Photography project integrity and complexity

The previous post was about using photography projects to provide the motivation to get out in less than optimal conditions and of one particular project in progress, recording the impact of modern forestry operations on woodland soil, illustrated with images of a wood presently (March 2015) being harvested by mechanised machinery.  There was nothing contentious with the images, simply an accurate reflection of the events.

I revisited the wood after several days of rainfall to photograph and record the impact of a fully laden forwarder on extraction routes over by now rain saturated ground. Walking around the woodland and there was some dilemma on what to photograph to represent a fair reflection of the harvester operators conduct and ground disturbance from mechanised harvesting plant.

Brash mat covering extraction route

 With saturated ground, soil load bearing capacity decreases and it was evident that the contractors undertaking the harvesting operation, had surfaced extraction routes in the wood, with brash wood to form brash mats.  Brash mats are laid to increase the ground load bearing capacity preventing wheel rutting and form a protection layer against tyre and track tread erosion of the soil surface.

Brashwood protection and ground disturbance

At this site, soil depth appears to vary markedly throughout the wood, in part reflecting the complexity of underlying geology, topography, superficial deposits and prehistoric mining spoil. Where a route was over a significant depth of soil, now saturated by rainfall, the brash mats effectiveness had decreased visibly. The contractors had reinforced existing brash mats covering extraction routes, with additional more substantial brash and/or with greater quantities of brash, nonetheless soil disturbance in the form of compaction and rutting was evident.

To illustrate the disturbance of unprotected ground by the forwarder, an unsurfaced ride on the wood margin had been used as an extraction/access route and wasn't protected with brash mats, it served to emphasise the effectiveness of brash mats for soil protection. The operator of the forwarder, aware of the potential for wheel rutting, had utilised the full width of the ride to mitigate wheel rutting from constant use of one lane only.

Unsurfaced woodland ride / access track

This visit raised a dilemma on what to photograph, to truthfully reflect the forestry operations impact on woodland soil. Some areas of the wood showed minimal disturbance, other areas a greater degree of disturbance. The contractors for their part had demonstrated a high level of compliance with current good practice in minimising disturbance of the woodland soil, whilst harvesting the wood with mechanised machinery.

Reinforced brash mat

As with all of my projects to date, the scope of this project has also increased, due to the unforeseen complexity in producing a fair and truthful photographic record of events.