What can be a negative impact of logging on soil health?

Logging can significantly affect soil health, primarily through processes such as soil compaction, erosion, and nutrient loss. When large machinery is used during logging, it can compress the soil, reducing its porosity and ability to hold water and nutrients. Compacted soil can also hinder root growth, making it more challenging for trees and other plants to access necessary resources.

Additionally, the removal of trees can lead to increased erosion. Without the protective cover of vegetation, topsoil becomes more vulnerable to water and wind erosion, which can wash nutrients away from the site. Over time, this loss of nutrients can result in decreased fertility, further impairing the land’s capacity to support healthy plant growth.

In contrast, the other options suggest outcomes that do not align with the typical negative implications associated with logging. The claim of increased biodiversity and soil fertility ignores the immediate detrimental effects logging can have on these ecosystems. Describing impacts as entirely positive or neutral overlooks the very real and documented challenges that logging poses to soil health, particularly in the short to medium term. Consequently, option B accurately highlights the potential negative effects that logging can have on soil health.