The forest cover in Poland reaches almost 30% of the country’s area. Polish forests are characterized by high biodiversity. Unfortunately, in recent years, the forests of Central Europe have been affected by climate change problems, in particular meteorological drought. In Poland, even those stands which consist of species that were widely recognized as drought tolerant and easily adaptable to environmental changes are beginning to die. The article presents engineering methods applicable to forest environment protection, largely developed at the University of Life Sciences in Poznań and implemented by the State Forests—National Forest Holding in Poland, to minimize the effects of drought. Among the issues raised are ways to protect forests against fires, modern technologies for fire road surface construction and small-scale water retention in forests. A comprehensive solution to problems related to progressive drought is a must. Scientists and foresters are observing the dying of large areas of stands and, at the same time, intensification of wildlife migration due to the search for new habitats as a consequence of the drought. Therefore, the issue of building animal crossings during the current dynamic expansion of the road network in Poland has also been presented in the paper. Another subject pointed to in the text is forest tourism. Forests provide opportunities for recreation and rest to society. However, the increasing tourist pressure in some regions may cause adverse environmental effects. Finally, the paper shows some examples of supporting forest environment protection using remote sensing techniques. Generally, the aim of the paper is to present experiences and comprehensive solutions implemented in Poland.
This paper concerns the edge effect of a provincial road on the broadly understood inventory characteristics of the neighbouring inland dune pine stands in the "Puszcza Notecka" Forest in Poland. The observations were conducted in the pine stands in the fresh coniferous forest and fresh mixed coniferous forest sites. Twelve rectangular experimental sites, called belt transects, were established perpendicular to the road axis. Each of them consisted of 3-4 plots located at different distances from the pavement edge. In the course of the survey of the flora, a total of 108 plant taxa, out of which 70% are found solely in the immediate vicinity of the road, 25% were found both along the road and in the stand interior and 5% were found only inside the stand. The shrub layer and the forest floor vegetation layer showed a higher coverage and species richness with the opposite trend observed for mosses and lichens. Despite the significant participation of synanthropic plants, there was no invasion of alien species. Due to the low volume of traffic and the lack of maintenance treatments of road surface, the reasons of changes in the species composition are attributed to the modifications of light and humidity conditions.
The aim of the research was to verify a common opinion concerning a positive influence of plants on the bearing capacity and durability of forest roads made of unbound aggregates. The surface bearing capacity is defined as the ability to transfer traffic loads without any excessive deformations which would hinder regular use of the surface and shorten its durability. It is a significant functional feature of any road. The article analyzed the influence of road surface plant succession on its bearing parameters. The research was conducted on sections of experimental road constructed using macadam technology and reinforced partly with a biaxial geogrid. Measurements were taken with a lightweight Zorn ZFG 3000 GPS type deflectometer with a 300 mm pressure plate radius and 10 kg drop weight which allowed to measure dynamic deformation modulus (Evd) and s/v parameter regarded as an indicator of compaction accuracy of the studied layer. Evd values and s/v parameters, which were obtained by measuring the road pavement covered in vegetation and after having it mechanically removed (mowed), were submitted to the analysis; next, they were compared with the results of an analysis done on areas naturally deprived of the plant cover and located in the immediate vicinity of the measuring points. The conducted research has indicated unfavorable influence of vegetation succession on the bearing parameters of the analyzed sections. The greatest drop in the mean Evd value was 39%, and s/v parameter deteriorated as much as 9%. Hence, a regular mowing of the road surface (including the maneuvering, storage and passing areas) should be taken as standard and mandatory procedures of forest road maintenance.
Forest roads are essential for adequate forest management and environmental protection. They enable tourism and recreation activity, while at the same time playing a very important role in fire protection. When open to the local traffic, they significantly supplement the public traffic networks. Costs of constructing permanent roads in forested areas are considerable, because they need to have adequate bearing capacity. Forest roads are predominantly constructed using natural or anthropogenic aggregate stabilised mechanically and chemically. A tangible parameter verifying the proper construction of road structure is provided by its bearing capacity, i.e. the capacity of the pavement to carry loads generated by traffic without excessive strains hindering normal use of the pavement or reducing its durability. Some forest road networks are also constructed as temporary roads composed of cheaper aggregates. It seems reasonable to assume different bearing capacity standards for such roads than for permanent roads.The aim of the studies presented in this paper was to develop bearing capacity standards for forest roads constructed using various technologies. The adopted research hypothesis assumes that each of the analysed technologies is characterised by a different bearing capacity required during road construction inspections. An example of such a structure may be provided by the so-called geotextile mattress and crushed stone constructed on wetland soils. When developing the standards, the analyses included the predicted traffic intensity, assumed operation time before rehabilitation is required, soil conditions and the type of construction material.Bearing capacity of the testing road sections was assessed based on values of strain moduli calculated from the static plate load tests (VSS). As a result, bearing capacity standards were obtained for structures constructed using aggregates and chemical stabilisers as well as geotextiles potentially facilitating reduction of the layer thickness without deterioration of road durability.
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