Impact of Forest Road Construction on Topsoil Erosion and Hydro-Physical Soil Properties in a Semi-Arid Mountainous Ecosystem in Turkey

This study aimed at pointing out the environmental importance of road construction in a semi-arid high mountainous area on soil erosion and some important soil properties throughout the forest road. In total 60 soil samples in both forest and open area were collected from topsoil (0-20 cm) of a cut slope, fill slope, and control points along with a forest road route. The soil properties were determined in the laboratory and the soil loss amounts were determined by way of an Allgemeine Boden Abtrags Gleichung (ABAG) simulation model. As a result, the road construction phase significantly changed (p<0.001) the soil erosion trend. Annual soil loss amounts (t/ha/yr.) determined cut slope > fill slope > control in both forest and open areas. Consequently, road construction efforts significantly affected topsoil loss and some soil properties such as organic matter, available water-holding capacity, and bulk density. According to the created scenario, under the same slope (68.72%) and slope length (3.26 m) conditions, the highest soil loss trend was in cut slope, which was significantly different (p<0.001) from fill slope and control in forested and open areas.