[pp.81-86]

Analysis of Qualitative Thinning and Small-scale Clear-cutting by Horse Logging in Japan: Case Studies in Iwate Prefectu

Hiroshi TAKAJI and Koji MATSUSHITA （Department of Forestry, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyoto University / Division of Forest and Biomaterials Science, Graduate）

Abstract:
Horse logging is currently used in a limited area in Japan, and this traditional practice and its environmental effects are currently being reevaluated. Here, we used four case studies to analyze the characteristics of working sites and the transportation conditions involved in typical horse-logging practices. Our analyses yielded the following insights: as horse logging is used mainly to avoid constructing new forestry or spur roads, destruction of forested land, time, and cost are minimized; horses can navigate through narrower spaces than forestry machinery, but to conduct horse logging efficiently, partial construction of short spur roads or tentative roads is sometimes necessary; the number of felled trees is small when qualitative thinning, small-scale clear cutting, and selective cutting are conducted, and hauling logs using horses may be more efficient than using vehicles or machinery.

Key Word:
horse logging, small-scale forestry, transportation conditions, thinning, selective cutting

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