Evaluating Area in Logging Trails with a Geographic Information System

A geographic information system (GIS) was used to evaluate the area in logging trails categorized by number of machine passes. Preharvest logging trail surveys and observations of machine movements during harvesting were transferred to a GIS to determine areas. Detailed procedures and time required to build the GIS database are presented. There was excellent agreement between the trail area estimates based on the GIS database and those from an independent, line-transect method. However, the line-transect method gives no information on the number of machine passes.