Vasileios C. Drosos* and Stilianos Tampakis

Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources,
Democritus University of Thrace, Ath. Pantazidou 193, 68200 Orestiada, Greece.
*E-mail: vdrosos@fmenr.duth.gr 

As results of forest roads construction, a large number of impacts on the social and natural environment
are identified, both at construction and operation phases. In this work an Environmental
Impact Assessment for the asphalted forest road, of A category 'Philippion - Xillia Dendra -
Exochi' was conducted. Initially, we analyzed the concept of environmental impact assessments
and recorded all the information about the location of the road. Then the information was collected
necessary for the preparation work, such as related measurements, graded on the basis of the
criteria forestry absorption and intensity. These criteria evaluate forestry, topographic and social
factors that are indicators for the adaptability of the road environment and the capacity of the
area to overcome the construction and to restore the balance of the forest ecosystem with minimum
negative impact on the forest and the social surroundings. The intensity criteria by which
the layout and the construction of a forest road is evaluated measures adaptation of the natural
environment to the road construction. Finally, the investigation concludes that the specific forest
road needs several interventions to improve and restore the environment after its construction.

Alireza Ghomi Motazeh 1*, Ramin Naghdi 1, Kyumars Mohammadi Sammani 2,3
Edris Taghvaye Salimi 4, and Roghaye Baniasadi 5

¹Guilan University, Department of Natural Resource, Faculty of natural resource, Guilan,
  Sowmesara, Iran. *E-mail: Alireza.ghomi@yahoo.com 
²Kurdistan University, Department of Natural Resource, Iran.
³The Center for Research and Development of Northern Zagros Forest Management, Baneh, Iran.
⁴Hormozgan University, Department of Natural Resource, Iran.
⁵Birjand University, Department of Agriculture, Iran.

Forest road network planning in ameliorated forest is an important factor for constant forest
development that not only leads to decrease in cost but also prevents forest destruction. Final decision
in forest road planning is not possible just by optimization of one variable. Therefore, multi
criteria decision methods have been developed. Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP) is one of the
most well-known multi criteria decision techniques that has been introduced for resolving planning
needs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate AHP application in preparing road potential
map for Hyrcanian forests in northern Iran. Study area is a part of No 7 watershed domain in
northern Iran and corresponds to the general peculiarities of Hyrcanian forests. Regarding natural
condition of Hyrcanian forests, in this study, 8 factors were taken in to account, such as slope,
exposition, altitude, vegetation type, volume of growing stock, hydrographic peculiarities, geology
and pedology. In order to validate indicators, a questionnaire was developed and distributed
among road construction experts in Natural Resource Organization. Indicators' relative weights
were calculated by Expert Choice software. After getting every layer validity ratio, these layers
were synthesized in ArcGIS9.2 software to make potential map for road construction. Resultant
potential map was compared with one proposed by university professors. Forty points were designated
electively in both potential maps and were evaluated with regards to mentioned factors.
Studies showed that results proposed by professors were more accurate than these proposed by
experts. However, with regards to percentages and results obtained this method cannot be used
safely in potential map preparation for road construction in Hyrcanian forests.

Velislava Shishkova and Momchil Panayotov*

University of Forestry, 10 Kliment Ohridski blvd., 1756 Sofia, Bulgaria. *E-mail: mp2@abv.bg

Black pine (Pinus nigra Arn.), also known as Austrian pine, is one of the widely used species
for dendroclimatic analysis in the European region. Yet, studies for Bulgaria are still scarce and
lack for Slavyanka Mts. The position of the mountain on the border of climatic regions, its natureprotection
status and the high value of the local Pinus nigra variety, outline the importance to
study in more details the relationship between radial growth and climate variability and evaluate
tree growth in conditions of ongoing change. We composed tree ring width and latewood width
chronologies following classic methodology and calculated correlations with climate series from
Sandanski meteorological station. We found positive significant correlations with precipitation in
early summer (r>0.4) and significant negative correlations with temperatures from the current and
previous summers (r>0.43). Spatial correlations with September PDSI reveal strong positive correlation
for wide area over the Balkan Peninsula. We consider that the local origin of Pinus nigra
may be valuable for composing chronologies of summer drought events for the period without
meteorological data.

Simeon Bogdanov

University of Forestry, 10 Kliment Ochridski blvd., 1756 Sofia, Bulgaria.
E-mail: sbogdanovs@abv.bg

The paper presents results from investigation on total N changes in soils influenced by forest
fires. Cinnamonic forest soils (Chromic Luvisols, FAO) and Gray forest soils (Gray Luvisols, FAO)
have been investigated. The sample plots were set up in burned and unburned control areas.
They were correspondingly situated in the Lower forestry zone (0-700 m a.s.l.) of the Tracian forestry
area and the Lower forestry zone (0-600 m a.s.l.) of the Moesian forest area. Soil samples
had been taken seven times for ten years in order to investigate the nitrogen content dynamics.
The content of total N has been determined using the modified Kjeldal method. A relationship was
detected between content of total N and soil type, type and intensity of fires.

Boyan Milchev* and Teodor Ivanov

University of Forestry, Wildlife Management Department, 10 Kl. Ochridski blvd., 1765 Sofia,
Bulgaria. *E-mail: boyan.m@abv.bg 

The vulnerable Semi-collared Flycatcher was found with two breeding pairs in 2012 and four
pairs in 2013 in Lozen Mountain, CW Bulgaria, UTM square GN10. Three pairs inhabited a natural
deciduous oak (Quercus sp.), and European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.) forest in a moist
dingle, 915 m a.s.l. The other territory was a plantation of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and
Silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) crossed by a brook with Honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos L.)
along it, 885 m a.s.l. Two pairs occupied old woodpecker hollows in a dead poplar tree (Populus
sp.), and in a single Cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera Ehrh.), respectively.