Protecting soils during forestry activities

Healthy soils are critical to sustain forests. There is a synergy between soils and forests. A mutual benefit where both soils and forests can help one another.

There is a feedback where healthy forests can improve soil quality and healthy soils can sustain thriving forests.

Soils provide:

nutrients
water
a rooting anchor

Forests provide:

organic matter
root systems to:
- stabilise soil
- create channels for aeration
- create channels for water infiltration and storage
support microbes which drive nutrient cycling

Healthy soils store carbon. Minimising the release of carbon from soils is important for mitigating climate change. Disturbing soils for forestry activities need to be carefully considered to limit carbon loss.

Forest soils are not disturbed often, but when they are, action needs to be taken to protect them. Soil protection measures can:

minimise carbon release
limit erosion and soil loss
limit compaction
mitigate acidification of sensitive soils

Soils and climate change

Climate change can influence soils by affecting their:

physical structure
chemical composition
biological activity
ecosystem services

Soil functioning and health can be influenced by many climate factors.

Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels

Levels of carbon dioxide can influence nutrient cycling, soil moisture, growth rates and carbon sequestration rates.

Temperature rise

Rises in temperature increases carbon loss through faster organic matter breakdown and microbial respiration.

Precipitation changes

Precipitation changes can cause soil erosion, water logging and nutrient losses. Especially if a rainfall event is intense or prolonged. Lack of precipitation can result in drought and influence soil moisture, growth rates and nutrient cycling.

Wind speed

Wind speed affects evapotranspiration rates and can cause erosion.

Solar radiation

Solar radiation influences soil temperature, evaporation of soil water and rates of biological activity.

With climate change, extremes in these climatic conditions are expected to occur more frequently.

Accurate soils data can help plan and manage a forest to increase its resilience to the risks of climate change.

Soils data and information

The Ecological Site Classification Tool (ESC4)

The Ecological Site Classification Tool (ESC4) is a web-based decision support system.

It helps forest managers and planners select tree species that are ecologically suited to particular sites. This avoids trying to modify sites to artificially suit specific species.

ESC4 takes into account climate change projections for 2050 and 2080. Using accurate soils data in the tool is important to get the right decision support and guidance on appropriate species.

The Ecological Site Classification Tool (ESC4) Managing woodlands to combat climate change

Guidance on protecting soils

The UK Forestry Standard Soil Chapter outlines measures to protect soils.

UK Forestry Standard, 5th edition

Cultivation of upland productive woodland creation sites – applicant’s guidance:

supports decision making on appropriate cultivation techniques for planting trees (woodland creation) on different types of upland soils
includes techniques for conducting a peat depth survey.

Cultivation of upland productive woodland creation sites – applicant’s guidance

Protecting the environment during mechanised harvesting operations provides technical guidance on selecting and adapting harvesting systems to site conditions to minimise soil damage and water pollution.

Protecting the environment during mechanised harvesting operations (Forest Research website)

The UK Forestry Standard Practice Guide on Managing forest operations to protect the water environment highlights how the water and soil environment are interlinked. It provides guidance on cultivation practices to minimise soil disturbance during operations.

UK Forestry Standard Practice Guide on Managing forest operations to protect the water environment (Confor website)