The
assessment of environmentally sensitive forest road construction in Calabrian pine forest areas of Turkey
Metin Tunay
Zonguldak Karaelmas University,
Faculty of Forestry, 74100-Bartin, Turkey
(Received: 10 December, 2004 ; Accepted: 10 November, 2005)
Abstract:
Forest road construction by bulldozers in Calabrian
Pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) forests
on mountainous terrain of Turkey
causes considerable damage to the environment and the forest standing alongside
the road. This situation obliges a study of environmentally sound road
construction in Turkey.
This study was carried out in 4 sample sites of Antalya
Forest Directorate in steep (34-50% gradient) and very steep terrain (51-70%
gradient) conditions with bulldozer and excavator machine and direct damages to
forest during road construction was determined, including forest area losses
and damages to downhill trees in mountainous areas. It was determined that in
steep terrain when excavators were used, less forest area (22.16%) was
destroyed compared to bulldozers and 26.54% less area in very steep terrain.
The proportion of damage on trees where bulldozer worked was nearly twofold
higher than excavator was used. The results of this research show that the
environmentally sensitive techniques applied for the road construction projects
are considerably superior to the traditional use of bulldozers on steep slopes.
The environmentally sound forest road construction by use of excavator must be
considered an appropriate and reliable solution for mountainous terrain where
areas of sensitive forest ecosystems are to be opened up.
Key words: Forest road construction, Calabrian
Pine, Bulldozer, Excavator, Environmental damage.
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