Cable-skidding operations in mountainous selective logging pose significant risks to residual stands due to the extraction of heavy and long stems/logs along steep skid trails. While the influence of trail design variables such as traffic intensity and slope gradient has been extensively studied, the impact of management practices, specifically operational layout and the expertise of forest workers, on residual stand damage remains less understood. This study examined the effects of management practices and skid trail design variables on the severity and healing of wounds inflicted on residual trees over a five-year period. Three decommissioned harvest units with similar characteristics but differing in trail variables and management practices were analyzed: university-managed operations (short-length logs handled by professional operators), mill-managed operations (long-length logs handled by semi-professional operators), and privately-managed operations (mixed-length logs handled by less-experienced operators). A two-stage inventory was conducted, beginning in 2016 with an assessment of mechanical injuries caused by a cut-to-length harvesting system involving multiple log lengths, followed by postharvest wound healing evaluation in 2021. Results revealed that damages rates ranged from 37% in university-managed blocks to 49% in mill-managed blocks. Gentle slopes accounted for 43% of the damage, while steep slopes contributed 53%. Traffic intensity further played a role, with damage rates of 40% in low-traffic areas, 46% in medium-traffic areas, and 51% in high-traffic areas. Over the five-year postharvest period, healing rates varied significantly: stands managed under university supervision showed a healing rate of 56%, compared to a lower rate of 35% for mill-management stands. Treatments on gentle slopes and in low-traffic areas showed an annual healing rate of 12% higher than those on steep slopes and in high traffic areas. These findings highlight the importance of management practices, particularly the use of short-length harvesting methods in mountainous mixedwood stands and the effective supervision of harvesting crews. Implementing such practices not only reduce the severity of damage to residual stands but also enhance more efficient wound healing over time.

Continuous cover forestry (CCF) is gaining popularity as an alternative to rotation forest management (RFM), especially in forests with multiple uses. The success of CCF depends on the amount and quality of remaining seedlings, but the effect of harvesting on their status is not well known. In the present study, the proportion and number of undamaged seedlings after harvesting (and soil scarification) in Scots-pine-dominated stands in Northern Finland were modelled by applying logistic binomial mixed-effects and negative binomial count data models. The treatments included both CCF (gap cutting and selection cutting) and RFM (clearcutting and seed tree cutting) harvesting methods. The clearcut areas and most seed tree areas were treated with disc trenching. In the clearcutting and seed tree cutting areas, 25-34% of the inventoried seedlings were damaged. In the gap cutting and selection cuttings, c. 7% and 12% of the seedlings were damaged respectively. Harvesting machinery traffic and soil scarification were the most important causal agents of seedling damage. An increase in slash coverage also significantly increased seedling damage. The average number of undamaged seedlings in the selection cutting areas was ca. 1500 pcs ha-1, indicating at least satisfactory regeneration potential in the experimental stands.