Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Maine Woodlands
Publisher
Maine Woodland Owners
Publication Date
1-2023
Issue Number
1
Volume Number
48
Abstract/ Summary
This article discusses the critical role of harvest trails in silvicultural outcomes and the varying impacts of different timber harvesting systems. Tree-length logging with cable skidders, emerging in the 1960s, was a significant change that first underscored the value of prior trail layout. Whole-tree harvesting increased productivity but led to larger landings and wider trails, potentially occupying a large forest footprint. Cut-to-length (CTL) systems, adopted from Scandinavia, offer silvicultural advantages by leaving residues in the woods, reducing soil disturbance, and minimizing trail area. Foresters play a crucial role in controlling harvest impacts by choosing appropriate equipment, designating trails, and adapting practices to site-specific conditions to minimize the total area occupied by trails. Effective trail management, including deploying technology like Avenza maps and careful consideration of trail reuse, is essential for achieving desired silvicultural outcomes and mitigating negative effects like rutting and poor regeneration. Rehabilitating damaged trails with excavators and implementing preventative measures like hardened trails are also important considerations, especially with changing climate patterns.
Several case studies on the author’s Tree Farms illustrate some important issues. At Wicopy Woods and Kenduskeag, CTL harvesting resulted in minimal visible trails in mature white pine and hardwood stands, whereas a more linear pattern was evident in denser wetland conifer. The Pine Paradise sale utilized a combination of flagged arterial trails and Avenza maps for CTL operations, also noting the challenges of reusing older, wider skidder trails due to potential rutting. A recently acquired lot that underwent heavy high-grading with a whole-tree system demonstrates the negative consequences of a non-silvicultural harvest, resulting in over half the area being devoid of merchantable trees and facing regeneration challenges. Finally, Black's Grove Tree Farm illustrates the problem of rutting on a reused grapple skidder trail during wet weather and the necessity of rehabilitating such damage with an excavator, a situation also encountered at Pinkham Brook Tree Farm.
Repository Citation
Seymour, Robert S., "Managing Silvicultural Impacts of Harvest Trails" (2023). Silviculture and Management of Maine’s Forests. 4.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/silviculture/4
Version
publisher's version of the published document
