A Comparison of Residual Stand Damage along Yarding Trails in a Group Selection Harvest Using Four Different Yarding Methods

Abstract

Abstract A study of residual stand damage along yarding trails associated with four harvest methods—harvester/forwarder and cable skidder, tractor, and bulldozer with chainsaw felling—was conducted in a group selection harvest of a mixed hardwood stand in Maine. Tractive yardingmethods were associated with greater numbers of damaged trees per meter of trail length. In addition, the bulldozer method resulted in the largest number of damaged boles per 100 m2 of near-trail space, whereas the smallest number of damaged boles per 100 m2 was associatedwith the forwarder method. The tractor method resulted in the most root damage, and the forwarder method resulted in the largest trail width. These results have implications for equipment selection and the planning of harvests and harvest access systems.