Effects of Directional Felling, Elephant Skidding and Road Construction on Damage to Residual Trees and Soil in Myanmar Selection System

T. C. Khai, N. Mizoue, T. Kajisa, T. Ota, S. Yoshida

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Reduced-impact logging (RIL) is widely expected to maximize conservation values of selectively logged tropical forests; however, there remains a lack of supporting data to confirm the effectiveness of individual RIL practices. This study evaluates the extent of damage to residual stands and soil caused by directional felling, elephant skidding, and road construction in a tropical mixed deciduous forest under the Myanmar Selection System (MSS). The felling damage number was consistently larger for bamboo clumps than for trees over the range of felled tree size and felling intensity. Soil disturbed by road construction made up 4.6% of the 9-ha study area, but no visible damage to residual trees and soil from elephant skidding was found three months after the operation. Directional felling toward bamboos and elephant skidding of MSS are effective as RIL practices, producing the lowest level of damage to residual trees and soil as compared with other RIL studies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)296-305
Number of pages10
JournalInternational Forestry Review
Volume18
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2016

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Forestry
  • Geography, Planning and Development
  • Ecology

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