The Role of Sociodemographic Characteristics in Expert Perceptions of the Ecological Impacts of Forest Roads

Saliha Ünver; Oğuz Kurdoğlu; Emre Küçükbekir; Mahmut Muhammet Bayramoğlu

doi:10.33904/ejfe.1929934

The Role of Sociodemographic Characteristics in Expert Perceptions of the Ecological Impacts of Forest Roads

Abstract

This study examined whether experts’ perceptions of the ecological impacts of forest roads differed by age, gender, professional experience, and sector of employment. The research involved 120 participants from civil engineering, forestry engineering, landscape architecture, and urban and regional planning. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire consisting of three sections: sociodemographic characteristics, open-ended questions, and a set of 36 questionnaire statements specifically developed for this to assess expert perceptions of the ecological impacts of roads in natural ecosystems. The data were analysed using frequency analysis, the independent samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and post hoc multiple comparison tests. The findings indicated that participants generally had at least a moderate level of knowledge regarding the ecological impacts of forest roads. Significant differences in responses were observed by gender, age, professional experience, and sector of employment. In particular, differences in sociodemographic variables emerged for habitat integrity, fragmentation, stream improvement, road density, ecological design solutions, and wildlife corridors. The finding that most experts demonstrated at least a moderate knowledge suggests that sociodemographic differences in expert evaluations may provide useful input for improving ecological sensitivity, participatory decision-making, and mitigation-oriented planning in forest road management. Consequently, it was determined that expert assessments of the ecological impacts of forest roads are shaped by technical knowledge, as well ass by sociodemographic and professional characteristics.

Keywords

Forest roads, Expert perceptions, Demographic variation, Ecosystem sensitivity, Multidisciplinary assessment

Ethical Statement

This study was conducted with the approval of the Ethics Committee of the Institute of Science and Technology at Karadeniz Technical University (Decision No.: 2026/E-82554930-050.01.04-128593, Date: 03.03.2026).

Thanks

We thank the experts who participated in the study for their evaluations

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Forestry Management and Environment

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Saliha Ünver
0000-0001-9882-446X
Türkiye

Oğuz Kurdoğlu ^*
0000-0002-1706-1542
Türkiye

Emre Küçükbekir
0000-0002-4519-1520
Türkiye

Mahmut Muhammet Bayramoğlu
0000-0002-0870-5094
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

July 29, 2026

Publication Date

-

Submission Date

April 14, 2026

Acceptance Date

June 11, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Number: Advanced Online Publication

DOI

https://doi.org/10.33904/ejfe.1929934

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA95ZU72PK

APA

Ünver, S., Kurdoğlu, O., Küçükbekir, E., & Bayramoğlu, M. M. (2026). The Role of Sociodemographic Characteristics in Expert Perceptions of the Ecological Impacts of Forest Roads. European Journal of Forest Engineering, Advanced Online Publication, 116-126. https://doi.org/10.33904/ejfe.1929934

AMA

1.Ünver S, Kurdoğlu O, Küçükbekir E, Bayramoğlu MM. The Role of Sociodemographic Characteristics in Expert Perceptions of the Ecological Impacts of Forest Roads. Eur J Forest Eng. 2026;(Advanced Online Publication):116-126. doi:10.33904/ejfe.1929934

Chicago

Ünver, Saliha, Oğuz Kurdoğlu, Emre Küçükbekir, and Mahmut Muhammet Bayramoğlu. 2026. “The Role of Sociodemographic Characteristics in Expert Perceptions of the Ecological Impacts of Forest Roads”. European Journal of Forest Engineering, no. Advanced Online Publication: 116-26. https://doi.org/10.33904/ejfe.1929934.

EndNote

Ünver S, Kurdoğlu O, Küçükbekir E, Bayramoğlu MM (July 1, 2026) The Role of Sociodemographic Characteristics in Expert Perceptions of the Ecological Impacts of Forest Roads. European Journal of Forest Engineering Advanced Online Publication 116–126.

IEEE

[1]S. Ünver, O. Kurdoğlu, E. Küçükbekir, and M. M. Bayramoğlu, “The Role of Sociodemographic Characteristics in Expert Perceptions of the Ecological Impacts of Forest Roads”, Eur J Forest Eng, no. Advanced Online Publication, pp. 116–126, July 2026, doi: 10.33904/ejfe.1929934.

ISNAD

Ünver, Saliha - Kurdoğlu, Oğuz - Küçükbekir, Emre - Bayramoğlu, Mahmut Muhammet. “The Role of Sociodemographic Characteristics in Expert Perceptions of the Ecological Impacts of Forest Roads”. European Journal of Forest Engineering. Advanced Online Publication (July 1, 2026): 116-126. https://doi.org/10.33904/ejfe.1929934.

JAMA

1.Ünver S, Kurdoğlu O, Küçükbekir E, Bayramoğlu MM. The Role of Sociodemographic Characteristics in Expert Perceptions of the Ecological Impacts of Forest Roads. Eur J Forest Eng. 2026;:116–126.

MLA

Ünver, Saliha, et al. “The Role of Sociodemographic Characteristics in Expert Perceptions of the Ecological Impacts of Forest Roads”. European Journal of Forest Engineering, no. Advanced Online Publication, July 2026, pp. 116-2, doi:10.33904/ejfe.1929934.

Vancouver

1.Saliha Ünver, Oğuz Kurdoğlu, Emre Küçükbekir, Mahmut Muhammet Bayramoğlu. The Role of Sociodemographic Characteristics in Expert Perceptions of the Ecological Impacts of Forest Roads. Eur J Forest Eng. 2026 Jul. 1;(Advanced Online Publication):116-2. doi:10.33904/ejfe.1929934

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