Efficiency of Different Anti-Dust Agents in Reducing Dust Emission from Forest Road and Deposition on Leaf Surface

Abstract

Dust is often generated from the dry surfaces of unpaved forest roads as a result of vehicular traffic. Dust particles can negatively affect vegetative growth, water quality and road traffic quality. In this study, some environmental friendly anti-dust agents including sugar cane molasses, polyacrylamide (PAM) and bentonite were used to control dust emission from the road surface under three different concentrations within the 3, 9, 27 and 81 day timeframe. Rear-mounted spray system and dustometer devices were used for implementation of treatments and dust emission recording, respectively. Leaf samples were collected from trees adjacent to road to measure the dust deposited on the leaves by centrifuging dust solution. The results showed that molasses achieved higher efficiencies in term of dust reduction and cost effectiveness than those of PAM and bentonite in Loveh forest, where high levels of fines are present in the road surface materials. 2% and 4% PAM were the most efficient dosages in terms of dust control and cost effectiveness in Shastkalateh and Kouhmian forests, respectively. It was detected that in all sites most of the dust emitted from the road surface was deposited on the leaves of Carpinus betulus L. and Alnus subcordata L., while smooth surface of the leaves retained lower amount of dust in Parrotia persica CAM. It is concluded that the amount of fine aggregates in surfacing materials, type and dosage of anti-dust agent play an important role in the effectiveness and longevity of treatment.

Development of a Sustainable Maintenance Strategy for Forest Road Wearing Course in Different Climate Zones

“…Gravel roads consist of a layer of mountainous and/or river materials constructed based on speci ed standards and provide a passable all-weather surface. A standard gravel forest road consists of 40-80% gravel, 20-60% sand, and 8-15% ne particles (Gotosa et al 2015;Parsakhoo et al 2021). Corrugations, potholes, erosion, rutting, dustiness or presence of ne material, exposed oversized aggregates, gravel loss, crown and roughness defects, poor cross-fall and pro le are the common problems that can be observed on surfaces of gravel forest roads (Setyawan et al 2015; Yoshida et al 2016; Qiao et al 2020).…”

Optimal Forest Road Density as Decision-Making Factor in Wood Extraction

“…The ORD consists of a specific methodology for optimizing the number of forest roads, which results in a lower combined cost of road construction, reconstruction, and maintenance, in addition to reducing the cost of wood extraction [35]. The proper sizing of the ORD can indicate the optimization of the implantation of planted forests for commercial purposes, minimizing the number of forest roads and avoiding unnecessary losses of productive areas [24,[36][37][38][39].…”