Virginia Tech, Forest Resources & Environmental Conservation, 310 W. Campus Dr., Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA.
U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Virginia Tech Field Station, 304f Cheatham, 310 W. Campus Dr., Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA.
J Environ Manage. 2020 Mar 1;257:109986. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109986. Epub 2019 Dec 23.
This research investigates the influence of layout and design on the severity of trail degradation. Previous trail studies have been restricted by relatively small study areas which provide a limited range of environmental conditions and therefore produce findings with limited applicability; this research improves on this limitation by analyzing a representative sample of the Appalachian Trail with significant topographical, ecological, use-related, and managerial diversity. Many trail science studies have also focused on a singular form of trail degradation, whereas this study investigates all three core types of trail impact: trail soil loss, widening and muddiness. Relational analyses with all three indicators provide a more cohesive understanding of trail impact and reveal interrelationships between trail degradation processes. ANOVA testing of the mean values for these trail impact indicators across categories of influential independent factors confirms and refines the relevance of core trail design principles, specifically the sustainability advantages of trails with low grades and side-hill alignments. Findings also reveal and clarify the importance of landform grade in determining the susceptibility of trails to degradation and the influence of routing decisions; these relationships have received relatively little attention in the literature. The results also reveal several methodological considerations for trail alignment metrics and trail impact indicators.
本研究调查了布局和设计对 trails 退化严重程度的影响。先前的 trails 研究受到相对较小的研究区域的限制，这些区域提供了有限的环境条件范围，因此得出的结果适用范围有限；本研究通过分析具有显著地形、生态、使用相关和管理多样性的阿巴拉契亚 Trail 的代表性样本，改进了这一局限性。许多 trails 科学研究也集中在 trails 退化的单一形式上，而本研究则调查了三种核心类型的 trails 影响：trails 土壤流失、变宽和泥泞。对所有三种指标的关系分析提供了对 trails 影响的更具凝聚力的理解，并揭示了 trails 退化过程之间的相互关系。对具有影响力的独立因素的这些 trails 影响指标的平均值进行方差分析测试，证实并细化了核心 trails 设计原则的相关性，特别是坡度较低和山坡走向的 trails 的可持续性优势。研究结果还揭示并阐明了地形坡度在确定 trails 易受退化影响方面的重要性，以及路由决策的影响；这些关系在文献中受到的关注相对较少。结果还揭示了 trails 对准指标和 trails 影响指标的几个方法学考虑因素。
