & Ken Greenway, and dated March 2002.

Additional deliverables include "Soil Conservation Guidelines for Winter Operations"; and two draft scientific manuscripts: entitled "Soil Compaction During Winter Harvesting", and "Use of SHAW Model to Predict Soil Freezing During Harvesting Operations".

Keywords
Soil Damage Impacts
Winter Harvesting
Risk Assessment
Manning Diversified Forest Products
Preventative Measures