This study analyzed 237 cases of forest road facility damage caused by natural disasters in South Korea between 2013 and 2023, aiming to quantify damage types and causes, and to examine their relationships with topographic, geological, and meteorological factors.The study sites comprised damage areas with a restoration cost exceeding 500 million KRW, and data sources included Google Earth imagery, Korea Meteorological Administration automatic weather system (AWS) rainfall data, digital elevation model (DEM), and forest soil maps.The results showed that damage was concentrated on embankment slopes (24.1%) and upper valley sections (22.4%), with 72.6% occurring on slopes steeper than 30.Most damaged sites were composed of sandy soils (60.3%) with shallow soil depths (< 30 cm; 95.4%), and 65.9% were located on east-, south-, or southeast-facing slopes.Higher cumulative rainfall over 14 days prior to the event and higher maximum hourly rainfall were associated with increased damage occurrence.Damage occurred predominantly within 5 years of road construction (57.0%) and within 3 years after timber harvesting (79.1%).Routes of layout Types 1 (50.2%) and 2 (44.3%) showed higher damage rates, particularly when repeatedly crossing watercourses or following the lower slopes.Based on these findings, the study proposes climateresponsive design standards, reinforcement of slope protection facilities, and the establishment of rainfall-based monitoring systems for effective disaster prevention and maintenance of forest roads.
Kim et al. (Sun,) studied this question.