Full Length Research Paper

Assessment of forest roads and firebreaks in Turkey

Murat Demir^1*, Ali Kucukosmanoglu², Mesut Hasdemir¹, Tolga Ozturk¹ and H. Hulusi Acar³

¹Istanbul University, Faculty of Forestry, Department of Forest Construction and Transportation, 34473 Bahcekoy, Sariyer, Istanbul, Turkey.

²Istanbul University, Faculty of Forestry, Department of Forest Entomology and Protection, 34473 Bahcekoy, Sariyer, Istanbul, Turkey.

³Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Forestry, Department of Forest Construction, Geodesy, and Photogrammetry, 61080 Trabzon, Turkey.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: mdemir@istanbul.edu.tr or muratdemir1973@yahoo.com. Tel: +90-(212)-2261100, 25289. Fax: +90-(212)-2261113.

Accepted 4 September, 2009

   Abstract

This paper describes the situaiton and assessment of forest roads and firebreaks in context of forest transportation and forest fire prevention in Turkey. In recent years, Turkey has lost many forest areas to forest fires, and this not only results in loss of life, property, and infrastructure, but also causes deterioration in the natural environment and degrades ecosystems. According to current status of Turkey, the numbers of forest fires and the areas that are burnt fluctate widely from year to year. In the last decade, the number of forest fires has increased, but the area burned per forest fire has decreased. The Turkish General Directorate of Forestry spent $82.92 million to fight forest fires in 2003 and $677.71 million over the last decade. As of the end of 2006, the total number of forest fires in Turkey since 1937 is 80 011, giving an average of 1143 fires per year. For the same period, the total forest area burned is 1 571 607 ha and the mean forest area burned per fire is 19.64 ha.

Key words: Forest fire, forest road, firebreaks, forest conservation, forestry.