Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 25243 Průhonice, Czech Republic.
Sci Total Environ. 2011 Sep 1;409(19):3839-49. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.06.056. Epub 2011 Jul 19.
Roads represent an important landscape element affecting both biotic and abiotic components. Alteration of soil properties along roads (addition of nutrients) is assumed to have a great impact on vegetation structure especially in nutrient poor ecosystems. Existing studies focus mainly on road dust. In our study we assessed the overall effects of roads upon adjacent alpine tundra vegetation and soils in Krkonoše Mts, Czech Republic. Our aims were to (1) reconstruct the road-related changes using aerial data and GPS mapping to study colonization of roadside plant species; (2) assess the road effects on physical-chemical soil properties and vegetation composition along transects; and (3) propose conservation measures to stop further damage. Changes were reconstructed from historical multispectral aerial photography (1986 to 1997), measured by GPS device (1997, 2004), and accompanied by detailed soil (1998, 2000 and 2001) and vegetation (2000 and 2004) surveys along transects. Along alkaline roads, fast and profound shifts in physical-chemical soil properties (pH increased from 3.9 up to 7.6, base saturation from 9-30% up to 100%), and species composition were recorded. The roadside vegetation doubled in area during the studied decade. Stress-tolerant tundra species were replaced by meso- to nitrophilous species and species preferring man-made habitats. The intensity of changes depended significantly on the type of road material and the position relative to the road (slope position, distance from the road). Our findings support the assumption that alkaline gravel is the main cause of changes along roads in the area, and indicate the leading role of water transport in the soil and consequent vegetation alteration. To prevent the further damage we recommended replacement of alkaline gravel by granite, even though expensive and technically complicated. Based on our recommendations, the National Park authorities started to reconstruct the trails, although recovery is expected to be slow.
道路是影响生物和非生物组成部分的重要景观元素。人们认为，道路沿线土壤性质的改变（养分的增加）会对植被结构产生重大影响，特别是在养分贫瘠的生态系统中。现有研究主要集中在道路灰尘上。在我们的研究中，我们评估了道路对捷克共和国克罗斯山脉高山冻原植被和土壤的整体影响。我们的目的是：(1) 使用航空数据和 GPS 制图重建与道路有关的变化，以研究路边植物物种的定植；(2) 评估道路沿线土壤物理化学性质和植被组成的变化；(3) 提出保护措施以阻止进一步的破坏。变化是通过历史多光谱航空摄影（1986 年至 1997 年）、GPS 设备（1997 年、2004 年）测量以及沿线详细的土壤（1998 年、2000 年和 2001 年）和植被（2000 年和 2004 年）调查来重建的。在碱性道路上，记录到物理化学土壤性质（pH 值从 3.9 增加到 7.6，基础饱和度从 9-30%增加到 100%）和物种组成的快速而深刻的变化。在研究的十年中，路边植被面积增加了一倍。耐胁迫的冻原物种被中氮营养物和喜欢人为栖息地的物种所取代。变化的强度与道路材料的类型和相对于道路的位置（坡度位置、距离道路的距离）显著相关。我们的发现支持了这样一种假设，即在该地区，碱性砾石是道路沿线变化的主要原因，并表明水在土壤中的输送和随之而来的植被变化起着主导作用。为了防止进一步的破坏，我们建议用花岗岩代替碱性砾石，尽管这很昂贵且技术复杂。基于我们的建议，国家公园管理局开始重建步道，尽管恢复预计会很慢。
