A Hot-Spot Analysis of Forest Roads Based on Soil Erosion and Sediment Production

Forest roads have been recognized as one of the significant contributors to soil erosion processes in forested areas. The construction and maintenance of forest roads can cause severe environmental impacts, including soil erosion, sedimentation, and degradation of aquatic ecosystems. The main objective of the present study is to analyze the impact of forest road networks on soil erosion and sedimentation in the context of the Zagros forestlands, Iran. This study aims to assess the soil erosion and sedimentation on forest roads in four case studies in the Zagros forestlands. This study collected data using field surveys and SEDMODL equations to determine input factors and sedimentation and erosion rates. This study found that roadside erosion is strongly correlated with geological factors, road width, and precipitation factors. The height changes of 144 benchmarks were recorded during one study year (2021–2022) on four study roads, and the measured results of erosion benchmarks indicated an average soil erosion of 3, 2.6, 4.7, and 3.5 mm per year around the Bideleh, Kohian, Nazi, and Tabarak roads, respectively. This study measured soil erosion and sedimentation at three distances (5, 15, and 25 m) from the road, and found a significant difference in the height changes of the benchmarks at varying distances from the study roads. A hot-spot analysis was conducted using GIS 10.8, and the results indicated that a significant portion of the studied forest roads had very high erosion production and hot spots. The results of the hot-spot analysis indicated that 30.8%, 22.6%, 39.8%, and 14.5% of the study forest roads, Nazi, Tabarak, Bideleh, and Kohian roads, respectively, are identified as areas with very high erosion production and hot spots. These results highlight the need for effective management strategies to minimize the impact of erosion on road infrastructure and the surrounding environment. Overall, this study provides important insights into the soil erosion and sedimentation on forest roads, and the findings presented here can be used to inform future road construction and maintenance.