Analysis of an existing forest road network

resources needed to plan these improvements, it is important to target these efforts based upon the available information. Previous research based on existing forest compartment and road network data produced the concept of a methodological study of forest accessibility. Six optimisation stages were defined. This paper deals with the first stage – Analysis of the existing primary forest road infrastructure network. This stage analyses the quantity and quality of the existing forest road network. The results of this analysis, obtained by use of Geographic Information System (GIS), help the forest manager to allocate efficiently the resources to specific forest areas. The results of the analysis are based on data that are easily obtained with GIS. The analysis model is sensitive to the situation on the ground and yet easily implemented. GIS measures of skidding distance, skidding costs and desirable accessibility are included in the model. Relative accessibility and forest road network efficiency are two important calculated results. The paper presents a detailed escription of each step of this work stage. The process is demonstrated on two mountainous Management Units within the Forestry Office Opatija, Forest Administration Buzet