The Impact of Road Investments on the Forest Environment—Case Study: The Impact of Asphalt Roads on the Health Condition and Growth of Trees

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The presented manuscript (MS) has clear goals and a transparent experimental plan. The motivation for the research is also clear. In general, the authors have achieved their goals and presented the results well enough. From this viewpoint, I believe the MS may be recommended for a publication.

There are, however, some issues that require the authors' attention before the publication.

The general comment is about a possible ambiguity of the overall formulation of the main result. The authors claim that "the asphalt road had no significant effect on...", which may be quite OK. But the devil is in the details. While the scientist may read it as "had no significant effect" a non-scientific decision-maker may be interested to read it as "had no effect", which may have social consequences.

After the inspection of the MS and the results presented I came to the conclusion that "the asphalt road has an effect on the adjacent forest massive but this effect is statistically insignificant". Examples: i) the content (mg / kg) of the analyzed elements in wood is always larger closer to the road (Table 3); ii) the degree of damage of the classes 2a and 2b is larger closer to the road (Fig. 6). Taking into account the social importance of such researches, I believe that authors should be very precise with the outcome formulation.

Minor comments:

l. 24: mean annual diameter breast high -> at breast height

l. 82: Bruchwald i Dmyterko -> Bruchwald and Dmyterko 

l. 88: conected -> connected

l. 91: immissions -> emmissions

l. 157: pure pine stand -> it's better to put it precisely "Scots pine"

l. 163: tree height -> mean tree height?

l. 208: all tres growing -> trees?

l. 345-348: For this reason the zero hypothesis assuming that the mean annual increments in diameter for trees growing in the three zones are identical. -> the sentence is not ended/grammar problem

l. 369: dfferences -> differences

l. 370-372: The zero hypothesis assumed that mean defoliation of trees growing in the three transects are identical. -> the sentence is not ended/grammar problem

l. 378-379 -> the sentence has no predicate

l. 380-382: For this reason the zero hypothesis assuming that defoliation of trees growing in the three zones are identical. -> the sentence is not ended/grammar problem

l. 433-450 -> in fact, this is no discussion, this is a repetition of the results.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for taking the time to review our work and for giving us such thoughtful comments. In accordance with your suggestions, we have made changes and additions to the text. Our manuscript is better due to Your input, thank you.

yours sincerely,

The Authors

A point-by-point response to the raised questions is shown below.

If you have additional comments regarding the revised manuscript, please let us know.

1. The general comment is about a possible ambiguity of the overall formulation of the main result. The authors claim that "the asphalt road had no significant effect on...", which may be quite OK. But the devil is in the details. While the scientist may read it as "had no significant effect" a non-scientific decision-maker may be interested to read it as "had no effect", which may have social consequences.

After the inspection of the MS and the results presented I came to the conclusion that "the asphalt road has an effect on the adjacent forest massive but this effect is statistically insignificant". Examples: i) the content (mg / kg) of the analyzed elements in wood is always larger closer to the road (Table 3); ii) the degree of damage of the classes 2a and 2b is larger closer to the road (Fig. 6). Taking into account the social importance of such researches, I believe that authors should be very precise with the outcome formulation.

Answer:

Thank you for this important insight. We agree, taking into account the social importance of the research, we changed "the asphalt road had no significant effect" into "the asphalt road has an effect on the adjacent forest massive but this effect is statistically insignificant".

2. Minor comments:
3. 24: mean annual diameter breast high -> at breast height

Answer: Changed in “at breast height”

1. 82: Bruchwald i Dmyterko -> Bruchwald and Dmyterko

Answer: Changed in “Bruchwald and Dmyterko”

1. 88: conected -> connected

Answer: Changed in “connected”

1. 91: immissions -> emmissions

Answer: Changed in “emmissions”

1. 157: pure pine stand -> it's better to put it precisely "Scots pine"

Answer: Changed in “Scots pine”

1. 163: tree height -> mean tree height?

Answer: Added “mean”

1. 208: all tres growing -> trees?

Answer: Changed in “trees”

1. 345-348: For this reason the zero hypothesis assuming that the mean annual increments in diameter for trees growing in the three zones are identical. -> the sentence is not ended/grammar problem

Answer: Changed in „For this reason, a null hypothesis was adopted assuming that the average annual diameter increments of trees growing in the three zones are identical”.

1. 369: dfferences -> differences

Answer: Changed in “differences”

1. 370-372: The zero hypothesis assumed that mean defoliation of trees growing in the three transects are identical. -> the sentence is not ended/grammar problem

Answer: Changed in  „The null hypothesis assumed that the average defoliation of trees growing on three transects was identical”.

1. 378-379 -> the sentence has no predicate

Answer: Changed in „The results of the Kruskal-Wallis test were statistically significant, for p = 0.0655 at the assumed significance level of α  = 0.05”

1. 380-382: For this reason the zero hypothesis assuming that defoliation of trees growing in the three zones are identical. -> the sentence is not ended/grammar problem

Answer: Changed in  „The null hypothesis assumed that the average defoliation of trees growing on three transects was identical”.

1. 433-450 -> in fact, this is no discussion, this is a repetition of the results.

Answer: Deleted l.433-445.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

1. This manuscript is interesting but the methodology must be clearly improved and explained.
2. The details of experimental design e.g. treatments, number of replicates, type of statistics used, duration of research, details on sample collection and analysis, must be clearly identified. Is there a negative control?3. References for the methods used must be added.

4. Why the author select those distances for soil and sample collection? Is there any scientific reason?

5. Figure 3 is blurry.

6. Some figures should be removed e.g. Figure  4 and 5.

7. Line 241-244 should be in the method.

8. why the distance (spot) for collecting soil sample are not the same as tree sample?
9. Table 2,3: add unit of concentration. The concentration should have same decimal place. Mean and standard error should be added in the table.

10. Line 268-270, is there any evidence and reference to support this conclusion?
11. Table 4,5,7 should be changed to graphs.

12. The writing style of results must be improved. Statistics (p value) should be added  when comparing between treatments. 
13. the discussion should be improved, more references should be cited to support the discussion and conclusions.

14. I dont see the differences between treatments (soil samples and tree samples), I think the authors should explain it clearer and have statistics to support.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for taking the time to review our work and for giving us such thoughtful comments. In accordance with your suggestions, we have made changes and additions to the text. Our manuscript is better due to Your input, thank you.

yours sincerely,

The Authors

A point-by-point response to the raised questions is shown below.

If you have additional comments regarding the revised manuscript, please let us know.

2. The details of experimental design e.g. treatments, number of replicates, type of statistics used, duration of research, details on sample collection and analysis, must be clearly identified. Is there a negative control?

Answer:

Supplemented:

„Soil samples were taken in the center of each of the 9 circular plots. Thus, for zone I they were 16 meters from the edge of the asphalt road, zone II 41 meters, and zone III 66 meters. The distance between the centers of the circular surfaces and the sampling site in a zone was 25 meters”.

3. References for the methods used must be added.

Answer:

Added:

Fritts, H. C. Tree rings and climate. Academic Press, London – New York – San Francisco, 1976.

Schweingruber F. H. Tree rings and environment−dendroecology. Bern, Paul Haupt, 1996.

4. Why the author select those distances for soil and sample collection? Is there any scientific reason?

Answer:

The circular sample plots of Zone I were selected to be as close to the edge of the roadway as possible (ignoring the fire lane and the so-called truncated trees closest to the fire lane and having more extensive crowns). The centers of zone II sample plots were 25 meters from the centers of zone I, and zone III plots were 25 meters from the centers of zone II plots. The same distance applied between the 3 plots located in successive zones. Soil samples were taken exactly from the centers of each circular plot. The distances between zones were mainly caused by the width of the stand and there was no scientific justification here.

5. Figure 3 is blurry.

Answer: Figure 3 has been replaced.

6. Some figures should be removed e.g. Figure  4 and 5.

Answer: Figures 4 and 5 have been removed as suggested by the Reviewer.

7. Line 241-244 should be in the method.

Answer: Taking into account note 8 moved to Methods.

8. why the distance (spot) for collecting soil sample are not the same as tree sample?

Answer: Soil samples were taken in the center of each of the 9 circular plots. Thus, for zone I they were 16 meters from the edge of the asphalt road, zone II 41 meters, and zone III 66 meters. The distance between the centers of the circular surfaces and the sampling site in a zone was 25 meters. These relationships are also included in Tables 2 and 3.

9. Table 2,3: add unit of concentration. The concentration should have same decimal place. Mean and standard error should be added in the table.

Answer: Values have been refined.

10. Line 268-270, is there any evidence and reference to support this conclusion?

Answer: It was determined on the basis of laboratory chemical analyzes of soil and wood samples.

11. Table 4,5,7 should be changed to graphs.

Answer: In the case of Table 4, it will be extremely difficult to present it in a graph, as it contains too much information. In the case of Table 5 and 7 such a possibility exists and, as suggested by the Reviewer, its results have been presented in a graphs

Figure 4. Coefficients of variability of annual tree DBH increments in three zones of distance from the asphalt road.

Figure 5. Minimum (Min) and maximum (Max) values, average of tree defoliation in three distance transects from the asphalt road.

 

12. The writing style of results must be improved. Statistics (p value) should be added  when comparing between treatments.

Answer: Statistics (p-value) are determined with all tests performed (included in the tables and comments thereto).

13. the discussion should be improved, more references should be cited to support the discussion and conclusions.

Answer: Discussion reworded.

The text has been removed:

„In the tree transects defoliation of pines ranged from 5 to 50%, except for one outlier in transect II (75%). Mean defoliation decreased slightly from zone I to zone III. It ranged from 25.36% (zone III) to 28.08% (I) and to a limited extent exceeded the defoliation threat threshold for pine, amounting to 25%. The analysis of variance ANOVA was conducted to investigate the significance of differences between mean defoliation of trees growing at various distances from the asphalt road (in three transects). Thanks to the application of the Kruskal-Wallis test it was shown that the asphalt road had no significant impact on defoliation of trees growing at various distances from this road. Results of the analysis of descriptive statistics confirms the share of trees in the damage classes. The greatest representation of pines was found in damage class 1 (defoliation 11-25%): from 45 (I) to 61% (III), followed by 2a (26-40%): from 30 (III) to 45% (I). In the other damage classes the recorded frequencies were below 10%.”

Added text:

“The course of change with age of the radial increment of trees is characterized by high values and their rapid decline in the initial (juvenile) period of the trees' life, followed by lower values, which slowly decline to reach a course parallel to the age axis at the end of the trees' life [24, 25]. This trend is also observed for the radial increment of trees aged 58 years growing in the 3 analyzed zones of distance from the asphalt road for the last 21 years. For the analyzed 21 years, the average growth of trees in Zone I (closest to the road) was once (2007) greater than in Zone II and twice (2016 and 2017) greater than trees from Zone III. However, the statistical analysis carried out indicates that there are no significant statistical differences between the increments recorded for each zone.  In the case of strip roads, it is said that they affect both the entire stand and individual trees growing directly along the roads (edge trees). This is especially the case when strip roads are created, and significantly affects the reduction of production potential. However, this effect loses significance over time [26]. Marginal trees have an increased supply of light to their crowns and thus a larger living space. This results in increased growth in most cases [27-31]. However, this effect does not always occur [32,33]. The plots analyzed in this work were devoid of edge trees, and possible increased growth in them was not taken into account. The limited leaching process of chemical pollutants from monolithic road structures is confirmed by other studies [34]. Even surfaces containing ashes are not susceptible to leaching processes [35]. A more important source of trace elements are dusts resulting from road use [36, 37]”.

      Added literature items: 16-18, 24-37:

16. Malunguja, G.; Thakur, B.; Devi, A. Heavy Metal Contamination in Forest Reserved Soils Crossed by Roads, its Ecological Risks, and their Effects on Tree Biomass Stocking Potential. Preprint Research Square, https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-762158/v1
17. Xu, J.; Jing, B.; Zhang, K.; Chong, Y.; Cui, I.; Malkinson, D.; Kopel, D.; Song, K.; Da, L. Heavy metal contamination of soil and tree-ring in urban forest around highway in Shanghai, China. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal, 23 (7), 1745-1762. https://doi.org/10.1080/10807039.2017.1340826
18. Christoforidis, A.; Stamatis, Heavy metal contamination in street dust and roadside soil along the major national road in Kavala's region, Grece. Geoderma. 2009, 151, 257–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2009.04.016
19. Fritts, H. C. Tree rings and climate. Academic Press, London – New York – San Francisco, 1976.
20. Schweingruber F. H. Tree rings and environment−dendroecology. Bern, Paul Haupt,
21. Dušek, D.; Slodiˇcák, M.; Novák, J.; Kacalek, D. Influence of skid rack width on spruce stand production. Zprávy Lesn. Výzkumu 2015, 60, 171–176. https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/20153393439
22. Niemistö, P. A simulation method for estimating growth losses caused by strip roads. J. For. Res. 1989, 4, 203–214. https://doi.org/10.1080/02827588909382558  
23. Isomäki, A.; Niemistö, P. Effect of strip roads on the growth and yield of young spruce stands in southern Finland. Folia For. 1990, 756, 36. https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/19910651778
24. Mäkinen, H.; Isomäki, A.; Hongisto, T. Effect of half-systematic and systematic thinning on the increment of Scots pine and Norway spruce in Finland. Forestry, 2005, 79, 103–121. https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpi061
25. Horak, J.; Novák, J. Effect of stand segmentation on growth and development of Norway spruce stands. For. Sci. 2009, 55, 323–329. https://doi.org/10.17221/61/2008-JFS
26. Kuliešis, A.; Aleinikovas, M.; Linkevičcius, E.; Kuliešis, A.A.; Saladis, J.; Škéma, M.; Šilinskas, B.; Beniušiené, L. The impact of strip roads on the productivity of spruce plantations. Forests, 2018, 9, 640. https://doi.org/10.3390/f9100640
27. Laurow, Z. Szlaki technologiczne w procesie pozyskiwania drewna (Technological routes in the wood harvesting process).. Część II. Szlak a środowisko (Part II. The trail and the environment). Przegląd Tech. Rol. Les. 1996, 6, 23–25.
28. Jansson, K.-J.; Wästerlund, I. Effect of traffic by lightweight forest machinery on the growth of young Picea abies Scand. J. For. Res. 1999, 14, 581–588. https://doi.org/10.1080/02827589908540823
29. Modrzewska, B..; Wyszkowski, M. Trace metals content in soils along the state road 51 (northeastern Poland). Monit. Assess. 2014, 186, 2589–2597. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3562-z
30. Lindroos, A.-J.; Ryhti, K.; Kaakkurivaara, T.; Uusitalo, J.; Helmisaari, H.-S. Leaching of heavy metals and barium from forest roads reinforced with fly ash. Silva Fennica, 2019, 53(2), https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.10088
31. Duong, T.T.; Lee, B. Determining contamination level of heavy metals in road dust from busy traffic areas with different characteristics. Journal of Environmental Management. 2011, 92, 554–562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.09.010
32. Faiz, Y.; Tufail, M.; Tayyeb Javed, M.; Chaudhry, M.M.; Siddique, N. Road dust pollution of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn along Islamabad Expressway, Pakistan. Microchemical Journal. 2009, 92,186–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2009.03.009
33. I dont see the differences between treatments (soil samples and tree samples), I think the authors should explain it clearer and have statistics to support.

Answer: The samples for soil analysis came from the center of each of the 9 circular surfaces, and the wood sample from the model tree closest to the center of the circular surface.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

In the section «Materials and Methods” I think the authors should specify the size of the sample, which they analyzed using ANOVA and other statistic tests. This is an important feature for evaluating statistical analyses. As I understand, they collected  54 samples «From each sample tree (with nine trees in each zone) two core samples were collected using an increment borer». Is it so?

The samples was collected from “trees of a small (M), medium 209 (S) and large (D) diameter at breast height” and “tree of a small (M), medium 209 (S) and large (D) diameter at breast height” and “One core sample was collected in the northerly direction (N) and the other – in the easterly direction (E)”. So except zone attribute each sample had attributes of diameter and direction attribute. But these attributes was not used in analyses of samples. Are they not important?

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for taking the time to review our work and for giving us such thoughtful comments. In accordance with your suggestions, we have made changes and additions to the text. Our manuscript is better due to Your input, thank you.

yours sincerely,

The Authors

A point-by-point response to the raised questions is shown below.

If you have additional comments regarding the revised manuscript, please let us know.

1. In the section «Materials and Methods” I think the authors should specify the size of the sample, which they analyzed using ANOVA and other statistic tests. This is an important feature for evaluating statistical analyses. As I understand, they collected 54 samples «From each sample tree (with nine trees in each zone) two core samples were collected using an increment borer». Is it so?

Answer:

Thank you for your attention, thanks to which we were able to clarify the text of the chapter "Materials and Methods". The cross-sectional area of the trunk (determined at a height of 1.3 m) is mostly oval in shape, with the longer axis in an east-west direction (according to the direction of the prevailing winds) This shape results from the incremental responses of the tree. The pine responds to the wind by increasing the width of the rings on the downwind side. So, taking into account the shape of the tree cross-section, it was decided to take a sample from the east (E) and north (N) directions. This was done similarly to the evaluation of growth on the sunny and shaded side, where it is recommended to take two boreholes at 90 degrees. A total of 54 samples were available (18 in each zone). Information detailed in the text and added text: : „A total of 54 samples were taken (6 for each plot and thus 18 for each zone).”

2. The samples was collected from “trees of a small (M), medium 209 (S) and large (D) diameter at breast height” and “tree of a small (M), medium 209 (S) and large (D) diameter at breast height” and “One core sample was collected in the northerly direction (N) and the other – in the easterly direction (E)”. So except zone attribute each sample had attributes of diameter and direction attribute. But these attributes was not used in analyses of samples. Are they not important?

Answer:

In each sample plot (circular), sample trees were selected to represent three thickness classes, with equal numbers of trees per class (Urich's method). Hence, a sample tree in the first thickness class was defined as a sample tree of small breast height (M), the second thickness class of medium (S) and the third of large breast height (D). Unfortunately, in this work, the direction attribute was not included. Of course, the reviewer is fully correct, and in studies of incremental issues of trees this aspect should be taken into account. Perhaps such information should be presented and analyzed in a new publication.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 4 Report

Lines 11-12 - Abstract – The first sentence is not necessary, this sentence belongs to the chapter "Funding".

Authors should be more to emphasize manuscript novelty. Why is yours manuscript interesting for international readership?

Lines 72-77 - this is common knowledge and don’t need to mentioned in manuscript

Line 88 – "conected" should be "connected"

Objectives of this study need to be more detailed descripted and better highlight from the rest of the text.

Lines 104-237 - Chaper Materials and methods  - the roadside drainage ditches will certainly affect the growth of trees. How is the effect of asphalt road eliminated from the effect of drainage ditches to the growth of trees?

Line 190 – "Vetrex" should be "Vertex"

Line 196 – "clsses" should be "classes"

Lines 205 and 206 – circular?

Line 208 - "tres" should be "trees"

Line 221 – individual?

Line 351 – Table 6 title is missing

Lines 376-377 – some lines are missing

Lines 428-444 in this section, the above results are repeated, but it is necessary to compare results of this manuscript with other studies results.

Lines 392-450 – Chaper Discussion is relatively modest and should be rewritten. A large part describes the  results of this study second time.

Tables 2 and 3 give an overview about heavy metals in soil and wood, but in manuscript does not contain description of heavy metals. Authors should add information of heavy metals to the chapters Results and Discussion.

The manuscript will be published after the major revision.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for taking the time to review our work and for giving us such thoughtful comments. In accordance with your suggestions, we have made changes and additions to the text. Our manuscript is better due to Your input, thank you.

yours sincerely,

The Authors

A point-by-point response to the raised questions is shown below.

If you have additional comments regarding the revised manuscript, please let us know.

1. Lines 11-12 - Abstract – The first sentence is not necessary, this sentence belongs to the chapter "Funding".

Answer:

Thank you for this observation. MDPI journals recommend providing information if research is performed as part of R&D in order to show not only the cognitive but also the utilitarian aspect. We did not include this fact in "Funding" because this is the first stage of research, which will be funded after the completion of the next stage. At the moment this works was co-financed within the framework of Ministry of Science and Higher Education program as “Regional Initiative Excellence” in years 2019-2022, project number 005/RID/2018/19.

2. Authors should be more to emphasize manuscript novelty. Why is yours manuscript interesting for international readership?

Answer:

3. Lines 72-77 - this is common knowledge and don’t need to mentioned in manuscript

Answer:

Excerpt removed from Introduction.

4. Line 88 – "conected" should be "connected"

Answer: Changed in “connected”.

5. Objectives of this study need to be more detailed descripted and better highlight from the rest of the text.

Answer:

The text of the Introduction was supplemented with a fragment:

“In connection with the implementation of the objectives set in the first stage of the research, measurements and field observations were carried out, and the obtained empirical material was the subject of laboratory analyzes on the impact of mineral fillers and mineral-asphalt mixtures on roadside habitats”.

6. Lines 104-237 - Chaper Materials and methods - the roadside drainage ditches will certainly affect the growth of trees. How is the effect of asphalt road eliminated from the effect of drainage ditches to the growth of trees?

Answer:

There was no drainage ditch between the asphalt road and the stand, only a fire lane. It was adjacent to the border of the road lane and was devoid of dead trees, lying branches and unkempt felled or fallen trees, as well as undergrowth and undergrowth of coniferous species. If there was a drainage ditch, the water that accumulated in it periodically would have caused increased access to water by trees growing near it and increased growth.

7. Line 190 – "Vetrex" should be "Vertex"

Answer: Changed in "Vertex"

8. Line 196 – "clsses" should be "classes"

Answer: Changed in "classes”

9. Lines 205 and 206 – circular?

Answer: Changed in "circular”

10. Line 208 - "tres" should be "trees"

Answer: Changed in “trees”

11. Line 221 – individual?

Answer: Changed in “individual”

12. Line 351 – Table 6 title is missing

Answer:

Added title of Table. After changing Table 5 to Figure 4, Table 6 is numbered 5: Table 5. Distribution normality analysis, tests for homogeneity of variance, and significance tests for differences in annual breast height increments (from 2000 to 2021) of trees in three zones of distance from the asphalt road.

13. Lines 376-377 – some lines are missing

Answer: Added „The results of the Kruskal-Wallis test were statistically significant, for p = 0.0655 at the assumed significance level of α  = 0.05”

14. Lines 428-444 in this section, the above results are repeated, but it is necessary to compare results of this manuscript with other studies results

Answer: Deleted.

15. Lines 392-450 – Chaper Discussion is relatively modest and should be rewritten. A large part describes the results of this study second time.

Answer: Discussion reworded.

The text has been removed:

„In the tree transects defoliation of pines ranged from 5 to 50%, except for one outlier in transect II (75%). Mean defoliation decreased slightly from zone I to zone III. It ranged from 25.36% (zone III) to 28.08% (I) and to a limited extent exceeded the defoliation threat threshold for pine, amounting to 25%. The analysis of variance ANOVA was conducted to investigate the significance of differences between mean defoliation of trees growing at various distances from the asphalt road (in three transects). Thanks to the application of the Kruskal-Wallis test it was shown that the asphalt road had no significant impact on defoliation of trees growing at various distances from this road. Results of the analysis of descriptive statistics confirms the share of trees in the damage classes. The greatest representation of pines was found in damage class 1 (defoliation 11-25%): from 45 (I) to 61% (III), followed by 2a (26-40%): from 30 (III) to 45% (I). In the other damage classes the recorded frequencies were below 10%.”

Added text:

“The course of change with age of the radial increment of trees is characterized by high values and their rapid decline in the initial (juvenile) period of the trees' life, followed by lower values, which slowly decline to reach a course parallel to the age axis at the end of the trees' life [24, 25]. This trend is also observed for the radial increment of trees aged 58 years growing in the 3 analyzed zones of distance from the asphalt road for the last 21 years. For the analyzed 21 years, the average growth of trees in Zone I (closest to the road) was once (2007) greater than in Zone II and twice (2016 and 2017) greater than trees from Zone III. However, the statistical analysis carried out indicates that there are no significant statistical differences between the increments recorded for each zone.  In the case of strip roads, it is said that they affect both the entire stand and individual trees growing directly along the roads (edge trees). This is especially the case when strip roads are created, and significantly affects the reduction of production potential. However, this effect loses significance over time [26]. Marginal trees have an increased supply of light to their crowns and thus a larger living space. This results in increased growth in most cases [27-31]. However, this effect does not always occur [32,33]. The plots analyzed in this work were devoid of edge trees, and possible increased growth in them was not taken into account. The limited leaching process of chemical pollutants from monolithic road structures is confirmed by other studies [34]. Even surfaces containing ashes are not susceptible to leaching processes [35]. A more important source of trace elements are dusts resulting from road use [36, 37]”.

      Added literature items: 24-37:

24. Fritts, H. C. Tree rings and climate. Academic Press, London – New York – San Francisco, 1976.
25. Schweingruber F. H. Tree rings and environment−dendroecology. Bern, Paul Haupt,
26. Dušek, D.; Slodiˇcák, M.; Novák, J.; Kacalek, D. Influence of skid rack width on spruce stand production. Zprávy Lesn. Výzkumu 2015, 60, 171–176. https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/20153393439
27. Niemistö, P. A simulation method for estimating growth losses caused by strip roads. J. For. Res. 1989, 4, 203–214. https://doi.org/10.1080/02827588909382558  
28. Isomäki, A.; Niemistö, P. Effect of strip roads on the growth and yield of young spruce stands in southern Finland. Folia For. 1990, 756, 36. https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/19910651778
29. Mäkinen, H.; Isomäki, A.; Hongisto, T. Effect of half-systematic and systematic thinning on the increment of Scots pine and Norway spruce in Finland. Forestry, 2005, 79, 103–121. https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpi061
30. Horak, J.; Novák, J. Effect of stand segmentation on growth and development of Norway spruce stands. For. Sci. 2009, 55, 323–329. https://doi.org/10.17221/61/2008-JFS
31. Kuliešis, A.; Aleinikovas, M.; Linkevičcius, E.; Kuliešis, A.A.; Saladis, J.; Škéma, M.; Šilinskas, B.; Beniušiené, L. The impact of strip roads on the productivity of spruce plantations. Forests, 2018, 9, 640. https://doi.org/10.3390/f9100640
32. Laurow, Z. Szlaki technologiczne w procesie pozyskiwania drewna (Technological routes in the wood harvesting process).. Część II. Szlak a środowisko (Part II. The trail and the environment). Przegląd Tech. Rol. Les. 1996, 6, 23–25.
33. Jansson, K.-J.; Wästerlund, I. Effect of traffic by lightweight forest machinery on the growth of young Picea abies Scand. J. For. Res. 1999, 14, 581–588. https://doi.org/10.1080/02827589908540823
34. Modrzewska, B..; Wyszkowski, M. Trace metals content in soils along the state road 51 (northeastern Poland). Monit. Assess. 2014, 186, 2589–2597. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3562-z
35. Lindroos, A.-J.; Ryhti, K.; Kaakkurivaara, T.; Uusitalo, J.; Helmisaari, H.-S. Leaching of heavy metals and barium from forest roads reinforced with fly ash. Silva Fennica, 2019, 53(2), https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.10088
36. Duong, T.T.; Lee, B. Determining contamination level of heavy metals in road dust from busy traffic areas with different characteristics. Journal of Environmental Management. 2011, 92, 554–562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.09.010
37. Faiz, Y.; Tufail, M.; Tayyeb Javed, M.; Chaudhry, M.M.; Siddique, N. Road dust pollution of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn along Islamabad Expressway, Pakistan. Microchemical Journal. 2009, 92,186–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2009.03.009

Answer:

Introduction has been supplemented:

“Asphalt is a commonly used binder for road construction around the world. The success of this material is due to the popularization of the production process, ease of use in construction and the possibility of recycling”.

“Excessive amounts of some trace elements may destabilize the homeostasis of the soil environment and weaken the condition, and thus the abundance of forest stands. The harmfulness of trace elements depends not only on the concentration, but also on their forms of occurrence [16]”.

“Particularly large emissions of trace elements can occur in the vicinity of roads with very heavy traffic. The deposition of chemical pollutants may result more from exhaust emissions than road construction [17, 18]”.

Added literature items: 16-18:

16. Malunguja, G.; Thakur, B.; Devi, A. Heavy Metal Contamination in Forest Reserved Soils Crossed by Roads, its Ecological Risks, and their Effects on Tree Biomass Stocking Potential. Preprint Research Square, https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-762158/v1
17. Xu, J.; Jing, B.; Zhang, K.; Chong, Y.; Cui, I.; Malkinson, D.; Kopel, D.; Song, K.; Da, L. Heavy metal contamination of soil and tree-ring in urban forest around highway in Shanghai, China. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal, 23 (7), 1745-1762. https://doi.org/10.1080/10807039.2017.1340826
18. Christoforidis, A.; Stamatis, Heavy metal contamination in street dust and roadside soil along the major national road in Kavala's region, Grece. Geoderma. 2009, 151, 257–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2009.04.016

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

I am satisfied with the revised version of the manuscript, but there is one point to be improved as below:

Table 3: values in the table must be in the same decimal places.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you very much for your very kind reply. According to your suggestions in the table 3, values have been refined, which we forgot after 1 review. Your comments will be very useful to us in the preparation of future papers.

Yours sincerely,

The Authors

Reviewer 3 Report

The authors have three tree groups of different heights (due to various reasons - the growth of trees, their state of life, or something else). The road can differently influence to these groups. If we have several factors by which we divide the sample into groups, it is more reasonable to use MANOVA. Or if the authors propose that tree groups of different heights do not have significant differences in annual growth and could analyze as uniform sample, then this should be added as a assumption to the text.

In the discussion section, the authors cite some articles that describe the impact of the road on the species composition of plant communities. But the result of this study shows that the road does not have a statistically significant effect on a number of pine stand parameters. The authors should compare their results with the cited literature.

124 line word withn – missing «I»

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you very much for your very kind reply.

According to your suggestions:

The authors have three tree groups of different heights (due to various reasons - the growth of trees, their state of life, or something else). The road can differently influence to these groups. If we have several factors by which we divide the sample into groups, it is more reasonable to use MANOVA. Or if the authors propose that tree groups of different heights do not have significant differences in annual growth and could analyze as uniform sample, then this should be added as a assumption to the text.

Answer:

The element that was assumed to possibly affect annual growth was the distance of the trees from the asphalt road. It was decided to measure the breast height and height of all trees in circular plots. Three transects were determined and three circular plots were located in each transect. Annual increments were not measured on each tree (due to the enormous effort and possible destruction of the trees) but three sample trees (representative of each circular sample plot) selected using the Urich method were chosen. Such trees were to represent the three tree size groups of each circular plot. Surrounding reality is by its nature complex and multidimensional, and situations in which a single variable can explain a phenomenon are rare. Of course, the Reviewer is right that annual increments are influenced by many different factors, and in this situation it would be more appropriate to use MANOVA. In this work, the only factor that was considered was the distance from the asphalt road. The authors realize that this is a bit of an oversimplification because, as mentioned, there are many factors affecting this figure. The reviewer's note regarding the mention that it was assumed that trees of different heights have no significant differences in annual growth and are analyzed as a homogeneous sample will be added in the text.

Line 235-237 added text:

„It was also assumed that groups of trees of different heights have no significant differences in annual growth and are analyzed as uniform sample”.

In the discussion section, the authors cite some articles that describe the impact of the road on the species composition of plant communities. But the result of this study shows that the road does not have a statistically significant effect on a number of pine stand parameters. The authors should compare their results with the cited literature.

Line 462-465 added text:

“Some of the authors of the works mentioned above point to the effect of the road on the species composition of plant communities. The analyzed stand was a solid pine stand without undergrowth and the asphalt road in this case has no statistically significant effect on a number of pine stand parameters”.

124 line word withn – missing «I»

Answer:

Replaced "withn" to "within".

Your comments will be very useful to us in the preparation of future papers.

Yours sincerely,

The Authors

Reviewer 4 Report

No comments.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you very much for your very kind reply.

Your comments will be very useful to us in the preparation of future papers.

Yours sincerely,

The Authors