Impacts of recreational trampling on sub-alpine vegetation and soils in Northwest Yunnan, China

Yang, Mingyu; Hens, Luc; Ou, Xiaokun; Wulf, Robert De

doi:10.1016/j.chnaes.2009.07.005

Cited by 19 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As evidence of soil compaction, soils from the exclosure had significantly lower bulk density than those under the recreational use. Results of this study were consistent with the findings of Dotzenko et al (), Lockaby and Dunn (), Marion and Cole (), Waltert et al (), Talbot et al (), Kissling et al () and Mingyu et al () that human‐caused trampling increased soil bulk density and that the magnitude of increase varied depending on intensity of the trampling. Because there is a negative correlation between soil bulk density and soil organic matter content (Dotzenko et al , ; Sun and Walsh, ), soils with lower organic matter content have greater soil bulk density as observed for the forest, exclosure and recreational sites in the present study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…A number of studies have been undertaken to investigate the impact of recreational use on forest ecosystems (Dotzenko et al , ; Cole, ; Grieve, ; Talbot et al , ; Whinam and Chilcott, ; Cole and Monz ; Amrein et al , ; Casu et al , ; Kissling et al , ; Mingyu et al , ; Pickering et al , ; Tomczyk, ). In general, these studies showed that soil and vegetation were the environmental factors most affected by human activity on recreational sites and that extent of the damage depended on the type and frequency of recreational use, the type of soil and vegetation and the season of use (Thurston and Reader, ; Amrein et al , ; Sarah and Zhevelev, ; Kissling et al , ; Yüksek et al , ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To manage the intensity, distribution and timing of recreational use, forest service and camp managers frequently develop strategies. These strategies include establishing permanent or temporary exclosures, especially in highly impacted areas, zoning sites to be used for different types of recreation, locating recreational sites on the most durable available surfaces, limiting use, dispersing recreational visitors across a larger area, instituting a rest‐rotation schedule, concentrating recreational foot traffic in a limited number of areas, containment and site management (Cole, ; Marion and Cole, ; Marion and Farrell, ; Mingyu et al , ). In most cases, all these strategies do not result in the recovery of the recreational sites unless the number of the sites is reduced, recreational land use approaches zero, soil recovery occurs more rapidly than soil degradation, the impact of recreational use drops below damage thresholds, and the number of visitors is maintained below carrying capacity of the sites (Whinam and Chilcott, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Exclosure Effects on Recovery of Selected Soil Properties in a Mixed Broadleaf Forest Recreation Site

2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Human-caused trampling that results from excessive recreational use has caused damage to soil and vegetation in forest ecosystems in the Belgrad Forest of Istanbul. The objectives of this study were to examine effects of exclosure on selected soil properties and to determine the recovery time required for soil characteristics in a broadleaf forest recreation site.Litter biomass and topsoil (0-15 cm) were sampled in the forest, exclosure and recreational sites, and soil samples were analysed for saturation capacity, permeability, bulk density, total porosity, organic matter, root biomass, electrical conductivity and soil pH.Results showed that saturation capacity, permeability, total porosity and organic matter increased whereas bulk density decreased significantly in the topsoil under the exclosure, and all these soil properties in the topsoil of the exclosure were greater than those of recreational site. When effects of main factors were compared, averaging over sampling year and soil sampling depth, soils from the exclosure had significantly greater saturation capacity, permeability, total porosity, organic matter and litter biomass and lower bulk density values than the soils from recreational site.Six years of exclosure was effective in improving most of the soil properties in the topsoil. When topsoil and subsoil are considered together, it is obvious that a longer time period is needed for soil recovery in the forest recreational sites.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Exclosure Effects on Recovery of Selected Soil Properties in a Mixed Broadleaf Forest Recreation Site

2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It has repeatedly been shown that trampling damages the vegetation, resulting in a decrease in vegetation coverage, a decrease in soil organic matter, and compaction of the topsoil, all of which can accelerate soil erosion [11]. There is extensive literature on recreational trampling describing different methods, from studying existing trails to hiking trails produced through experimental trampling [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. Still, the major focus of most studies is the relationship between the amount of trampling and vegetative response, as well as on the susceptibility of different plant species and communities against trampling [16,23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Image Analysis to Monitor Experimental Trampling and Vegetation Recovery in Icelandic Plant Communities

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

With growing tourism in natural areas, monitoring recreational impacts is becoming increasingly important. This paper aims to evaluate how different trampling intensities affect some common Icelandic plant communities by using digital photographs to analyze and quantify vegetation in experimental plots and to monitor vegetation recovery rates over a consecutive three-year period. Additionally, it seeks to evaluate the use of image analysis for monitoring recreational impact in natural areas. Experimental trampling was conducted in two different sites representing the lowlands and the highlands in 2014, and the experimental plots were revisited in 2015, 2016, and 2017. The results show that moss has the highest sensitivity to trampling, and furthermore has a slow recovery rate. Moss-heaths in the highlands also show higher sensitivity and slower recovery rates than moss-heaths in the lowlands, and grasslands show the highest resistance to trampling. Both methods tested, i.e., Green Chromatic Coordinate (GCC) and Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLC), showed significant correlation with the trampling impact. Using image analysis to quantify the status and define limits of use will likely be a valuable and vital element in managing recreational areas. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will add a robust way to collect photographic data that can be processed into vegetation parameters to monitor recreational impacts in natural areas.

show abstract

“…Ballantyne and Pickering (2015a) note that most studies on this subject were carried out in the United States and Australia. Studies are also available for Hawaii (Sutherland et al, 2001), the Australian Alps (Pickering & Barros, 2015), Costa Rica (Boucher, Aviles, Chepote, Domínguez Gil, & Vilchez, 1991), Argentina's Aconcagua Provincial Park (Barros et al, 2013), Spain (Lucas-Borja et al, 2011), Iceland (Gísladóttir, 2006;Ólafsdóttir & Runnström, 2013), Tasmania (Whinam & Chilcott, 1999, 2003, Scotland (Bayfield, 1979), China (Mingyu, Hens, Xiaokun, & De Wulf, 2009;Zhang et al, 2012), and Nepal (Nepal & Nepal, 2004). However, detailed studies concerning soil degradation along tourist trails as well as their renaturalization in mountain ranges of moderate height, with a moderately humid climate and formed of sedimentary rocks are still lacking.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Degradation and renaturalization of soils affected by tourist activity in the Bieszczady Mountains (South East Poland)

Drewnik

Musielok

Predki³

et al. 2019

Land Degrad Dev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The main aims of this study were to determine the degree of soil degradation caused by hikers along tourist trails in broad‐leaved forests and subalpine meadows in the Bieszczady Mts. (SE Poland) using the entire thickness of the soil profile and to determine both the direction and rate of renaturalization of degraded soils experiencing renaturalization over different periods of time. Seven representative plots (out of 25) were selected for detailed study. On the research plots, three different but representative research sites arranged perpendicularly to the trail were selected: (a) type R representing soil located in the center of the fenced area and still experiencing renaturalization, (b) type T representing soil on the tourist trail currently being used, and (c) type N representing natural soil showing lack of signs of trampling. The studied soils affected by tourists have become degraded substantially over time to a varying degree. This was manifested by a truncation of the soil profile and by soil compaction. The maximum depth of erosion was found to be ~0.5 m. Stones forming a ‘post‐erosional pavement’ play a crucial role in limiting deeper soil erosion. Both the loosening of renaturalized soils resulting from freeze–thaw cycles and from needle‐ice formation occur relatively quick, although the formation of a topsoil A horizon is a slow process. A humid climate and soils exhibiting high‐soil organic matter content and high‐cation exchange capacity due to their loamy texture facilitate relatively fast restoration of the vegetation cover, which protects the soil from erosion.

show abstract

Impacts of recreational trampling on sub-alpine vegetation and soils in Northwest Yunnan, China

Cited by 19 publications

References 17 publications

Exclosure Effects on Recovery of Selected Soil Properties in a Mixed Broadleaf Forest Recreation Site

Exclosure Effects on Recovery of Selected Soil Properties in a Mixed Broadleaf Forest Recreation Site

Image Analysis to Monitor Experimental Trampling and Vegetation Recovery in Icelandic Plant Communities

Degradation and renaturalization of soils affected by tourist activity in the Bieszczady Mountains (South East Poland)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About