Volume 20
Issue 1/volume20
Environmental Development
JOURNAL OF
POLISH
AGRICULTURAL
UNIVERSITIES
DOI:10.30825/5.ejpau.21.2017.20.1, EJPAU 20(1/volume20), #03.
Available Online: http://www.ejpau.media.pl/volume20/issue1/volume20/abs-03.html
FOREST ROADS SYSTEM IN MOUNTAIN RELIEF: INDICATOR EVALUATION OF WATER-EROSION RISK
DOI:10.30825/5.EJPAU.21.2017.20.1
Pawe³ B. Dħbek1, Romuald Żmuda1, Tomasz Kowalczyk1, Jolanta Dħbrowska2, Andrzej Moryl2, Ewa Kucharczak-Moryl3
1 Institute of Environmental Protection and Development, Wroc³aw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
2 Institute of Environmental Engineering, Wroc³aw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
3 Department of Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Wroc³aw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
ABSTRACT
According to existing scientific assessments, water erosion is one of the main processes responsible for the degradation of the natural environment in the Polish Sudety Mountains. The anthropogenic activity in forested areas, as well as forestry management, requires a dense network of internal roads, which limits the protective functions of the forest in terms of preventing soil erosion. An important factor contributing to the intensification of water erosion in forested areas is the improper location of roads in relation to land relief. While designing the routing of forest roads, their influence on the intensity and spatial extent of water-erosion is often omitted.
On the basis of the Digital Terrain Model (DTM) and spatial data for the Polish part of the Western Sudety, an effort was made to evaluate the existing forest road networks with respect to their placement in land relief. The location of roads was evaluated using an analysis that measures road orientation with regard to the direction of slope gradient. This was expressed using the indicator IARRR (Indicator of Arrangement of Rural Road in Relief). This method unequivocally characterises the location of roads with regard to land relief. It simultaneously serves as the basis for erosion risk evaluation alongside roads, as well as one of the risk evaluation factors for linear water erosion in a catchment. The results indicate a large share of along-slope roads (ca 10.0%) which tend to get easily deepened by the traffic, and a vast majority of road sections running diagonal to the slope (ca 76.0%) tend to collect and intensify superficial runoff, thereby increasing linear erosion.
Key words: water erosion, forest roads, arrangement in relief, IARRR, GIS, Sudety Mountains.
Pawe³ B. Dħbek
Institute of Environmental Protection and Development, Wroc³aw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
pl. Grunwaldzki 24
50-363 Wroc³aw
Poland
email: pawel.dabek@up.wroc.pl
Romuald Żmuda
Institute of Environmental Protection and Development, Wroc³aw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
pl. Grunwaldzki 24
50-363 Wroc³aw
Poland
Tomasz Kowalczyk
Institute of Environmental Protection and Development, Wroc³aw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
pl. Grunwaldzki 24
50-363 Wroc³aw
Poland
email: kowal@miks.ar.wroc.pl
Jolanta Dħbrowska
Institute of Environmental Engineering, Wroc³aw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
pl. Grunwaldzki 24
50-363 Wroc³aw
Poland
Andrzej Moryl
Institute of Environmental Engineering, Wroc³aw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
pl. Grunwaldzki 24
50-363 Wroc³aw
Poland
Ewa Kucharczak-Moryl
Department of Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Wroc³aw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
ul. C.K. Norwida 31
50-375 Wroc³aw
Poland
Responses to this article, comments are invited and should be submitted within three months of the publication of the article. If accepted for publication, they will be published in the chapter headed 'Discussions' and hyperlinked to the article.