Evaluation of Leaf Litter Mulching and Incorporation on Skid Trails for the Recovery of Soil Physico-Chemical and Biological Properties of Mixed Broadleaved Forests

Meghdad Jourgholami, Azadeh Khoramizadeh, Angela Lo Monaco, Rachele Venanzi, Francesco Latterini, Farzam Tavankar and Rodolfo Picchio
Additional contact information
Meghdad Jourgholami: Department of Forestry and Forest Economics, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj 999067, Iran
Azadeh Khoramizadeh: Department of Forestry and Forest Economics, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj 999067, Iran
Angela Lo Monaco: Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Rachele Venanzi: Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Francesco Latterini: CREA Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria-Research Centre for En-gineering and Agro-Food Processing, 00015 Rome, Italy
Farzam Tavankar: Department of Forestry, Khalkhal Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khalkhal 56817-31367, Iran
Rodolfo Picchio: Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: Engineering applications can be used to mitigate the adverse effects of soil compaction and amend compacted soils. Previous literature has highlighted the beneficial effects of interventions such as litter mulching and incorporation on skid trails. However, little is known about the effectiveness of these alternatives in restoring forest soil quality after forest logging. The objective of this study was to properly elucidate the effects of the above mentioned soil protection methods, litter incorporation before skidding (LI) and litter mulching after skidding (LM), on the recovery of compacted soil’s physico-chemical and biological properties on skid trails over a 2-year period in the Hyrcanian forests of Iran to identify the best option for restoration intervention. The litter used in both methods consisted of dried leaves of the hornbeam and maple tree in three intensities of 3, 6, and 9 Mg ha −1 . The results showed that the application of both methods (LI and LM) significantly improved the soil properties when compared to the untreated skid trail. Results showed that the recovery values of soil properties in the LI treatments were significantly higher than those of the LM. The recovery values of soil properties by 6 and 9 Mg ha −1 were significantly higher than those of 3 Mg ha −1 , while the differences were not significant between 6 and 9 Mg ha −1 . Our findings showed that soil properties were partially recovered (70–80%) over a 2-year period from treatment, compared to untreated, but the full recovery of soil properties required more time to return to the pre-harvest value. Overall, the results of this study demonstrated that the application of soil protection methods accelerates the process of recovering soil properties much faster than natural soil recovery, which can take more than 20 years in these forests.

Keywords: forest harvesting; skid trail; soil compaction; leaf litter; mulching; incorporation; soil recovery (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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