Near the forest road: Small changes in air temperature and relative humidity in mixed temperate mountainous forests

Changes in Soil’s Chemical and Biochemical Properties Induced by Road Geometry in the Hyrcanian Temperate Forests

“…Roads increase the quantity of runoff and erosion rates in the surroundings, which could cause the displacement of much material and salts from the road to a long distance [61]. In addition, due to the canopy removal and change in the canopy cover along the forest roads, the incoming organic matter through litter loss in plants and organic matter decomposition around these roads will be affected [17]. Tree species was proved to be a factor, which has the potential of altering the chemical and biochemical properties of soils through leaf litterfall [23,28,62]; therefore, roads can affect the stock of SOC [63] by changing the composition and structure of forest vegetation cover.…”

“…In addition, previous research has highlighted that light is one of the most critical factors in forests, as changing its intensity alters the usual cycle of the forest ecosystem [76]. By changing the amount of light entering the forest stands, forest roads cause an edge effect on the forests [5,17] through the removal or alteration of canopy cover. An increase in the extent of road effects on the inner-side of bent roads is due to a higher removal of the canopy in both RSs, which can increase the effect zone by up to a distance of 36 m for SOC and 33 m for TN.…”

“…As an essential part of the ecosystem for vegetation development, forest soil is influenced by climate, plants, and animal species that control its physical, chemical, hydrological, and biological properties, and by engineering activities such as road construction and forest operations [4,15,16]. These activities directly or indirectly affect forest soil properties by changing the microclimate on adjacent areas [17]. By changes in vegetation and plant diversity in the adjacent forest, forest roads have an impact on the stock of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) deposition, and therefore on the soil's physical and chemical properties [5,14,18,19].…”

“…Several studies have reported various distances to the forest interior at which the forest roads impact the soil components, such as, for example, C and N [5,14,19]. Edge orientation, particularly in mountainous regions, can affect the amount of light penetration into the forest stands [7,17]. In addition, variability in road geometry (RG) can lead to different amounts of earthwork, affecting the forest soil in the surrounding area.…”

Characterizing the Work Environment of Skidder Operators: Evaluation of Temperature and Relative Humidity Conditions

“…In each location and for each observation day, data loggers were set to collect data at a sampling rate of 2 Hz, before placing them on the trees or inside the skidder's cabin. The reason for placing the data loggers on the northern side of the trees was preventing the direct incidence of solar radiation on the data logger [20]. Once these activities were done, skidding operations began and the data was collected for the entire day, which included rest and meal breaks.…”