Introducing New Index in Forest Roads Pavement Management System
Forest road pavement needs an evaluation methodology based on a comprehensive assessment of road conditions. This research was conducted to evaluate the performance of a method for rating the surface condition of forest roads and eventually to adapt the method to the situation prevailing in a forest...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/10/1674 |
| _version_ | 1797473273633570816 |
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| author | Mohammad Javad Heidari Akbar Najafi Jose G. Borges |
| author_facet | Mohammad Javad Heidari Akbar Najafi Jose G. Borges |
| author_sort | Mohammad Javad Heidari |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Forest road pavement needs an evaluation methodology based on a comprehensive assessment of road conditions. This research was conducted to evaluate the performance of a method for rating the surface condition of forest roads and eventually to adapt the method to the situation prevailing in a forest road network. The rating method selected as the basis for this experiment was the pavement condition index (PCI) developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for urban roads. In addition, unpaved road condition index (URCI) that has a good index for unpaved road evaluation used for comparison. A 53 km of forest roads were selected containing the most influential factors and variability of conditions. Eventually, 201 road segments were delineated between 150–300 m in length. Within the given segments, sample plots were set 20 m in length consecutively. It was concluded that the panel scores for distress and surface condition of sample unit and section differed from the forest road pavement condition index (FRPCI), URCI, and PCI. Linear regression was used to derive equations between distress and URCI and PCI scores to determine effective FRPCI parameters that provide a numerical rating for the condition of road segments within the road network, where 0 worlds are the worst possible condition, and 100 is the best possible condition best. In addition, regression analysis showed that the FRPCI model with a 0.77 correlation for the total of the road is a performance index used for the first time in forest roads. This study showed a range of FRPCI from 7.8 to 96.3, different from PCI and URCI ratings (0.85–45 and 1.2–53). The FRPCI index helps forest managers in road maintenance, harvesting, and planning to use road information. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:12:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3607ec7520da413e8dd9bcb9c9003c6c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:12:25Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-3607ec7520da413e8dd9bcb9c9003c6c2023-11-24T00:10:10ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072022-10-011310167410.3390/f13101674Introducing New Index in Forest Roads Pavement Management SystemMohammad Javad Heidari0Akbar Najafi1Jose G. Borges2Department of Forest Science and Technology, Faculty of Natural Resources and Marine Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran P.O. Box 14115-111, IranDepartment of Forest Science and Technology, Faculty of Natural Resources and Marine Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran P.O. Box 14115-111, IranForest Research Centre, School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, 1649-004 Lisbon, PortugalForest road pavement needs an evaluation methodology based on a comprehensive assessment of road conditions. This research was conducted to evaluate the performance of a method for rating the surface condition of forest roads and eventually to adapt the method to the situation prevailing in a forest road network. The rating method selected as the basis for this experiment was the pavement condition index (PCI) developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for urban roads. In addition, unpaved road condition index (URCI) that has a good index for unpaved road evaluation used for comparison. A 53 km of forest roads were selected containing the most influential factors and variability of conditions. Eventually, 201 road segments were delineated between 150–300 m in length. Within the given segments, sample plots were set 20 m in length consecutively. It was concluded that the panel scores for distress and surface condition of sample unit and section differed from the forest road pavement condition index (FRPCI), URCI, and PCI. Linear regression was used to derive equations between distress and URCI and PCI scores to determine effective FRPCI parameters that provide a numerical rating for the condition of road segments within the road network, where 0 worlds are the worst possible condition, and 100 is the best possible condition best. In addition, regression analysis showed that the FRPCI model with a 0.77 correlation for the total of the road is a performance index used for the first time in forest roads. This study showed a range of FRPCI from 7.8 to 96.3, different from PCI and URCI ratings (0.85–45 and 1.2–53). The FRPCI index helps forest managers in road maintenance, harvesting, and planning to use road information.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/10/1674forest road distresspavement management systemunpaved road indexmaintenancedeterioration |
| spellingShingle | Mohammad Javad Heidari Akbar Najafi Jose G. Borges Introducing New Index in Forest Roads Pavement Management System Forests forest road distress pavement management system unpaved road index maintenance deterioration |
| title | Introducing New Index in Forest Roads Pavement Management System |
| title_full | Introducing New Index in Forest Roads Pavement Management System |
| title_fullStr | Introducing New Index in Forest Roads Pavement Management System |
| title_full_unstemmed | Introducing New Index in Forest Roads Pavement Management System |
| title_short | Introducing New Index in Forest Roads Pavement Management System |
| title_sort | introducing new index in forest roads pavement management system |
| topic | forest road distress pavement management system unpaved road index maintenance deterioration |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/10/1674 |
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