Skogsbilvägens tillgänglighet och framkomlighet : en analys av beslutsunderlag för val av vägstandard för skogsbilvägar

Sammanfattning: A well-functioning system of forest roads is important for enhancing accessibility to the forest and lowering costs for acquiring raw material. The construction of forest roads has been an important aspect of forestry since the mechanization in the second half of the 20th century and the procedure of constructing roads has varied over time. In 1983 the Swedish Forest Agency released their handbook “Principles of calculus for forest road planning1” which aimed to be a tool for anyone working with economical calculations in forest road projects. The aim of this study was to evaluate certain parts of this handbook regarding changes in forestry since it was written and to suggest possible revisions. Forest roads are categorized based on their standard. Road standard describes the accessibility and passability of a certain road. Passability describes what kind of vehicle that can use the road and what speed the road is suited for; this is also often referred to as geometric standard. Accessibility describes in what conditions the road can be used for transport which is mainly dependent on weather conditions. The method for this project was to investigate the calculation models in the handbook combined with a literature study and an interview with relevant actors in the forest sector. The models have been reviewed to find out what different variables mean and what data they were based on. To analyze the actuality of the models, recent data has been applied on the models. The literature study and interview contributed by making it possible to weigh theoretical descriptions and recommendations to practical implementation and identify any differences between these. The result of this study is shining a light on the differences between the theoretical and practical approaches to forest road planning. The study has also resulted in a modernized, more interactive, model for calculation turnover quantity. This new model could be used in further practical studies to validate if turnover quantity is an effective measure to use.