Forest road operations in the tropics

More about the book

Forest road operations encompass the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of infrastructure necessary for transporting forest products from roadside to mill or port. Ineffective road management can undermine the economic viability of forestry and negatively affect water quality and wildlife habitats. Sustainable forest management focuses on balancing efficient transportation with minimizing environmental impacts. Proper planning and control over road location, design, construction, and maintenance can significantly reduce the direct impacts of forest roads, particularly in temperate forests. However, tropical regions present unique challenges such as prolonged wet periods, intense rainfall, swamps, and limited rock for road surfacing. This book consolidates information on road planning, location, design, construction, and maintenance to promote environmentally sound practices in tropical forests. It addresses the specific challenges of tropical road operations, showcases proven techniques, and explores emerging technologies. Aimed at forest engineers and those involved in tropical forest management, it includes numerical examples to clarify graphs, procedures, and formulas. The content is organized into 11 chapters, covering various aspects of road management from design objectives to practices aimed at controlling environmental impacts.