Assessment of forest roads and firebreaks in Turkey

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.