Soil Erosion and Degradation Research Group. Department of Geography, Valencia University, Blasco Ibàñez, 28, 46010, Valencia, Spain.
J Environ Manage. 2020 Oct 1;271:110990. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110990. Epub 2020 Jun 30.
This article reviews the scientific literature on trail erosion and the magnitude of the erosive processes that occur on mountain trails due to recreational activities, mainly due to hiking. This work is necessary as a result of the increase in hiking and biking in forest, scrubland and grasslands, and the soil and vegetation degradation induced by these activities. We analysed results that have been compiled in the scientific literature, as well as other issues such as the geographical and temporal distribution of the research, the methods applied, the journals where the research was published, the types and quantity of uses of the pathways and the measures undertaken for damage mitigation. This paper highlights that there is a need for harmonization of methods. The results show that soil erosion rates are highly variable, high, and non-sustainable. Trail erosion research is growing at a rate of 3 papers per year and is published in a small group of scientific journals. Six journals published 47% of the papers on trail erosion, which show a high concentration in environmental journals. There are few papers published in the soil science and geomorphology disciplines, although the research topic and the science background are in these two disciplines. Reported world soil losses from trails ranged from 6.1 Mg ha y to 2090 Mg ha y, all of which are not sustainable. Trail erosion has mainly been investigated in the USA and is a new topic in other regions of the world. There is a need to implement mitigation measures to avoid land degradation, and this should be researched in the near future as right now most of the research describes and quantifies the problem but does not provide solutions: mitigation, rehabilitation or restoration. From a pure scientific approach, we claim that there is a need to research the connectivity of flows and the role of the trails on runoff generation and then sediment yield at pedon, slope and watershed scales. There is a need to research the mechanisms of the soil erosion process in trails: trampling effect, wheel impact, factors and seasonal and temporal changes.
本文综述了有关 trail erosion 的科学文献，以及由于休闲活动（主要是徒步旅行）而导致山径侵蚀的严重程度。由于森林、灌丛和草原地区徒步旅行和骑自行车活动的增加，以及这些活动引起的土壤和植被退化，这项工作是必要的。我们分析了科学文献中汇编的结果，以及其他问题，如研究的地理和时间分布、应用的方法、研究发表的期刊、步道的类型和使用量以及为减轻损害而采取的措施。本文强调需要协调方法。结果表明，土壤侵蚀率高度可变，且较高，是不可持续的。有关 trail erosion 的研究每年以 3 篇论文的速度增长，并发表在一小部分科学期刊上。有 6 种期刊发表了 47%的有关 trail erosion 的论文，这些期刊显示出在环境期刊中的高度集中。虽然研究主题和科学背景在土壤科学和地貌学两个学科中，但在这两个学科中发表的论文很少。从全世界范围来看，步道的土壤流失报告从 6.1 Mg ha y 到 2090 Mg ha y 不等，所有这些都不可持续。在美国，trail erosion 主要得到了研究，而在世界其他地区，这还是一个新的课题。有必要实施缓解措施以避免土地退化，这应该在不久的将来进行研究，因为目前大多数研究只是描述和量化了问题，但没有提供解决方案：缓解、恢复或修复。从纯粹的科学方法来看，我们声称需要研究水流的连通性以及步道在产流和随后在土柱、坡面和流域尺度上产生泥沙输出方面的作用。需要研究步道土壤侵蚀过程的机制：踩踏效应、车轮冲击、因素以及季节性和时间变化。
