International Centre for Ecotourism, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia.
J Environ Manage. 2010 Jan-Feb;91(3):551-62. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.09.025. Epub 2009 Oct 27.
Hiking, horse riding and mountain biking are popular in protected areas in Australia and the United States of America. To help inform the often contentious deliberations about use of protected areas for these three types of activities, we review recreation ecology research in both countries. Many impacts on vegetation, soils and trails are similar for the three activities, although there can be differences in severity. Impacts include damage to existing trails, soil erosion, compaction and nutrification, changes in hydrology, trail widening, exposure of roots, rocks and bedrock. There can be damage to plants including reduction in vegetation height and biomass, changes in species composition, creation of informal trails and the spread of weeds and plant pathogens. Due to differences in evolutionary history, impacts on soil and vegetation can be greater in Australia than in the USA. There are specific social and biophysical impacts of horses such as those associated with manure and urine, grazing and the construction and use of tethering yards and fences. Mountain bike specific impacts include soil and vegetation damage from skidding and the construction of unauthorised trails, jumps, bridges and other trail technical features. There are gaps in the current research that should be filled by additional research: (1) on horse and mountain bike impacts to complement those on hiking. The methods used need to reflect patterns of actual usage and be suitable for robust statistical analysis; (2) that directly compares types and severity of impacts among activities; and (3) on the potential for each activity to contribute to the spread of weeds and plant pathogens. Additional research will assist managers and users of protected areas in understanding the relative impacts of these activities, and better ways to manage them. It may not quell the debates among users, managers and conservationists, but it will help put it on a more scientific footing.
徒步旅行、骑马和山地自行车在澳大利亚和美国的保护区很受欢迎。为了帮助为这三种活动在保护区的使用提供信息，我们回顾了这两个国家的娱乐生态学研究。虽然这三种活动的严重程度可能有所不同，但对植被、土壤和步道的许多影响是相似的。这些影响包括对现有步道的破坏、土壤侵蚀、压实和营养化、水文学变化、步道拓宽、根系、岩石和基岩暴露。植物可能会受到破坏，包括植被高度和生物量减少、物种组成变化、非正式步道的形成以及杂草和植物病原体的传播。由于进化历史的差异，澳大利亚土壤和植被的影响可能比美国更大。马会带来一些特定的社会和生物物理影响，例如与粪便和尿液、放牧以及系留和围栏的建造和使用有关的影响。山地自行车特定的影响包括因侧滑和未经授权的步道、跳跃、桥梁和其他步道技术特征的建造而造成的土壤和植被破坏。目前的研究存在一些空白，需要通过进一步的研究来填补：（1）关于徒步旅行对马和山地自行车的影响，以补充徒步旅行的影响。所使用的方法需要反映实际使用模式，并适合进行稳健的统计分析；（2）直接比较活动之间的类型和严重程度的影响；（3）关于每种活动对杂草和植物病原体传播的潜在影响。进一步的研究将有助于保护区的管理者和使用者了解这些活动的相对影响，以及更好的管理方法。它可能无法平息使用者、管理者和自然资源保护主义者之间的争论，但它将有助于使争论建立在更科学的基础上。
