Predicting the process of rutting during continuous logging in logging areas with peat soils

The article considers the problems of assessing the formation of ruts during logging operations on peat soils. The ways of reducing the impact of logging equipment on the soil are considered, while the emphasis is placed on the use of felling residues to strengthen the skidding lines. This method is the most common, but to date there is no clear system for assessing the quality of laying felling residues on technological driveways. In this regard, in Latvia, on the territory of state forests, in the central part of the republic in Jelgava carried out research work on the assessment of track formation on the passed cabins of the main use. At the same time, the cutting area was located on peat soils with a depth of peat cover in the range of 20-50 cm. In the studied area, transportation was carried out by forwarders JD 1110 with an average flight load of 9 m³. The paper describes the methodology of the conducted research, presents schemes for the distribution of experimental plots, data collection and presents the main results of the studies, on the basis of which the dependences of the width of the felling residues (with a diameter greater than 2 cm) per 1 meter of track, the depth of the track from the width of the felling residues per 1 m of track were obtained, and also proposed matrices for predicting the expected depth of the track.