Strategies concerning the reduction of damage caused by harvesting and extraction of timber – standardisation and classification of soil damage

The paper provides information about the tendencies towards the number of horses and tractors used in Poland, the definition of the term damage in the context of forest utilisation, main soil damage categories resulting from timber extraction in the forest environment. The paper also discusses the methods for the assessment of the extent of soil disturbances, methods for identification of soil damage and gives the examples of soil damage standards and classifications used on the North American Continent (USA, Canada)