مجله جنگل ایران (May 2017)
Economical assessment of forest harvesting damages to residual stand
Abstract
Reducing the impact of harvesting on residual stand and regeneration is very important considering the application of close-to-nature forestry for Hyrcanian forest management and the low cutting volume distribution in this method. This research was carried out in two compartments no. 317 and 320 in Gorazbon district, Kheyrud forest, Nowshar, Iran. The objectives of this study were to determine the amount of damages on residual stand and express monetary cost of the damages in order to create incentives to better forest resources management in order to preserve these valuable resources. Considering the results of all felling areas in sample plots showed that most damages were on trees with DBH < 30 cm. During felling operations, 764 beech seedlings and 261 hornbeam trees were completely destroyed and 1731 beech seedlings and 370 hornbeam trees were injured. Evaluation of scars quality on the trunk of tree stand in felling areas with regards to position of scars showed that most scars were present at 2 m heights and were mostly superficial scars (no bark removed and damages to cambium). The cost of damage to regeneration was 40.6 billion Rials and to 101 damaged trees was 22.6 billion Rials. Training the tree cutting crews is the most important factor for decreasing the residual stand damage after harvesting.
