TEMPORAL CHANGES IN CARBON AND NITROGEN LEVELS IN SEDIMENT FROM PAVED AND UNPAVED FOREST ROADS

Abstract

In this study, we determined the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) contents along with the mass flux in sediment from a paved forest road (PFR), unpaved forest road (UPFR), and an undisturbed areas (UA) in Belgrad Forest in Istanbul, Turkey. The sediment samples were collected monthly during a one-year period from November 2009 to October 2010, and we found that the monthly sediment production rates on the UPFR was significantly higher than on the PFR and in the UA. In addition, significant temporal differences regarding monthly sediment production were identified at each experiment site, with the highest mean annual sediment C content being 15.53% in the UA, 14.68% on the PFR, and 6.86% on the UPFR. Furthermore, the change in the N content paralleled those of the C. We also determined that the mean monthly C and N contents in the sediment of the PFR were significantly higher than for the UPFR and that the mean annual percentage of the C and N content in the sediment collected from the PFR was approximately two times higher than for the UPFR, despite both roads having similar mean annual C and N mass loading.