The document discusses the state of forest roads in Serbia. It notes that Serbia has 2.25 million hectares of forested land, with about 64.7% classified as coppices and 27.5% as high forests. Forest roads are classified into primary (gravel or earth surfaced) and secondary (tractor trails) networks. The average density of primary forest roads is 7.23 m/ha in the largest public enterprise. Standards for design and construction of forest roads include minimum radii for curves, carriageway widths, slopes and passing places. Planning, design, construction and maintenance of forest roads follows set procedures but is impacted by a lack of forest road licensing and programs as well as insufficient funding and equipment.

1. The State of Forest Roads in
Serbia
Dr. Milorad Danilović
MSc Dušan Stojnić
University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
BEST PRACTICES IN FOREST ROAD ENGINEERING:
Building Sustainable Roads and Minimizing Environmental Impact
30.08.-05.09.2015. Lviv, Ukraine

2. • Total forest area amounts to about 2,252,400 ha
• 29.1% of Serbia is forest covered
• Ownership structure of forests:
– 53% state forests
– 47% private forests
• Forest conditions by origin:
The state of forests in Serbia University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
64.7
27.5
7.8
Coppices
High forests
Forest plantations
and cultures
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3. • Averrage volume – 161 m3/ha
– Coppice forests – 124 m3/ha
– high forests – 254 m3/ha
– forest cultures – 136 m3/ha
• Annual volume increment –
4 m3/ha
– Coppice forests – 3,1 m3/ha
– high forests – 7,1 m3/ha
> 40,000 ha
40,000 – 30,000 ha
30,000 – 20,000 ha
20,000 – 10,000 ha
10,000 – 5,000 ha
5,000 – 1,000 ha
<1,000 ha
The state of forests in Serbia University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
3

4. • PE “Srbijašume” (901.053 ha)
• PE “Vojvodinašume” (130.452 ha)
• PE National parks (cca. 80.000 ha)
• PE “Borjak” (8.260 ha)
• Faculty of Forestry (5.700 ha)
• Church and other organization
Origin Total gross
Net
Total net
Industrial wood Firewood
1 PE „Srbijašume“ 1,391 505 677 1,182
2 PE „Vojvodinašume“ 634 385 154 539
3 National Parks 202 68 104 172
4 PE „Borjak“ 21 7 11 18
5 Other users 89 25 51 76
Total state forest: 2,338 990 997 1987
Private forest: 826 149 595 743
Total: 3,164 1,139 1,592 2,731
Table: Volume of executed loggings (in thousands):
Forest management University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
4

5. • Forest roads are classified into two categories
(Official Gazete RS 22/1998):
– Basic (primary) network:
• forest roads with gravel surface
(hard roads)
• forest roads with earth surface
(soft roads),
– Additional (secondary) network:
• tractor roads – skid trails
Classification of forest roads University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
5

6. • Primary forest roads are permanent infrastructural objects and Main
(operational) projects are necessary for their construction.
• Secondary forest roads are
temporary roads and they
are built for the needs of
production (tree cutting, wood
processing, hauling)
Skid trail
Forest road
Classification of forest roads University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
6

7. • Forest roads density in two largest public enterprises:
– PE “Srbijašume” – 7.23 m/ha
– PE “Vojvodinašume” – 5.30 m/ha
Density of forest road network University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
7

8. Forest road
network
planning
Preliminary
design
Laying out
(routing)
Main project
Road
construction
Road
maintenance
Development of forest road network University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
8

9. • minimum radius in horizontal curves - 20 m (except in serpentines -
12 m),
• minimum carriageway width - 3,0 m for single-lane roads and 5,0 m for
double-lane roads (required extension of carriageway in curves of radius
of less than 70 m),
• minimum shoulder width - by 1 m on both sides,
• maximum longitudinal slope - 10% (exceptionally 12% on short
distances),
• minimum radius in vertical curves - for convex curves - 600 m and for
concave curves - 400 m,
• passing places – every 300 - 500 m on single-lane roads
Forest road standards University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
9

10. • Compartments are square shaped
(750 x 750 m) or rectangular shaped
(750 x 450 m).
• Distance between main skid trails is 60 m,
and 150 m between auxiliary skid trails.
• Auxiliary skid trails are perpendicular to
the main skid trail.
Forest roads in lowland area
PE “Vojvodinašume”
University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
10

11. CARRIAGEWAY
3.60 m
DITCH
depth=0.75 m
The most common technical elements in lowland areas
Forest roads in lowland area
PE “Vojvodinašume”
University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
11

12. • Tree types of forest roads:
– valley roads --------------
– slope roads --------------
– ridge roads --------------
• Spatial distribution of primary and secondary forest roads depend of
terrain configuration.
Forest roads in mountainous areas
PE “Srbijašume”
University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
12

13. CARRIAGEWAY
3.00 m
The most common technical elements in mountainous areas
Forest roads in mountainous areas
PE “Srbijašume”
University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
13

14. Superelevation - toward the center of the curve
Forest road standards University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
14

15. Cut/Fill Slope – depends of terrain stability
Forest road standards University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
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16. Cut/Fill Slope – depends of terrain stability
Forest road standards University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
16

17. Cut/Fill Slope – depends of terrain stability
Forest road standards University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
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18. Installation of concrete culverts
Forest road standards University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
18

19. Installation of PVC culverts
Forest road standards University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
19

20. • The network of forest roads is
adjusted to the purpose of an
area.
• Determining the future routes is
by the method of variants.
• Route selection is conducted on
the basis of economically
justified and environmentally
friendly principles.
• During the planning of forest roads networks, modern tools such as GIS,
are used, but without multi-criteria decision-making.
Forest road network planning University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
20

21. • Forest road design – direct method of
projecting forest roads – all phases are
conducted in field
• The content of Main project:
– Topographic maps,
– Plan (Situation)
– Longitudinal profil
– Cross sections
– Bill of quantities
– Preliminary calculation...
Forest road design University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization
21

22. • Road design softwares:
– SURVEY – Trace – Modul for road design (in AutoCAD)
– System for road desing
– Softree RoadEng
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Forest road design University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization

23. • Projects of forest roads and short-span wooden bridges can be done by
forest engineers.
• Education – there is only one Faculty of Forestry in Serbia.
• Forest roads design and short-span bridges designing are studied
through four subjects in Undergraduate and Master studies.
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Who can design forest roads? University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization

24. • The average cost of road construction:
– for forest roads in mountainous areas – 35,000 €/km
– for forest roads in lowland areas – 60,000 €/km
• Construction of forest roads:
– with own machinery
– selection of contractors through public procurement.
24
Forest road construction and
maintenance University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization

25. • POSITIVE FACTORS:
• Ministry of agriculture and environment co-financed the construction
and reconstruction of forest roads and bridges on forest roads:
– 15,000 € for construction of new forest roads,
– 12,000 € for reconstruction of old roads with low technical standards ,
– 700 €/m for bridges on forest roads.
• There is interest in the improvement of the state of forest roads in all
structures (government, public enterprises, private forest owners...)
• National and international projects provide support to forest road
network development
– the lastest project: Assistance for the development of forest infrastructure
planning and construction in Serbia – FAO – 2014-2015. 25
Factors affecting the development of
forest road networks University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization

26. • NEGATIVE FACTORS:
• There are no licenses for the designers of forest roads.
• There aren't Programs of forest opening for many management units.
• Public enterprises do not have sufficient technical equipment.
• Small investments in the maintenance of forest roads.
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Factors affecting the development of
forest road networks University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization

27. Thank you for your attention.
University of Belgrade
Faculty of Forestry
The Chair of Forest Utilization