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Abstract

The aim of this article is to present the basic theses about the function and potential of infiltration pits under culvert mouths on forest roads. The methodology consisted of a combination of literature review and own in situ experiments. Experimental verification was carried out on sections of forest roads on two training forest enterprises (TFE) at Kostelec nad Černými lesy and Masarykův les Křtiny (Czech Republic). At each location, two infiltration pits were built in a paired design with a uniform retention volume. One of the pits was always located under a pipe culvert. The control pit was located approx. 30 m far from it, in the same pedological and vegetation conditions without a centralized inflow. Measurements from the study period (autumn 2022) indicated that the infiltration pits under the culverts had unexpectedly low efficiency in retaining and infiltrating surface runoff. Mostly, due to the fact that in the analyzed period the surface runoff was minimal, even though precipitation did occur. During the study period, the infiltration pits did not reach the expected potential to support the hydric regime of the landscape.