Instituto Argentino de Nivología y Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA), Centro Científico Tecnológico (CCT), CONICET Mendoza, Av. Ruiz Leal s/n, C.C 330, Mendoza, Argentina.
Instituto Argentino de Nivología y Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA), Centro Científico Tecnológico (CCT), CONICET Mendoza, Av. Ruiz Leal s/n, C.C 330, Mendoza, Argentina; Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina.
J Environ Manage. 2020 Aug 1;267:110546. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110546. Epub 2020 May 1.
Mountain protected areas provide a range of ecosystem services including conserving biodiversity, while often providing recreation and tourism opportunities. Unfortunately, tourists and pack animals used to transport equipment can damage sensitive alpine vegetation particularly when they leave trails. This study assessed the impacts of disturbance from off trail use on alpine vegetation in a popular park in the Andes. The effect of different levels of disturbance as well as abiotic factors on alpine steppe vegetation was assessed using generalized linear models and ordinations in 91 plots (20 m) in the popular Horcones Valley that is used to access remote areas in Aconcagua Provincial Park in Argentina. Disturbance off trails resulted in declines in the cover of native plants, including the endemic shrub Adesmia aegiceras but increases in the cover of herbs including the non-native Convolvulus arvensis. Increased disturbance was associated with shifts from stress tolerant species to ruderal plants characterized by more acquisitive traits, including shorter plants with greater Specific Leaf Area. The research demonstrates the severity of impacts from off trail trampling including how trampling favours some species with specific traits over others and why it is important to limit off track use in areas of high conservation value.
山区保护区提供了一系列生态系统服务，包括保护生物多样性，同时还提供了娱乐和旅游机会。不幸的是，用于运输设备的游客和驮畜在离开小径时可能会破坏敏感的高山植被。本研究评估了在安第斯山脉一个受欢迎的公园中，偏离小径使用对高山植被的干扰影响。使用广义线性模型和排序方法，在阿根廷阿空加瓜省公园偏远地区入口处的霍克恩斯山谷的 91 个样方（20 米）中评估了不同干扰水平以及非生物因素对高山草原植被的影响。偏离小径的干扰导致本地植物，包括特有灌木阿德西亚·埃格里卡雷斯的盖度下降，但包括外来旋花在内的草本植物的盖度增加。干扰的增加与从具有耐受压力特征的物种向具有掠夺性特征的植物的转变有关，这些植物具有更具掠夺性的特征，包括具有更大比叶面积的更短的植物。研究表明，偏离小径践踏的影响很严重，包括践踏如何有利于具有特定特征的某些物种而不利于其他物种，以及为什么限制在高保护价值地区的偏离小径使用很重要。
