Temporal analysis of the traffic loads on forest road networks

The management of forest road networks is usually influenced by the traffic generated by wood transportation. In order to analyze the distribution and intensity of traffic generated by wood transportation in an Alpine region, the study considered a 21-year period with a total of 2231 logging operations on a forest road network in a mountainous area. Most of the forest road network was affected by traffic load intensities generally of less than 500 t per year The analysis of the traffic load distribution over time and the characteristics of the road network revealed that the traffic load may show different intensities and distributions over the years because of different locations and intensities of logging operations. A GIS-based approach allowed to identify the forest road segments with high traffic loads as a support to decisions on road network planning and management priorities.