Determining the range of acceptable forest road erosion

Abstract

In recent years there has been increased awareness and societal pressure concerning environmental impacts and aesthetics of forest operations such as road management. Forest roads continue to be attributed to account for the majority of erosion from forestlands. Previous research over the past 70 years has presented many questions concerning the impact of roads on forest systems. Research has presented some information on the effect of forest road erosion on forests and the benefit of BMPs in controlling erosion. However, one question that needs to be addressed in designing acceptable road systems is what is the range of acceptable forest road erosion losses? This paper presents a summary of forest road erosion losses and their effects on forest systems from various geographical regions considering road design, climatic factors and management regimes. This paper also provides information to aid in the understanding of the range of erosion losses that are or have been acceptable based on previous work.

Keywords

soil erosion, forest roads, review, water quality, sediment delivery

Citation

Grace, Johnny M. III. 2008. Determining the range of acceptable forest road erosion. In: 2008 ASABE Annual International Meeting: Providence, Rhode Island. 11 p.