• Ryder, Roger A.
  University of Maine Graduate School
  

A relative disturbance index (RDI), computed using estimates of potential hydrologic runoff and soil erosion for 144 intensively sampled plots, was used to evaluate the severity of soil disturbances associated with skid trails following partial harvest of a northern hardwood stand in north-central Maine. Utilizing a global positioning system (GPS), 5.6 miles (8.9 km) of skid trail were surveyed across three harvest sites; two were harvested using the herringbone pattern while one was harvested using the perpendicular-to-road pattern. During the GPS survey, the following skid trail attributes were measured and categorized for each section of skid trail: traffic density, slope, side hill slope, and curvature. The data were entered into a geographic information system (GIS), which was used to identify individual skid trail sections for detailed disturbance evaluation across the range of measured skid trail attributes.