THE POTENTIAL ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF FOREST ROADS

Roads have general impacts: shrinkage and habitat losses on plant and animal population, creation erosion and sedimentation on soil, streams, and water resources, chemical pollution from vehicle emission, habitat fragmentation, road edge and effect zones, and associated human impacts in isolated natural areas. The study was carried out in order to describe and classify some ecological impacts of roads on forest ecosystem, and create awareness about the impacts of forest roads. The ecological impacts were classified by impact factors, distribution of impacts to land, and affected objects. As a result, it was drawn a conclusion that the potential ecological impacts of forest roads can be turn into active impacts in the course of time depending on road density in the forest ecosystem, number of vehicle, and the other factors. The ecological impacts of forest roads should be, therefore, evaluated in Environmental Impact Assessment criteria and taken into consideration as quality indicator from sustainability of forest resources point of view. Keywords: Forest roads, Classification of ecological impacts, Road density, Transportation network, Road ecology, Edge effect of roads