Effectiveness of Vegetation in Erosion Control From Forest Road Sideslopes

Grace, Johnny M.

doi:10.13031/2013.8832

Cited by 24 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The slope gradient and runoff rate are the important factors controlling the erosion rate of unpaved roads (Grace, 2002;Ramos Scharron & Macdonald, 2005). In our experiments, as the concentrated flow and slope gradient increased, the erosion rate of the loess- road increased.…”

Section: Recommendations Developments and Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 58%

The impact of concentrated flow and slope on unpaved loess‐road erosion on the Chinese Loess Plateau

et al. 2020

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Loess‐roads (LR) still experience severe soil erosion due to concentrated flow during rainstorms in watersheds on the Chinese Loess Plateau, where soil erosion in sloping farmland, abandoned land, and grassland has been controlled. However, road erosion is commonly overlooked because unpaved roads represent a small part of the catchment area. In situ scouring‐erosion experiments were performed on LR surfaces in the Liuaogou watershed on the Loess Plateau. The erosion rate of the LR was 14.1–234.6 g m−2 min−1, which is 10.8–57.5‐times higher than that on an adjacent grassy hillslope. In most experiments, the LR erosion rate generally increased linearly with increasing concentrated flow and slope gradient (R2 > .85; significance p < .05). Concentrated flow had a greater impact on road erosion than the road surface slope. Rill erosion occurred in our road plots, with rill area densities of 0.03–0.38 m2 m−2. The total amount of road erosion was significantly correlated linearly with the rill area density (R2 = .61, p < .01), indicating that high rill density led to high total erosion on the LR. A road erosion equation based on concentrated flow and slope gradient was established and validated. The R2, p, and NSE results were .91, <.01 and 0.93, respectively, implying that the fitted equation can be considered acceptable. Our findings can provide references for the prevention of road erosion and the establishment of road erosion models.

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Section: Recommendations Developments and Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 58%

The impact of concentrated flow and slope on unpaved loess‐road erosion on the Chinese Loess Plateau

et al. 2020

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“…Most studies indicate the extremely positive role of any type of vegetation land cover or organic matter in the road prism, including naturally/technically established plant buffers, which significantly reduce the runoff generation, sediment production and transportation. The use of bioengineering design of forest roads, which best fits in the different climate and soil conditions, is proposed for the enhanced soil protection and runoff reduction [81,82].…”

Section: Conclusion Management Implications and Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Forest Roads on Hydrological Processes

Kastridis

2020

Forests

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The current review summarizes the knowledge generated by the recently published studies of the last twenty years, in the field of forest road networks, concerning the impact of forest road construction on hydrological processes. The currently applied methodology techniques/practices are discussed, the findings are highlighted and effective mitigation measures to mitigate the impact of forest roads are proposed. Critical for the minimization of the impact of forest roads on overland flow is the significant decrease in road surface runoff and overland flow velocity. The decrease in runoff energy reduces the detachment of soil particles and transportation in streams. The disturbances of forest roads in logging areas should be limited to decrease soil erosion. Additionally, aiming to minimize sediment transportation into the streams, it is very important to reduce the connectivity between the forest roads (or skid trails) and streams. The positive role of vegetation and organic matter on the road prism, naturally/technically established riparian buffers along the streams, and the use of appropriate bioengineering designs for each area significantly decrease the runoff generation and sedimentation. From a construction point of view, the decrease in short and long-term forest road-related impact could be achieved by reducing the depth of excavations and the use of soil compaction limiting technology during forest works. The road network design should be more efficient, avoiding hydrologically active zero-order basins. Techniques that minimize the length and connectivity among skid trails, unpaved roads and streams are highly crucial. Broad-based dips, immediate revegetation and outsloping of the road base are considered good road construction practices. Research should be focused on the hydrologic behavior of forest road networks and on the impact at the watershed scale, the degree of connectivity, utilizing plenty of qualitative field data, especially during intense rainfall events, which has been proven to exacerbate the runoff and sediment generation and transportation into the stream networks.

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“…Undisturbed area has minimal erosion and sedimentation due to good surface cover of trees and understory, which protects the soil surface from damaging storm energy (Grace 2002). Solgi et al (2014) re ported that, on control (undisturbed) plots, even the largest storm events did not generate runoff and sediment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Different Best Management Practices for Erosion Control on Machine Operating Trails

Solgi

Naghdi

Labelle

et al. 2019

Croat. j. for. eng. (Online)

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Ground-based mechanized forest operations often lead to increased runoff and soil loss on unbound forest roads and machine operating trails, which in turn can impede the technical trafficability of machines and cause negative impacts on the environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of three Best Management Practice (BMP) treatments used to control erosion occurring on machine operating trails. The treatments included water bar, water bar and hardwood brush (H-brush), and water bar and softwood brush (S-brush). For a more comprehensive assessment of both brush treatments, two levels of brush thickness were tested; 0.5 m and 1.0 m. Results indicate that the most effective BMP treatments were the water bar and softwood brush followed by the water bar and hardwood brush and finally the least effective was the water bar. The average runoff rates and soil loss from the machine operating trails with the water bar treatment (52.64 l per plot, 8.49 g m -2 ) were higher than runoff and soil loss at the trails protected with hardwood brush (23.75 l per plot, 4.5 g m -2 ), and the trails protected by the hardwood brush had higher runoff and soil loss compared to trails covered by softwood brush (15.83 l per plot, 2.98 g m -2 ). Furthermore, results of this study showed that regardless of the treatment, the amount of runoff and soil loss decreased consistently as the thickness of the brush mat increased. Overall, erosion control techniques similar to either H-brush or S-brush that provide direct soil coverage should be used for erosion control, and final selection should be based on costs, availability of material, or landowner objectives.

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Effectiveness of Vegetation in Erosion Control From Forest Road Sideslopes

Abstract: ABSTRACT. Forest roads have been identified as

Cited by 24 publications

References 17 publications

The impact of concentrated flow and slope on unpaved loess‐road erosion on the Chinese Loess Plateau

The impact of concentrated flow and slope on unpaved loess‐road erosion on the Chinese Loess Plateau

Impact of Forest Roads on Hydrological Processes

Evaluation of Different Best Management Practices for Erosion Control on Machine Operating Trails

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