Olive Nathaniel D, Marion Jeffrey L
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, Recreation and Tourism program, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30601, USA.
J Environ Manage. 2009 Mar;90(3):1483-93. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2008.10.004. Epub 2008 Dec 4.
Recreational uses of unsurfaced trails inevitably result in their degradation, with the type and extent of resource impact influenced by factors such as soil texture, topography, climate, trail design and maintenance, and type and amount of use. Of particular concern, the loss of soil through erosion is generally considered a significant and irreversible form of trail impact. This research investigated the influence of several use-related, environmental, and managerial factors on soil loss on recreational trails and roads at Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, a unit of the U.S. National Park Service. Regression modeling revealed that trail position, trail slope alignment angle, grade, water drainage, and type of use are significant determinants of soil loss. The introduction of individual and groups of variables into a series of regression models provides improved understanding and insights regarding the relative influence of these variables, informing the selection of more effective trail management actions. Study results suggest that trail erosion can be minimized by avoiding "fall-line" alignments, steep grades, and valley-bottom alignments near streams, installing and maintaining adequate densities of tread drainage features, applying gravel to harden treads, and reducing horse and all-terrain vehicle use or restricting them to more resistant routes. This research also sought to develop a more efficient Variable Cross-Sectional Area method for assessing soil loss on trails. This method permitted incorporation of CSA measures in a representative sampling scheme applied to a large (24%) sample of the park's 526 km trail system. The variety of soil loss measures derived from the Variable CSA method, including extrapolated trail-wide soil loss estimates, permit an objective quantification of soil erosion on recreational trails and roads. Such data support relational analyses to increase understanding of trail degradation, and long-term monitoring of the natural and recreational integrity of the trail system infrastructure.
未铺设路面的步道用于休闲娱乐不可避免地会导致其退化，资源影响的类型和程度受到土壤质地、地形、气候、步道设计与维护以及使用类型和使用量等因素的影响。特别值得关注的是，因侵蚀造成的土壤流失通常被视为步道影响的一种重大且不可逆转的形式。本研究调查了几个与使用相关、环境和管理因素对大南叉国家河流与娱乐区（美国国家公园管理局的一个单位）休闲步道和道路土壤流失的影响。回归模型显示，步道位置、步道坡度对齐角度、坡度、排水情况以及使用类型是土壤流失的重要决定因素。将单个变量和变量组引入一系列回归模型，能更好地理解和洞察这些变量的相对影响，为选择更有效的步道管理行动提供依据。研究结果表明，通过避免“落差线”对齐、陡坡以及靠近溪流的谷底对齐，安装和维护足够密度的胎面排水设施，铺设砾石以硬化胎面，以及减少马匹和全地形车的使用或将其限制在更耐侵蚀的路线上，可以将步道侵蚀降至最低。本研究还试图开发一种更有效的可变横截面积法来评估步道上的土壤流失。这种方法允许在应用于公园526公里步道系统的一个大样本（24%）的代表性抽样方案中纳入横截面积测量值。从可变横截面积法得出的各种土壤流失测量值，包括外推的步道全宽土壤流失估计值，能够对休闲步道和道路上的土壤侵蚀进行客观量化。这些数据支持相关性分析，以增进对步道退化的理解，并对步道系统基础设施的自然和休闲完整性进行长期监测。
