earticle

영어

Forest roads are essential infrastructures for enhancing forest management and operational efficiency, particularly in sensitive mountainous terrains where forest road planning significantly affects construction costs. However, studies focusing on accurately estimating rock areas during the forest road planning phase remain limited. This study aimed to improve the precision of rock area prediction by analyzing topographic and forest stand factors. Digital elevation models (DEM) at 1:5,000 and 1:25,000 scales, along with forest type maps and forest site soil maps, were utilized to extract and compare topography, forest stand factors, slope gradients, and topographic indices between rock and non-rock areas. The results showed that bedrock type, tree species, and soil texture were significant factors, while forest type and soil type were not. Slope analysis indicated that rock areas had significantly steeper gradients than non-rock areas (p<0.001), and topographic index analysis revealed that rock areas exhibited more rugged terrain characteristics, with higher predictive accuracy observed using higher-resolution DEM. These findings suggest that incorporating highresolution DEM and key topographic indicators can improve the prediction of rock sections during forest road planning and contribute to reducing unnecessary construction costs.