ZLV Online

Abstract

Technical condition of a forest road network testifies to its utility value, transport efficiency and level of impact on the environment. The paper discusses the current condition of forest road network in mountainous areas. The forest haul roads in the central part of the Beskydy Mountains (Czech Republic) were examined through a field survey. Technical condition of all forest haul roads in the surveyed area was recorded. The type of road surface was determined; the current technical condition of the road surface was divided into four categories. Data were processed by GIS software. 30.8% of the length of the forest haul roads were in excellent condition. 40.6% showed signs of structural damage that did not affect the ride. 25.6% of the length of the forest haul roads were passable in reduced speed and 3% were not passable. The least damaged were the panel and asphalt roads, the most damaged were the earth roads, which show their insufficient bearing capacity. The lengths of the road sections within the technical condition categories did not show any statistically significant difference. Not only short sections, but also whole forest haul roads were impassable. In the case of the gravel and earth roads there was statistically significant difference in the slope of the damaged and intact road sections. But these haul roads have with increasing slope only slightly worse technical condition. That is because the erosion, which is damaging that type of haul roads, was not in the surveyed area a major destructive factor.