An environmental assessment of forest stands damages caused by excavators during road construction in Beech forests

Abstract

Construction of forest roads can cause short-term and long-term negative effects on forest ecosystems in different ways if they are not well planned and appropriately maintained. In this research, environmental damages caused by an excavator during road construction were examined in steep terrain covered by beech (Fagus orientalis L.) stands. The study was conducted along a 1.5 km road in western Blacksea Region of Turkey. All of the road construction operations were monitored during a construction period, and measurements of cross sections sizes and stand damages were measured during and after the construction activities. The road construction was evaluated according to the appropriate method and standards. The average widths of roadway, fill slope and construction zone were 4.82, 6.91, and 16.61 m, respectively. Along the 1,500 m road, forested area impacted was 24,915 m(2) while the number of trees cut was 1,495 and rate of the damaged trees below the fill slope was found to be 24.7 %. In the study, based on the appropriate method and standards, less forested area might have been impacted (23 %). As a result of regression analysis, it was found that the rate of damaged trees increased as the values of the proportion of rocks, the width of the road surface and the width of the cut-slope increased. To reduce the negative effects of forest road construction on the environment, new forest road construction by excavators should be performed using appropriate methods within mountainous terrains.