DETERMINATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS DUE TO ROAD FUNCTION IN FORESTED AREAS

The tendency to apply mathematics generic models to completely different projects, without any adjustment, must be viewed with a critical attitude. This is especially true in cases concerning the complex problem of environmental impacts with many different weighting factors for the various components. The need for a flexible resource that brings together the virtues of speed in the analysis and simplicity in the presentation of the results led to the creation of a set of PC subprograms in the Transport Engineering Laboratory of the Democritus University of Thrace. A procedure has been developed through which for a given road alignment the loss in surface area is calculated. The main expected impacts under consideration are the total loss of woodland, the temporary damages to the forest, long-term and delayed damages due to emissions, and damages due to lowering of the water table. The software output permit the location of spots where damages to the environment are expected making it possible to provide measures which could minimize the adverse effects of a road project on the environment. The program needs improvements in the handling of data in order to cooperate with other modern tools and compare different applications in real project situations