Journal of Natural Environment

Environmental impact assessment of engineering measures and exploitation on forest ecosystems

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Forestry and Forest Economics, Faculty of Natural Resources, University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran.

10.22059/jne.2024.377262.2679

Abstract

Exploitation operations and related engineering measures have environmental effects and consequences, While if the environmental tips and guidelines are considered in the initial design and planning and there is a correct prediction of the possible consequences of these activities, the amount of harmful environmental consequences in the areas under exploitation operations will decrease. The purpose of this research is the exploitation activities and related engineering in forest ecosystems, as well as providing comprehensive and efficient methods and guidelines for environmental monitoring in all forest ecosystems. For this purpose, a set of effective environmental criteria and indicators from engineering measures and forest exploitation were selected and weighted using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Then, by using the obtained weights for the criteria and indicators, the evaluation of the environmental effects was carried out with the help of the weight matrix method. The results of the hierarchical analysis process showed that the soil physics criterion (0.213) has the highest weight among the environmental impact assessment criteria and the pile quality criterion (0.125) has the least weight and importance. Among the environmental indicators, the soil porosity index has the highest weight and the highest priority, and the microbial biomass environmental index has the least importance. The results of the weighted matrix for the environmental impact assessment of the Namkhaneh district of the Kheyrud forest showed that the destruction rate of this part of the forest due to the exploitation activity and engineering measures related to it is average. The highest environmental impact and negative score in the weighted matrix is ‌‌ related to the environmental index of soil nutrients with 22% of the effect in the final total score of the weighted matrix, and the lowest is related to the water erosion index with 6% of the effect in the weighted matrix, which indicates the widespread destruction of soil nutrients due to exploitation in Namkhaneh district. Using the results of the weighted matrix and hierarchical analysis, it is possible to prioritize the environmental indicators and criteria in order to carry out protective and management measures to reduce damage and destruction in forest areas.

Keywords

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Journal of Natural Environment
Volume 77, Issue 2
August 2024
Pages 341-357