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Reopening abandoned forest roads in northern Idaho, USA: quantification of runoff, sediment concentration, infiltration, and interrill erosion parameters
Foltz, R.B.; Copeland, N.S.; Elliot, W.J. 2009.
Reopening abandoned forest roads in northern Idaho, USA:
quantification of runoff, sediment concentration, infiltration, and interrill erosion parameters.
Journal of Environmental Management 90(2009):2542-2550.
Keywords: road, road recommissioning
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Abstract:
This study measured runoff and sediment concentration from the tire track and from the non-tire track
to determine infiltration, interrill erodibility, and vegetative cover impacts of reopening an abandoned
forest road. Runoff was lowest on the non-track portion of the abandoned road and highest on the
reopened road. Sediment concentrations were significantly higher on the reopened road. Increased
sediment concentrations were attributed to decreased vegetative cover, rather than traffic-induced
changes in the physical soil properties of the reopened road. Thirty years of no traffic and vegetation
regrowth was not sufficient to allow recovery of infiltration to values similar to an undisturbed forest.
The study also found a significant dynamic behavior in interrill erodibility with respect to antecedent
rainfall. Forest road erosion models that fail to account for this change will overestimate sediment yields.
Moscow FSL publication no. 2009p
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