Assessment of forest road characteristics and comparison with environmental and technical standards (Case study: Tang-e-Sulk Bahmii Protected Area, Kohgiloyeh and Boyerahmad)

The aim of this study is to compare the road geometric characteristics with road construction standard values in Tang-e-Sulak protected area located in Bahmiy (Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad province). This region has the value of tourism, recreation and natural attractions located in the forests of the South Zagros. First, the existing road location was taken using GPS and then placed on a topographic map. In the next step, the slopes were graded (from 0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-40, 40-50, 50-60 and > 60 percent), then 11 samples were randomly selected on each slope. In the next step, the size of the samples was compared with the standard values Available in the publications of the Management and Planning Organization of the country (Booklet No. 131 and 161). The width of the running surface and path of the way were analyzed on the basis of analytical and other road geometric characteristics based on descriptive statistics. To collect soil samples from each of the slopes’ grades, a soil sample was selected to detect soil texture randomly. Data analysis was done by T-test and Pearson correlation in SPSS 22. The results show that the width of the road and the construction area of the road on the slopes 10-20, 40-50, 60-50, and 60 were less than the standard values and it was statistically significance (P<0.01), and in other slopes, there wasn’t any significant differences.Analytical descriptive statistics showed that the average slope of excavation and embankment walls is 15% higher than the standard value. The results of soil texture analysis by unified classification method showed that the study area has a silty- clay texture.