Southern Research Station

Title: Forest access roads: design, maintenance, and soil loss

Author: Swift, Lloyd W., Jr.

Date: 1988

Source: In: Swank, W.T.; Crossley, D.A., Jr. Ecological studies. Vol. 66: Forest hydrology and ecology at Coweeta. New York: Springer-Verlag: 313-324.

Description: The Regional Guide for,the South (United States Department of Agriculture 1984b) recognizes that roads and skid trails are the major sources of sediment from forestry-related activities. The overall environmental impact statement for Region 8 (United States Department of Agriculture 1984a) estimates an existing national forest road network of 56,300 km (3 1,000 miles) with approximately 200 km (125 miles) of new construction or reconstruction each year. About 70% of this annual construction is classed as local road; i.e., the low-standard, limited-use road that terminates the transportation system. Local roads are often developed for access to timber sales. More than 40 years of road studies and land management demonstrations at Coweeta show both an early recognition that roads were a problem and a continuing effort to describe the magnitude of soil loss and develop technologies to control it. This chapter gives a history of road-related research at Coweeta and summarizes the findings of that research.

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Citation

Swift, Lloyd W., Jr.  1988.  Forest access roads: design, maintenance, and soil loss.   In: Swank, W.T.; Crossley, D.A., Jr. Ecological studies. Vol. 66: Forest hydrology and ecology at Coweeta. New York: Springer-Verlag: 313-324.