Forest Roads Research Articles

Sediment delivery ratios from forest road networks and harvesting operational features by physiographic region in the southeastern United States

Sediment delivery ratios from forest road networks and harvesting operational features by physiographic region in the southeastern United States

Оптимальное проектирование сети лесных дорог: от методов к решениям

Оптимальное проектирование сети лесных дорог: от методов к решениям

Tendencia poblacional de la liebre ibérica (Lepus granatensis) en el sur de la dorsal galega, España

The Iberian hare (Lepus granatensis Rosenhauer, 1856) has the western distribution limit in the south of the dorsal galega. This work provides new data on the status of the species over 16 years of sampling. Indices of relative abundance of Iberian hare were determined in the dorsal galega through night censuses carried out in each season. During the years 2006-2020, a total of 2,500 km was gone down along forest tracks in the Suido and Faro de Avión mountain ranges, spread over 196 days. The relative abundance for the hare ranged between 0.07 and 0.30 ind/km for the Faro de Avión with an average of 0.18 ± 0.06 ind/km, and between 0.02 and 0.22 ind/km for the Suido, with an average of 0.07 ± 0.06 ind/km. The monitoring along the years of the studied population supports scientific decision-making for conservation and hunting management purposes.

A simple approach on forest roads drainage structures planning using GIS: A case study of Şile-Turkey

Forest roads provide access to forest resources for conducting several forestry activities such as production, protection, afforestation, management, recreation and firefighting. Both drainage structures and pavement should be completed for forest roads to serve safely and for a long time. This study aimed to determine both cross-sections and types of drainage structures for newly built forest roads, using Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques. ArcGIS Pro software was used for analysis in the study. The total length of the forest road used in the study area was 7920 m, where 31 drainage structures was planned to be built at stream crossings along the road route. Considering the cross-sections of drainage areas along the route, it has been decided to construct a total of 31 drainage structures, including 25 pipes, 5 culverts and 1 bridge. GIS technology produces accurate and fast results in terms of determining cross-sectional areas in drainage structures on forest roads. A simple GIS-based approach reduces the stabilization and drainage problems and construction and maintenance costs in forest road design compared to traditional land evaluation methods. Thanks to its capacity to process big data and simple hydrological empirical calculations, GIS has significant gains in terms of accuracy and time consumption and is included in the planning forest road designs.

Comparison of Autonomous and Manual UAV Flights in Determining Forest Road Surface Deformations

The deterioration of the surface of forest roads is an important factor affecting the safe navigation of vehicles and traffic safety. In addition to traditional methods, automated methods are also used to determine the deterioration of the road surface. UAV systems, which are among the automated methods, are widely used to determine surface deformations with high accuracy. This study aimed to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of two different flight modes of UAV, including autonomous flight and manual flight, in mapping road surface deformations. Within the scope of this study, the 50-meter section of the Type B forest road located in Kardüz Forest Management Chief (Düzce/Türkiye), was selected. For this study, first the pros and cons of the autonomous and manual flight data acquisition process were evaluated. Then, the photogrammetric data processing results were compared in terms of data size, with precision and accuracy. In addition, the deformation status on the surface within the selected road was determined using the average Z value differences obtained with two flight methods. The result of the study showed that, the number of images obtained from manual flights was 5.5 times higher than from autonomous flights and the flight time was taken four times longer. The average ground sampling distance of the orthophotos generated from two different light modes indicated that the manual flight mode provided seven times higher resolution than autonomous flight. Moreover, the results from the statistical tests for the two flight modes showed differences. When manual flights and autonomous flights are evaluated in terms of reducing the shadow effect, manual flights can be considered more advantageous. Furthermore, it was found that the dynamic mobility of erosion and accumulation on the road surface continued in time series in both flight methods.

Feasibility of Terrestrial Laser Scanning System for Detecting and Monitoring Surface Displacement of Artificial Slopes on Forest Roads

Feasibility of Terrestrial Laser Scanning System for Detecting and Monitoring Surface Displacement of Artificial Slopes on Forest Roads

On the Edge of Meshchera. History of Forest Roads. Some Facts about the History of Construction of Railway Lines Krivandino–Ryazanovka and Sazonovo–Pilevo. Part 1

The article, based on the archives and other never published materials, discusses the history of design and construction of Krivandino–Ryazanovka and Sazonovo–Pilevo railway lines, which belonged to Moscow–Ryazan branch of Moscow railway. The objective of writing the article is to clarify the circumstances of design, construction and operation of these lines, as well as to identify the reasons that led to their decline and closure in the mid-2000s. To achieve this objective, well-known publications in the press and the Internet were analyzed. In addition to using data from these sources, work was carried out to search for written sources on the issue under study in archival institutions in Moscow. Some documents are published for the first time. he result of all the work carried out was establishment of the following previously unknown or questioned facts: Krivandino–Ryazanovka railway line was built in 1943–1944, Sazonovo–Ryazanovka section was built later than the rest of the line. The purpose of Krivandino–Ryazanovka line according to the project and in the first years of its existence was transportation of firewood for heating of Moscow. The date of acceptance of Sazonovo–Pilevo line in full for servicing Kurovskaya distance of the track is January 1, 1978. From the northern neck of Pilevo station, the access road went to the construction yard of Meshcherskoye peat enterprise. According to Kurovskaya distance of the track, the broad gauge transshipment station of Meshcherskoye peat enterprise was called Torfyanaya.The first part of the paper. The second part is scheduled for the next issue.

Lower Permian (Artinskian) chondrichthyan tooth remains (Petalodontidae) from Dovje (Karavanke Mts., NW Slovenia)

Fossil remains of chondrichthyan tooth bases (roots) were found in Lower Permian beds exposed along the forest road between Dovje and Plavški Rovt. These layers are part of the clastic development of the Trogkofel Group beds. They are composed of an alternation of dark to light-grey shales, siltstone, and sandstone with rare beds of the conglomerate. Within the clastic succession, layers or lenses of dark-grey to black limestones (biosparitic, biomicritic and oolitic) and limestone breccias occur. The limestone consists remains of algae, fusulinids, brachiopods, and mostly crinoids (Palermocrinus and Entrochus). Detail study has shown that two remains of tooth bases belong to the genus Petalodus, one of them to the species Petalodus ohioensis. The bases are tongue-shaped and come to a rounded point in the distal (base end) edge. On the surface of the base, the typical oval-shaped foramina are visible. In addition, the osteodentine is visible on the cross-section of one specimen. Teeth of Petalodus are often the most common chondrichthyan fossil vertebrate remains reported from the Carboniferous and Permian rocks of the USA, Europe, and Russia. In Slovenia, Petalodus ohioensis has been recorded only from Upper Carboniferous beds. The new record of Lower Permian remains contributes to the knowledge of this cosmopolitan but still common genus of Late Paleozoic chondrichthyans.

Green and Pleasant Lands: The Affective and Cerebral Hemodynamic Effects of Presence in Virtual Environments During Exercise.

Pleasant exercise experiences increase the likelihood of exercise adherence, and innovative strategies to promote consistently pleasant exercise experiences are needed. In this study we compared a novel nature-based virtual reality environment, a nature-based 360° video, and a control condition to test the hypothesis that greater presence in virtual space would promote positive affective experiences during exercise. Moreover, we assessed prefrontal cerebral hemodynamics using near infrared spectroscopy to explore possible neural underpinnings of dissociative strategies during exercise. Twelve participants (M = 26.2, SD = 7.7years; M BMI = 25.5, SD = 5.2kg/m2) completed a maximal aerobic test and three exercise conditions (Control, Virtual Reality [VR], and 360° video). The two experimental conditions differed in terms of the participants' sense of presence (VR eliciting greatest presence), and all conditions utilized similar exercise intensity. The VR condition setting was a virtual mountain forest trail, and the 360° video was of a forest road. The 360° video was perceived as the most distracting (p = .023, d = 1.07), pleasant (p = .007, d = .75), and enjoyable (p = .029; d = .82) condition. ΔHbDiff data indicated that the control condition caused the greatest prefrontal brain activation (p = .008, d = .84). Presence was not a salient factor in distracting participants from bodily sensations during exercise, but immersion in a stimulus was. These results provide support for using head-mounted displays during exercise as a strategy to increase pleasure, with practical implications for practitioners, researchers, and individuals.

Evaluation of strategic management using SWOT-FAHP approaches in forest roads management

The most significant steps in the management of forests is to identify the management strategies of existing forest roads, which are basic infrastructure facilities. In the present study, managerial strategies were put forward by evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of forest road management. To create a strategy in forest road management, sub-factors were identified for the SWOT analysis and five strategy criteria were developed by using expert opinions obtained through questionnaires. As SWOT analysis is a qualitative analysis and decision-making method, the strategy criteria were then modelled using the Buckley and Chang approaches, both of which are widely used in the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP), to quantify the factors used to reach an analytical result in determining the effects and significance levels of the factors. A total of five strategy criteria along with 22 sub-factors that were prepared for SWOT analysis were modelled by making 170 pairwise comparisons and quantifying them with FAHP. The most significant factor identified, which was among the opportunity factors according to both approaches, was ‘Assisting in controlling forest fires’. According to the Buckley and Chang approaches, it was identified that the strategy that had the highest significance was ‘Protecting forest/forest resources, and improving physical infrastructure’. It was found that the sub-factor group that had the highest degree of significance was ‘weaknesses’, while the lowest sub-factor group was the ‘opportunity’ factor. The study concluded that modelling qualitative analyses in the decision-making process after quantification results in more rational solutions because it allows a comparison of the factors.

How do seasonal changes in adult wolf defecation patterns affect scat detection probabilities?

Wolves are currently recolonising their historic range in France. The collection of scats is a widely used a non-invasive survey method to monitor wolf population size. However, seasonal changes in wolf faecal deposition patterns might affect the results of surveys. We used a detection dog and camera trapping (CT) to compare wolf scat detectability during winter and the nursing season. We collected 113 scats deposited by adult wolves at 29 marking sites on forest roads in the Sainte-Baume Regional Park, Provence, France. After parturition, the mean number of adult wolf scats increased by 160% inside the nursing territory and decreased by 80% outside of it. Around the time the pups are born, changes in faecal deposition patterns of adults make it easier to find scats around the wolf den (87% probability per wolf marking site) and harder to find scats outside the nursing territory (11% probability). During winter, the chance to find scats is equal (38 to 40% probability per wolf marking site) inside vs. outside the nursing territory. The combined use of a detection dog and camera traps allowed us to gather data on wolf defecation patterns non-invasively. Detectability of adult wolf scats during the nursing season is highly variable compared to winter due to seasonal behavioural changes affecting scat location. We conclude that surveys to collect samples and estimate wolf population size should be conducted exclusively during winter to avoid sampling biases.

Verges Along Forest Roads Promote Wild Bees

AbstractForests in Germany are occupied with roads, paths, and trails with a density of 5.03 km/km². Their construction and maintenance create a network of verges promoting flowering plants. Whether these verges are visited by bees, which factors are determining their abundance, diversity, and composition, and which flowering resources are used is unknown. We selected 13 verges in the Black Forest (Germany), sweep-netted wild bees along transects, calculated the flowering area of all herbs, and measured the area (hectares) of grassland within 1 km around the transects. To evaluate the resource use of a common bumblebee species, we analyzed the pollen load of common carder bees (Bombus pascuorum) using microscopes. The abundance and diversity of wild bees was positively related to flowering area. With an increasing area of grassland, the abundance of ubiquitous species increased. Wild bee community composition was driven by flowering area. Common carder bees collected pollen from several flower resources but mainly used few species, such as the common hemp nettle (Galeopsis tetrahit L.). As the flowering area influenced wild bee abundance, diversity, and composition, we suggest creating road verges that favor the occurrence of native flowering plants to support wild bees in forest ecosystems.Study Implications: Forest road verges generally have higher light availability than the forest interior and therefore have higher availability of flowering plants. Although the importance of verges for wild bee conservation in agricultural landscapes is known, forest road verges are understudied. Our study demonstrates that forest road verges are important habitats for many ubiquitous bees and that the flowering area on these verges is the key determinant for the abundance and diversity of wild bees. Therefore, creating road verges that favor the occurrence of native flowering plants is key to support bees on these verges.

Case analysis on the characteristics of the landcreep area: focusing on Seo-myeon in Suncheon, South Korea

This study was conducted to prevent landcreep damages by examining various features such as geology, topography, and physical characteristics. The first landcreep occurred in Seo-myeon in Suncheon, South Korea, in 2000. The second occurred in 2020, the damaged surface area of the second event was approximately 21.7 times that of the first, and it was discovered that landcreep in Sunchoen was contributed to forest road construction. The study area was a typical landcreep area caused by weathered rocks, and this area belonged to a type of convex terrain ground form. As a result of analyzing the landslide hazard grade, the landcreep is found to be different from general landslides because it includes most areas of landslide hazard grade 3–5 and out of the grade. Results show that the landcreep has proceeded in the directions of S15°E, S20°E, S25°E, and S30°E, which is consistent with the direction following the flow direction of groundwater determined using the electrical resistivity survey method.

İnsansız Hava Araçlarının Orman Yolu Projelerinde Kullanımı

Road networks are accepted as a criterion showing the level of development of countries. Undoubtedly, the role of highways in facilitating human life is quite important. However, road routes involve high cost land surveying studies that can pass through areas with various land use types and cover.For forest road routes to be built in forest areas, points representing the land surface can be obtained by various measurement methods (remote sensing, photogrammetry and terrestrial measurement techniques). Depending on the land structure and cover, difficulties are encountered in the determination of spatial points with terrestrial measurement techniques. In this study, as an alternative to the terrestrial measurement technique, 341 m long forest road excavation and filling calculations were carried out with the help of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry. Photo pairs taken from different heights (50 m, 75 m and 100 m) with real-time kinematics (RTK) GPS UAV were processed with Agisoft to produce a point cloud. The point cloud data obtained by digital photogrammetry and land measurement methods were carried out in NetCAD environment for the excavation and filling calculations for the same road route. Between the two methods, in the 50 m, 75 m and 100 m measurements of the UAV obtained by ground measurement; In the calculation of the UAV 50m measurement amount, 0.27% in the total excavation amount and 1.08% difference in the total filling amount, 2.51% in the total excavation amount and 5.22% in the total filling amount in the calculation of the UAV 75 m measurement amount, and the total difference in the UAV 100m measurement amount in the calculation of the UAV 50m measurement amount. A difference of 3.13% in the amount of excavation and 2.53% in the total amount of filling was determined. These results show that UAV photogrammetry is very effective in forest road projects and in calculating the amount of earthwork volume in mountainous terrain.

Comparative use of PPK-integrated close-range terrestrial photogrammetry and a handheld mobile laser scanner in the measurement of forest road surface deformation

This study aimed to compare a handheld mobile laser scanning (HMLS), called TORCH that uses the SLAM algorithm, and a PPK-integrated close-range terrestrial photogrammetry (CRTP) to measure forest road surface deformation. The PPK-integrated CRTP includes a multiband GNSS-module and a camera mounted on a 5-m prism pole. 3D point-clouds were gathered/produced at three different dates with approximately 3-month intervals. And then road surface deformations were determined by applying the M3C2 algorithm. Each method was compared by considering some advantages and disadvantages. PPK-integrated CRTP, which could only be used in areas where the GPS signal is not blocked, provided highly denser 3D point clouds than HMLS. However, for the first period, the difference of mean deformation values between the two methods was not statistically significant, whereas it was statistically significant for the second period. Both methods can be suggested to use in forest road surface deformation yet considering their limitations.

The infrastructure contribution to the regional development and the environmental protection: Typologies of regional units based on forest operations engineering

The purpose of this article is to investigate the contribution of mountainous infrastructure and in particular forest operations engineering in its development, environmental protection, adaptation to climate change and policy making, in order to achieve more rational use of natural and financial resources.The research focuses on forest operations engineering funded by the Rural Development Program of Greece and were executed or will be executed by the Forest Services and Municipalities of the country during the Programming Periods 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 respectively. Data related to reforestation, fire protection, mountain waterworks and forest road projects constructed in the forest area are being analysed, followed by a description of their role in protecting the adjacent areas from fires, floods and in general effects of climate change, or contribute to regional and local development through assisting accessibility, upgrading the landscape aesthetically, creating jobs, etc. Finally, comparisons are made between the regional units and the clusters - clusters of regional units between the two program periods.The identification of clusters of regional units will contribute to the creation of a clearer understanding of the problems of the mountainous area and to the evaluation of the possibilities for a more rational development, creating the conditions for the choice of alternatives, depending on the general economic or social objectives.The data are taken from the Rural Development Program and relate to the funding that has been given or projected to be given for the execution of forest technical projects over two programming periods (2007-2013 and 2014-2020) at the level of regional unit. The data are processed by methods of descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis and in particular the cluster analysis of the executed and to be executed forest technical projects (especially projects related to reforestation, fire protection, mountain waterworks and forest road projects). This typology is particularly relevant, in the context of the effort for more rational mobilization and planned utilization of financial resources, based on the comparative advantages of each cluster-cluster of regional units.

Zoning and Field Study of Landslid es along Forest Roads of Darabkola-Sari

Zoning and Field Study of Landslid es along Forest Roads of Darabkola-Sari

Testing different isolation distances in woodpecker territory mapping in Central Hungary

Abstract Woodpeckers as cavity excavators are crucial in forest ecosystems, therefore, it is important to study their ecological needs, specifically at the territory scale, using mapping methodologies, of which there are uncertainties considering detection probabilities and the distances of the territory centres in different species and habitats. We studied the effects of the number of visits and isolation distance on detected woodpecker territories in the 1,000 ha forest mosaic of the Peszér forest in Central Hungary. We made territory mapping in 2020 along existing trails and forest roads on the present woodpecker species as Black, Eurasian Green, Great Spotted, Middle Spotted, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Eurasian Wryneck. We found a very low detection probability for single territories during one visit, while with the increasing number of visits it is more unlikely to overlook territories. Considering the isolation distances, by lowering the distance, more territories can be registered, which suggests that researchers should take great care choosing the proper distance for a given species whilst avoiding the over- or underestimation of territories. This paper has an actuality as BirdLife Hungary announced the Eurasian Green Woodpecker as the Bird of the Year in 2022, for drawing attention to this species’ habitat preferences and conservation.

Fluxes, patterns and sources of phosphorus deposition in an urban–rural transition region in Southwest China

Abstract. Understanding the patterns of atmospheric phosphorus (P) deposition is essential for assessing the global P biogeochemical cycle. Atmospheric P is an essential source of P in agricultural activities as well as eutrophication in waters; however, the information on P deposition is paid relatively less attention, especially in the anthropogenic influencing region. Therefore, this study chose a typical urban–rural transition as a representative case to monitor the dry and wet P depositions for 2 years. The results showed that the fluxes of atmospheric total P deposition ranged from 0.50 to 1.06 kg P hm−2 yr−1, and the primary form was atmospheric dry P deposition (76.1 %, 0.76–0.84 kg P hm−2 yr−1). Moreover, it was found that the monthly variations of P deposition were strongly correlated with meteorological factors, including precipitation, temperature and relative humidity. However, the fluxes of dry P deposition and total P deposition were more affected by land use, which increased with the agro-facility, town and paddy field areas but decreased with the forest and country road areas. These findings suggested that dry P deposition was the primary form of total P deposition, and P deposition could be affected both by meteorological factors and land-use types. Thus, proper management of land use may help mitigate the pollution caused by P deposition.

Factors contributing to rill erosion of forest roads in a mountainous watershed

Forest roads are a major source of and transport pathway for eroded sediments in mountainous watersheds. When rills develop on these roads' surfaces, they amplify sediment erosion. Best management practices can decrease sediment erosion, but in order to efficiently implement these practices it is necessary to determine which factors have the most influence on rill development on forest roads. Despite this need, there is scarce literature on rill development on forest roads. To fill this gap in knowledge, based on field survey and multivariate statistical methods including redundancy analysis (RDA) and variation partitioning analysis (VPA), we investigated unpaved forest roads in the Xiangchagou watershed in China and quantified the extent to which various factors influenced rill formation. Specifically, we studied how rill erosion intensity (REI) and rill morphological characteristics (like rill length, mean width and depth, density, and severity of fragmentation) varied along the slope of a forest road. We also introduced the concept of a road's hydrological constituents (its upslope catchment, surface, and cutslopes), and determined how much each constituent contributed to REI. We found that REI and morphological characteristics decreased moving from the upper portion of road segment downward, implying that rills developed more intensely uphill. Additionally, REI increased exponentially with rill width, density, and severity of fragmentation, and increase linearly with length and depth. Conversely, REI decreased exponentially with rill width-depth ratio. These relationships suggest that the morphological characteristics of rills could be used to predict the REI of a given road segment. Finally, we found that the road characteristics that best predicted rill formation included catchment area, cutslope area, and gravel bareness. Correspondingly, the upslope catchment, cutslopes, and road surface contributed 11.56%, 30.83%, and 8.23% of the variation in REI and morphological characteristics. The interaction between upslope catchment and road surface explained 19.89% of the variation. These results suggest that when best management practices are implemented to decrease erosion caused by forest roads in mountainous watersheds, they should integrate these hydrological constituents of a road.