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Forest Road Engineering

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Tropical Forestry Handbook

Abstract

Unlike roads used by the general public, forest roads serve a limited purpose. Their specialized function stems from three characteristics: low traffic volume, traffic mostly in one direction, and traffic of long and heavy trucks. Each road or section of roads is not subjected to the same amount of traffic. The characteristics of each section of road depend on its function in the road system. At its extreme points, the forest road is an extension of the harvesting system. Road builders concerned about constructing roads as economically as possible must find a solution between the natural conditions of the area and the actual needs of the expected traffic. A number of relatively inexpensive actions taken during planning, construction, and maintenance, if done in a consistent and disciplined manner, will protect the quality of the tropical forest environment.

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Correspondence to J. Sessions .

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Sessions, J., Heinrich, R., Castaneda-Langlois, H. (2014). Forest Road Engineering. In: Köhl, M., Pancel, L. (eds) Tropical Forestry Handbook. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-41554-8_162-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-41554-8_162-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-41554-8

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