Erosion rates for forest roads in the Gorce and Western Tatra Mountains in southern Poland

Abstract

The activity of natural processes in mountain areas is particularly high in zones without permanent vegetation cover. The main aim of the research was to determine the rate of erosion on selected sections of forest roads in the Tatra Mountains and the Gorce Mountains. The research consisted of geomorphological mapping and cyclic comparative measurements within 23 cross-sections, as well as a comparison of the average annual erosion value obtained based on the WEPP:Road model. The research has shown that the average rate of road erosion in the Tatra Mountains ranged from −4.3 to −1.4 cm year⁻¹. In the Gorce Mountains, the value range was −1.7 to −0.7 cm year⁻¹. The annual erosion for the analysed roads projected by the WEPP:Road model was 29 and 47.4 Mg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ for roadbeds located in the Western Tatra Mountains while for the Gorce Mountains amounted to 11.4 and 110.5 Mg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹. The projected erosion values increased by an average of 55% when including the width of the road cut slopes. The research has shown that there is a significant difference between the studied forest roads in the Gorce and the Tatra Mountains and that the intensity of road use has the greatest impact on the amount of erosion.