Soil compaction caused by harvesting, skidding and wood processing in eucalyptus forests on coarse‐textured tropical soils

Abstract

Eucalyptus forests play a major role in the world economy, providing raw materials for different purposes. In planted forests, harvest operations performed by heavy machinery may cause severe soil compaction. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a full‐tree harvesting system in planted eucalyptus forests from Northeastern Brazil. Different soils were evaluated (two Hapludults and one Haplorthod) in two horizons (BA and Bt). We tested different equipment, namely feller buncher, skidder (with traffic intensities of 3, 6, 12 and 16 passes), flail (at different ground‐contact points), grapple saw and loader. The soil physical attributes reflected not only the impact of equipment traffic but also the intrinsic differences between the soils. Bulk density (ranging from 1.36 to 1.80 t m−3 after trafficking) related well to soil class and horizon. Precompression stress (ranging from 203 to 430 kPa) and degree of compaction (76%–94%) following trafficking were well correlated, while increase in bulk density (reaching a maximum of 20%) related more strongly to soil moisture. A contingency table was constructed with the number of compacted samples and further examined by correspondence analysis. Compaction varied according to soil, horizon and equipment, indicating that machine–soil interactions are very specific and demand detailed research under different conditions. The Haplorthod experienced the greatest amount of compaction, whereas the Hapludult‐2 was more resistant (60% and 25% of compacted samples, respectively). The grapple saw and the skidder at higher traffic intensities (12 and 16 passes) exerted the highest mechanical impacts (81% and 67% of compacted samples, respectively).