Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Swedish energy policy aims to increase the use of energy from renewable sources and this should be done in a safe, environmentally and sustainable manner. According to the Energy Agency the use bio-fuel increased by 73% between 1990 - 2006. Stands with high share of slash are often located on areas with high productivity which often are located on soils with poor bearing capacity. This will increase traffic on susceptible soil leading to increased ground damage. To reduce the risk of ground damage at slash-forwarding, ground protection is needed. Presently some slash is used as ground protection at slash-forwarding, causing contamination of the bio-fuel and makes it useless.
The aim of this study was to examine possible alternatives to the use of slash as ground protection and investigate wheel-rut development at unprotected ground. Four different treatments were studied on a silty till soil on a clear-cut area outside Bräcke; slash layer about 20 cm, geonet with a thin slash layer, bed of pulpwood and unprotected ground. Variables that were collected during the field study were wheel-rut, soil compaction, time measurement and cost calculation. The ground protective measures were evaluated based on these values. Severe wheel-rut development and change in soil compaction was found during the study. The wheel ruts increased near-linearly between the 2nd and 6nd passage on the unprotected area. All protective measures preserved the ground better than unprotected ground, with some differences in efficiency between measures, but the cost of the different ground protections varied quite strongly.