scholarly journals Impact of skidder and high-lead system logging on forest soils and advanced regeneration

2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (No. 6) ◽  
pp. 273-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Modrý ◽  
D. Hubený

The applied skidding technology strongly influences the impact of harvest on the ecosystem and success of natural regeneration. The impact of skidder SLKT 81 and high-lead system Larix 3T on forest soil and natural regeneration was compared under analogical site and stand conditions in a production beech forest in the environs of Brno, Czech Republic. The skidder was found to have greater effects on the soil surface consistency, soil properties and natural regeneration than the high-lead system operations. Although high-lead system operations are more friendly to all parts of forest ecosystem, the skidder may not cause excessive damage when applied under suitable terrain and climatic conditions.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolás Riveras ◽  
Kristina Witzgall ◽  
Victoria Rodríguez ◽  
Peter Kühn ◽  
Carsten W. Mueller ◽  
...  

<p>Soil erosion is one of the main problems in soil degradation nowadays and is widely distributed in many landscapes worldwide. Particularly water erosion is widespread and determined by rain erosivity, soil erodibility, topographic factors and the management carried out to mitigate this phenomenon. Although this process is mostly known as a consequence of human management such as agriculture or forestry, it is a process that also occurs naturally, being one of the factors that regulate the shape of the landscape.</p><p>One of the main agents that stabilize the soil surface is biota and its activity, either in the form of plants, microorganisms or as an assemblage in the form of a biological soil crust (biocrusts). However, there are limited studies about how and what extent biota drives soil-stabilizing processes. With particular view on the impact of biocrusts on soil erosion, most studies have been carried out in arid and semi-arid regions, so its influence under other climates is largely unknown.</p><p>This study focuses on the influence of biota on soil erosion in a temperature and rainfall gradient, covering four climate zones (arid, semi-arid, mediterranean and humid) with very limited human intervention. Other variables such as the origin of the geological formation, geographical longitude and glacial influence were kept constant for all study sites. The effect of vegetation (biocrusts) and its abundance, microbiology and terrain parameters are investigated using rainfall simulation experiments under controlled conditions and by a physico-chemical evaluation of the soil, surface runoff, percolation and sediment discharge, in order to determine the different environmental filtering effects that the soil develops under different climatic conditions.</p><p>It is expected that as vegetation vigor and cover increase, soil erodibility will decrease. The biocrust is the protagonist of this stabilization in conditions of low pedological development and will become secondary as edaphoclimatic conditions favor the colonization of plants.</p><p>The results of this study will help to achieve a better understanding of the role of biota in soil erosion control and will clarify its influence on soil losses under different climate and slope conditions. Analyses are currently ongoing and first results of our work will be presented at the EGU 2020.</p>


2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Margita Dubová

AbstractWe present data on sodium amounts reaching the forest soil surface at the Beech Ecological Experimental Site Kremnické vrchy Mts (Western Carpathians). Sodium concentration and deposition were determined in precipitation and throughfall sampled from study plots. The mean annual sodium concentrations obtained on the two plots (CC - clear cut, C - control) were 0.16 (CC ) and 0.19 mg l


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Georg Jocher ◽  
Natalia Kowalska ◽  
Manuel Acosta ◽  
Jan Krejza ◽  
Irena Marková ◽  
...  

Climate-smart forestry (CSF) consists of an extensive framework of actions directed to mitigating and adapting to global climate change impacts on the resilience and productivity of forest ecosystems. This study investigates the impact of the pan-European 2018 drought on carbon exchange dynamics in typical highland and mountain forests in the Czech Republic, including two coniferous stands (Norway spruce at Bílý Kříž and Rajec) and one deciduous stand (European beech at Štítná). Our results show that the annual net ecosystem CO2 uptake at Rajec decreased by 50% during the drought year in comparison to a reference year with normal climatic conditions. The Bílý Kříž stand is less affected by drought, as the local microclimate ensures sufficient water supply. The European beech forest at Štítná is most resilient against drought and its negative impacts — there we detect no differences in carbon exchange dynamics between the drought year and the reference year. We consider the matching of tree species to site conditions as crucial in the context of CSF, specifically regarding the stand response to water limitation and water supply and demand. Successively replacing spruce with beech trees in areas with high water demand but limited water supply, like Rajec, will support the goals of CSF.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg Jocher ◽  
Natalia Kowalska ◽  
Manuel Acosta ◽  
Jan Krejza ◽  
Irena Marková ◽  
...  

<p>Climate-smart forestry (CSF) consists of an extensive framework of actions directed to mitigating and adapting to global climate change impacts on the resilience and productivity of forest ecosystems. This study investigates the impact of the pan-European 2018 drought on carbon exchange dynamics in typical highland and mountain forests in the Czech Republic, including two coniferous (Norway spruce at Bílý Kříž and Rajec) and one deciduous (European beech at Štítná) stand. Our results show annual net ecosystem CO<sub>2</sub> uptake at Rajec to be reduced by 50% during the drought year in comparison to a reference year with normal climatic conditions. Bílý Kříž is less affected by drought, as the local microclimate ensures sufficient water supply. The European beech forest at Štítná is most resilient against drought and its negative impacts: there we detect no differences in carbon exchange dynamics between the drought year and the reference year. We consider the matching of tree species to site conditions as crucial in the context of CSF, specifically regarding the stand response to water limitation and water supply and demand. Successively replacing spruce with beech trees in areas with high water demand but limited water supply, like Rajec, will support the goals of CSF.</p>


2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (No. 2) ◽  
pp. 74-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Viewegh ◽  
A. Kusbach ◽  
M. Mikeska

Forest classification, made up by Plíva and Průša (Plíva 1971), has been used in the Czech Republic forestry since 1970. This classification is based on ecological factors of the environment. Edaphic conditions are at the first position, then climatic conditions follow (by their vertical [altitudinal] distribution mainly). These two factors form the basic construction called ecological grid (Table 1).


2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (No. 7) ◽  
pp. 309-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Satrapová ◽  
T. Hyvönen ◽  
V. Venclová ◽  
J. Soukup

Climate change could promote the altitudinal spread of C4 weed species since they can benefit from warmer climate. The effects of altitude and climatic conditions (the sum of temperatures above 5&deg;C and precipitation) on the biomass and seed production of two annual C4 weeds &ndash; Amaranthus retroflexus L. and Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P.<br />Beauv. &ndash; were studied in the Czech Republic. We included both temperature and precipitation variables in the study since they both serve as basic indicators of climate change and thus they have the greatest impact on plant development. The experiment was carried out by sowing both weed species on m<sup>2</sup> area with four replicates in seven localities differing in altitude in 2010 and 2011. We found no significant impacts due to altitude on any variables measured. However, climatic factors explained 44.5% of the variation in plant dry biomass and 41.4% of the seed number produced by A. retroflexus. The same variables did not significantly contribute to the variation in above-ground biomass or seed number of E. crus-galli. These results show the impact of climate conditions to vary between species and not to limit reproduction at high altitudes.


2020 ◽  
pp. 50-64
Author(s):  
Kuladeep Kumar Sadevi ◽  
Avlokita Agrawal

With the rise in awareness of energy efficient buildings and adoption of mandatory energy conservation codes across the globe, significant change is being observed in the way the buildings are designed. With the launch of Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) in India, climate responsive designs and passive cooling techniques are being explored increasingly in building designs. Of all the building envelope components, roof surface has been identified as the most significant with respect to the heat gain due to the incident solar radiation on buildings, especially in tropical climatic conditions. Since ECBC specifies stringent U-Values for roof assembly, use of insulating materials is becoming popular. Along with insulation, the shading of the roof is also observed to be an important strategy for improving thermal performance of the building, especially in Warm and humid climatic conditions. This study intends to assess the impact of roof shading on building’s energy performance in comparison to that of exposed roof with insulation. A typical office building with specific geometry and schedules has been identified as base case model for this study. This building is simulated using energy modelling software ‘Design Builder’ with base case parameters as prescribed in ECBC. Further, the same building has been simulated parametrically adjusting the amount of roof insulation and roof shading simultaneously. The overall energy consumption and the envelope performance of the top floor are extracted for analysis. The results indicate that the roof shading is an effective passive cooling strategy for both naturally ventilated and air conditioned buildings in Warm and humid climates of India. It is also observed that a fully shaded roof outperforms the insulated roof as per ECBC prescription. Provision of shading over roof reduces the annual energy consumption of building in case of both insulated and uninsulated roofs. However, the impact is higher for uninsulated roofs (U-Value of 3.933 W/m2K), being 4.18% as compared to 0.59% for insulated roofs (U-Value of 0.33 W/m2K).While the general assumption is that roof insulation helps in reducing the energy consumption in tropical buildings, it is observed to be the other way when insulation is provided with roof shading. It is due to restricted heat loss during night.


Author(s):  
N. Maidanovych ◽  

The purpose of this work is to review and analyze the main results of modern research on the impact of climate change on the agro-sphere of Ukraine. Results. Analysis of research has shown that the effects of climate change on the agro-sphere are already being felt today and will continue in the future. The observed climate changes in recent decades have already significantly affected the shift in the northern direction of all agro-climatic zones of Europe, including Ukraine. From the point of view of productivity of the agro-sphere of Ukraine, climate change will have both positive and negative consequences. The positives include: improving the conditions of formation and reducing the harvesting time of crop yields; the possibility of effective introduction of late varieties (hybrids), which require more thermal resources; improving the conditions for overwintering crops; increase the efficiency of fertilizer application. Model estimates of the impact of climate change on wheat yields in Ukraine mainly indicate the positive effects of global warming on yields in the medium term, but with an increase in the average annual temperature by 2 ° C above normal, grain yields are expected to decrease. The negative consequences of the impact of climate change on the agrosphere include: increased drought during the growing season; acceleration of humus decomposition in soils; deterioration of soil moisture in the southern regions; deterioration of grain quality and failure to ensure full vernalization of grain; increase in the number of pests, the spread of pathogens of plants and weeds due to favorable conditions for their overwintering; increase in wind and water erosion of the soil caused by an increase in droughts and extreme rainfall; increasing risks of freezing of winter crops due to lack of stable snow cover. Conclusions. Resource-saving agricultural technologies are of particular importance in the context of climate change. They include technologies such as no-till, strip-till, ridge-till, which make it possible to partially store and accumulate mulch on the soil surface, reduce the speed of the surface layer of air and contribute to better preservation of moisture accumulated during the autumn-winter period. And in determining the most effective ways and mechanisms to reduce weather risks for Ukrainian farmers, it is necessary to take into account the world practice of climate-smart technologies.


Author(s):  
S.E. Rudov ◽  
◽  
V.Ya. Shapiro ◽  
O.I. Grigoreva ◽  
I.V. Grigorev ◽  
...  

In the Russian Federation logging operations are traditionally carried out in winter. This is due to the predominance of areas with swamped and water-logged (class III and IV) soils in the forest fund, where work of forestry equipment is difficult, and sometimes impossible in the warm season. The work of logging companies in the forests of the cryolithozone, characterized by a sharply continental climate, with severe frosts in winter, is hampered by the fact that forest machines are not recommended to operate at temperatures below –40 °C due to the high probability of breaking of metal structures and hydraulic system. At the same time, in the warm season, most of the cutting areas on cryosolic soils become difficult to pass for heavy forest machines. It turns out that the convenient period for logging in the forests of the cryolithozone is quite small. This results in the need of work in the so-called off-season period, when the air temperature becomes positive, and the thawing processes of the soil top layer begin. The same applies to the logging companies not operating in the conditions of cryosolic soils, for instance, in the Leningrad, Novgorod, Pskov, Vologda regions, etc. The observed climate warming has led to a significant reduction in the sustained period of winter logging. Frequent temperature transitions around 0 °C in winter, autumn and spring necessitate to work during the off-season too, while cutting areas thaw. In bad seasonal and climatic conditions, which primarily include off-season periods in general and permafrost in particular, it is very difficult to take into account in mathematical models features of soil freezing and thawing and their effect on the destruction nature. The article shows that the development of long-term predictive models of indicators of cyclic interaction between the skidding system and forest soil in adverse climatic conditions of off-season logging operations in order to improve their reliability requires rapid adjustment of the calculated parameters based on the actual experimental data at a given step of the cycles.


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