Assessment of Forest Harvesting Damage to Residual Stands and Regenerations - a Case Study of Namkhaneh District in Kheyrud Forest

Reducing the impact of harvesting on residual stand and regeneration is very important, considering the use of close-to-nature forestry for Hyrcanian forestmanagement and the low cutting volume distribution of this method. To obtain these objectives, this research was carried out in 220 compartments of Namkhaneh district, in Kheyrud Forest. In order to determine the damage to residual stand and regeneration, 50*50 m systematic sampling with a random start was used. Data of the damage to regeneration and trees were collected in circular plots with 0.01 ha and 0.05 ha after chainsaw tree felling, respectively. Results of the data analysis showed that about 7 % of remaining trees and 23 % of residual regeneration were damaged in the study areas. Also, these researches showed that the amount of damage to the seedlings was smaller than to the small sampling and thicket. Training of tree cutting crews is the most important factor for decreasing residual stand damage after harvesting. The residual stand damage from a cutting operation was studied in an uneven-aged mixed forest to examine the main factors (i.e. tree species, location, size, and type) affecting stand damages. Directional tree felling in a forest stand and using some helping instrument could be useful for decreasing the residual stand damage.