J. For. Sci., 2018, 64(6):251-259 | DOI: 10.17221/18/2018-JFS

Evaluation of animal logging in the mixed broadleaved mountain forest: Economic and environmental impactsOriginal Paper

Aysan BADRAGHI*,1, Jörn ERLER1, Seyed Ata Ollah HOSSEINI2, Robert LANG1
1 Department of Forest Technology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Technical University Dresden, Tharandt, Germany
2 Department of Forestry and Forest Economics, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

This investigation assessed the economic and environmental impacts of small-scale wood logging by mules in the mixed broadleaved mountain forest. To develop a time prediction model, all measurements of time are replaced by their decadic logarithms. Unit cost was calculated by two methods: (i) as usual, division of the system cost by average productivity per hour, (ii) on the basis of the developed logarithmic models. To investigate the residual damage a 100% inventory method was employed in pre- and post-hauling, alongside the mule trail. A core sampling technique of bulk density was used for determining the degree of soil compaction, and soil disturbed widths were measured at a 5-m interval in the mule hauling direction. In this research, computed unit cost was 17.2 EUR.m-3 and estimated unit cost by the logarithmic model was 16.2 EUR.m-3. This result highlights the time consumption which estimated by the developed model was at a close ratio with real time (average at 95%). In terms of environmental impact, the results indicated that 5.7% of regenerations and 0% of trees were damaged. Also we found that the increased bulk density was not significant (P = 0.903) and only about 0.2% of the total area was disturbed.

Keywords: productivity and cost; logarithm; mule; residual damage; soil damage

Published: June 30, 2018  Show citation

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BADRAGHI A, ERLER J, HOSSEINI SAO, LANG R. Evaluation of animal logging in the mixed broadleaved mountain forest: Economic and environmental impacts. J. For. Sci. 2018;64(6):251-259. doi: 10.17221/18/2018-JFS.
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