Generally applicable and professionally applied criteria for acceptable soil damage after forest operations are a prerequisite for efficient forest soil protection and objective control of the quality of forest operations. This research took the form of a survey conducted among forestry experts to examine the acceptability of the criteria proposed by Poje et al. (2019) on the basis of previous studies. The survey was conducted on the 35th Forestry Study Days Conference and involved 62 respondents from different institutions. The results of the survey showed that the harmonised criteria are stricter than the proposed criteria and that the assessments by individual indicators within the criteria vary between stakeholders. According to the proposed harmonised criteria, a density of 192 m/ha with skid trails and an additional 193 m/ha with harvester trails is allowed. The maximum rut depth in skid and harvester trails shall not exceed 30 cm and 20 cm, respectively. The maximum rut depth on 90% of the length of all harvester trails at the logging location shall not exceed 10 cm. Based on the results of other studies, the proposal for harmonised criteria also appears to be reasonable and appropriate from a technological, economic and environmental point of view. Before the harmonised criteria are introduced in practice, a method for assessing soil damage needs to be developed, in addition to on-site verification of the respective criteria and their possible reorientation.
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