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1.
Developing a Monitoring Protocol for Visitor-Created Informal Trails in Yosemite National Park,USA 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
Informal trails created or perpetuated by visitors is a management challenge in many protected natural areas such as Yosemite
National Park. This is a significant issue as informal trail networks penetrate and proliferate into protected landscapes
and habitats, threatening ecological integrity, aesthetics, and visitor experiences. In order to develop effective strategies
for addressing this problem under an adaptive management framework, indicators must be developed and monitoring protocol must
be established to gather timely and relevant data about the condition, extent, and distribution of these undesired trail segments.
This article illustrates a process of developing and evaluating informal trail indicators for meadows in Yosemite Valley.
Indicator measures developed in past research were reviewed to identify their appropriateness for the current application.
Information gaps in existing indicator measures were addressed by creating two new indices to quantify the degree of informal
trailing based on its land fragmentation effects. The selected indicator measures were applied to monitoring data collected
between 2006 and 2008. The selected measures and indices were evaluated for their ability to characterize informal trail impacts
at site and landscape scales. Results demonstrate the utility of indicator measures in capturing different characteristics
of the informal trail problem, though several metrics are strongly related to each other. The two fragmentation indices were
able to depict fragmentation without being too sensitive to changes in one constituent parameter. This study points to the
need for a multiparameter approach to informal trail monitoring and integration with other monitoring data. Implications for
monitoring programs and research are discussed. 相似文献
2.
Lewis T.O. Cheung 《Natural resources forum》2013,37(4):231-241
This study identified the changing preferences of country park visitors in Hong Kong and the potential for such changes to have further negative impacts on the ecologically sensitive areas of country parks. A questionnaire was used to collect feedback from 644 country park visitors to understand their preferences and visitation patterns. To investigate visitors’ preferences and behaviours and to develop better visitor management strategies, the survey data were compared with studies conducted 20 years ago. The results showed that the most popular nature‐based activities of 20 years ago, namely, picnicking and barbecuing, have significantly declined in popularity, while other activities, namely, nature studies and nature photography, have surged in popularity in recent years. These changes in visitor preferences have directly increased the negative impacts of visitors on country parks as they dispersed away from the high intensity recreation zones to the ecological sensitive areas. This emerging group of country park visitors has not been fully considered in the existing approach to visitor management and may irreversibly impact the ecological value of country parks. In this study, visitor management in Hong Kong's country parks was reviewed based on these research findings, and potential improvements were suggested. 相似文献
3.
The dual goals of the Organic Act of 1916 and Wilderness Act of 1964 are to protect natural resources and provide quality
visitor experiences. Park managers need metrics of trail conditions to protect park resources and quality of visitor experiences.
A few methods of sampling design for trails have been developed. Here, we describe a relatively new method, spatially balanced
sampling, and compare it to systematic sampling. We evaluated the efficiency of sampling designs to measure recreation-related
impacts in Rocky Mountain National Park. This study addressed two objectives: first, it compared estimates of trail conditions
from data collected from systematic versus spatially balanced sampling data; second, it examined the relationship between
sampling precision and sampling efficiency. No statistically significant differences in trail condition were found between
the 100-m interval and the spatially balanced datasets. The spatially balanced probability-based dataset was found to be a
good estimate of trail conditions when analyses were conducted with fewer sample points. Moreover, spatially balanced probability-based
sampling is flexible and allows additional sample points to be added to a sample. 相似文献
4.
Po-Hsin Lai Michael G. Sorice Sanjay K. Nepal Chia-Kuen Cheng 《Environmental management》2009,43(6):985-998
High demand for outdoor recreation and increasing diversity in outdoor recreation participants have imposed a great challenge
on the National Park Service (NPS), which is tasked with the mission to provide open access for quality outdoor recreation
and maintain the ecological integrity of the park system. In addition to management practices of education and restrictions,
building a sense of natural resource stewardship among visitors may also facilitate the NPS ability to react to this challenge.
The purpose of our study is to suggest a segmentation approach that is built on the social marketing framework and aimed at
influencing visitor behaviors to support conservation. Attitude toward natural resource management, an indicator of natural
resource stewardship, is used as the basis for segmenting park visitors. This segmentation approach is examined based on a
survey of 987 visitors to the Padre Island National Seashore (PAIS) in Texas in 2003. Results of the K-means cluster analysis
identify three visitor segments: Conservation-Oriented, Development-Oriented, and Status Quo visitors. This segmentation solution
is verified using respondents’ socio-demographic backgrounds, use patterns, experience preferences, and attitudes toward a
proposed regulation. Suggestions are provided to better target the three visitor segments and facilitate a sense of natural
resource stewardship among them. 相似文献
5.
Yoshitaka Oishi 《Environmental management》2013,51(6):1126-1136
Trail settings in national parks are essential management tools for improving both ecological conservation efforts and the quality of visitor experiences. This study proposes a plan for the appropriate maintenance of trails in Chubusangaku National Park, Japan, based on the recreation opportunity spectrum (ROS) approach. First, we distributed 452 questionnaires to determine park visitors’ preferences for setting a trail (response rate = 68 %). Respondents’ preferences were then evaluated according to the following seven parameters: access, remoteness, naturalness, facilities and site management, social encounters, visitor impact, and visitor management. Using nonmetric multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis, the visitors were classified into seven groups. Last, we classified the actual trails according to the visitor questionnaire criteria to examine the discrepancy between visitors’ preferences and actual trail settings. The actual trail classification indicated that while most developed trails were located in accessible places, primitive trails were located in remote areas. However, interestingly, two visitor groups seemed to prefer a well-conserved natural environment and, simultaneously, easily accessible trails. This finding does not correspond to a premise of the ROS approach, which supposes that primitive trails should be located in remote areas without ready access. Based on this study’s results, we propose that creating trails, which afford visitors the opportunity to experience a well-conserved natural environment in accessible areas is a useful means to provide visitors with diverse recreation opportunities. The process of data collection and analysis in this study can be one approach to produce ROS maps for providing visitors with recreational opportunities of greater diversity and higher quality. 相似文献
6.
Nepal SK 《Environmental management》2003,32(3):312-321
A trail study was conducted in the Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park, Nepal, during 1997–1998. Based on that study, this paper examines the spatial variability of trail conditions and analyzes factors that influence trail conditions. Logistic regression (multinomial logit model) is applied to examine the influence of use and environmental factors on trail conditions. The assessment of trail conditions is based on a four-class rating system: (class I, very little damaged; class II, moderately damaged, class III, heavily damaged; and class IV, severely damaged). Wald statistics and a model classification table have been used for data interpretation. Results indicate that altitude, trail gradient, hazard potential, and vegetation type are positively associated with trail condition. Trails are more degraded at higher altitude, on steep gradients, in areas with natural hazard potential, and within shrub/grassland zones. Strong correlations between high levels of trail degradation and higher frequencies of visitors and lodges were found. A detailed analysis of environmental and use factors could provide valuable information to park managers in their decisions about trail design, layout and maintenance, and efficient and effective visitor management strategies. Comparable studies on high alpine environments are needed to predict precisely the effects of topographic and climatic extremes. More refined approaches and experimental methods are necessary to control the effects of environmental factors. 相似文献
7.
Effects of Place Identity,Place Dependence,and Experience-Use History on Perceptions of Recreation Impacts in a Natural Setting 总被引:3,自引:2,他引:1
It is generally accepted that recreation use in natural environments results in some degree of negative social and environmental impact. Environmental managers are tasked with mitigating the impact while providing beneficial recreation opportunities. Research on the factors that influence visitors' perceptions of environmental and social conditions is necessary to inform sound environmental management of protected natural areas. This study examines the effect of prior experience with the setting and two dimensions of place attachment (i.e., place identity and place dependence) on visitors' perceptions of three types of recreation impacts (i.e., depreciative behavior, environmental impacts, and recreation conflict). Principal components analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling were used to test the study hypotheses using data collected from 351 visitors through on-site questionnaires (response rate of 93 percent). The results show that prior experience exhibited a moderate and significant direct positive effect on place identity, place dependence, and visitors' perceptions of recreation impacts. Contrary to study hypotheses and prior research, neither place dependence nor place identity exhibited a significant effect on the dependent variables. The results show that prior experience causes visitors to be more sensitive to depreciative behaviors, environmental impacts, and recreation conflict. These findings raise concerns over potential visitor displacement and deterioration of site conditions. Implications for resource managers are discussed, which include education, modifying visitor use patterns, and site design strategies. 相似文献
8.
We use spatial data representing transportation networks, elevation, stand height, and recreation use to construct and compare
models of recreation use patterns and visibility in a forest. The recreation use pattern model depicts use frequencies along
travel corridors. The visibility model quantifies visibility for all forest areas. We find that the models provide different
but complementary types of information. Forest managers who are involved in scheduling harvest operations and want to address
the visual concerns of forest visitors may benefit most from the visibility model. Managers who wish to know more about travel
patterns or to reroute forest visitors affected by operations may benefit from the use pattern model. A combination of the
two models has the highest potential for providing planning assistance in multiple-use forests. Both models may be able to
enhance visual resource management (VRM) systems already in use by providing spatially explicit recreation use and visibility
data. 相似文献
9.
An on-site visitor survey instrument was developed to examine visitor perceptions of resource impacts resulting from backcountry hiking activities. The survey was conducted in the Bear Lake Corridor of Rocky Mountain National Park, CO and examined visitor characteristics that may influence visitor perceptions of specific resource conditions. Findings indicate that visitors are more perceptive of recreation-related resource impacts that are the result of undesirable behavior and, while visitors do perceive resource impacts, visitors tend to be more affected by crowding. Factors such as local ecological knowledge and knowledge of minimal-impact practices positively influence visitor perceptions of resource impacts. These findings support the use of visitor education on ecological knowledge and minimum-impact as a means of increasing visitor awareness of recreation impact issues. 相似文献
10.
John Lemons 《Environmental management》1987,11(4):461-472
Yosemite National Park is one of the nation's most scenic and ecologically/geologically important parks. Unfortunately, the park is subject to extensive development of concession facilities and associated high levels of visitor use. Those concerned with preservation of the park's resources have attempted to limit the types and extent of such facilities to reduce adverse impacts. Strictly speaking, resolution of the preservation versus use controversy must be based on whether the National Park Service is adhering to its legislative mandate to regulate development and use in the parks. The common interpretation of legislative mandates for national parks, including Yosemite, is that they call for a difficult balancing between the conflicting goals of preservation and use. Accordingly, although concession developments cause significant impacts, they usually have been interpreted to be within the legal discretion allowed the secretary of the interior. However, the usual interpretations of the meanings of legislative mandates for Yosemite National Park have not considered Title 16 United States Code §55, which is a very restrictive statute limiting concession facilities. Many of the limitations imposed on concession facilities by the plain language of the statute have been exceeded. If it can be shown that 16 United States Code §55 is a valid statute, the policy implications for park management in Yosemite National Park would be considerable — namely, that significant reductions in concession facilities could be required. This article examines whether the statute can reasonably be thought to be valid and encourages others to conduct further examination of this question. 相似文献
11.
The impacts of recreation and tourism in the remote North Kimberly region of Western Australia 总被引:3,自引:0,他引:3
Marion Hercock 《The Environmentalist》1999,19(3):259-275
The environmental impacts created by recreational visitors to the wet-dry tropics of Western Australia raise questions about the type of visitor and the capacity of remote areas to 'carry increasing numbers of visitors. This paper looks at those questions in regard to some of the more remote natural attractions in the tropical North Kimberley region. Three locations—Cape Domett at the mouth of the Ord River, the Admiralty Gulf and the Mitchell Plateau—illustrate the differences between attractions, visitors, patterns of visitor behavior and their impacts on the local environment. As the highly variable nature of the Australian wet-tropics renders the use of conventional site indicators of carrying capacity difficult, an ecological alternative is proposed for research. The dominance of local and other Australian four-wheel drivers to the Kimberley and the impacts they create are shown to challenge the government's promotion of the region to overseas visitors and its notion of tourism as a sustainable industry. 相似文献
12.
Human-induced impacts from recreational use of wilderness continue to be a significant management challenge, threatening the integrity of the wilderness resource and the quality of visitor experiences. Campsite impacts are of particular concern to managers. One approach to this problem is the Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) planning system, which focuses attention on the question, “How much change in wilderness conditions is acceptable?” The research reported here compares and contrasts wilderness manager and visitor perceptions of theacceptability of different levels of campsite impacts,amount of impact, and perceptual zoning of wilderness. The results reinforce previous findings regarding differences between managers and visitors. Management implications are discussed. 相似文献
13.
Impacts of Recreation Trails on Exotic and Ruderal Species Distribution in Grassland Areas Along the Colorado Front Range 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
This study examines the establishment patterns of exotic and ruderal species along trail corridors in grassland areas of the Colorado Front Range. The effects of trail presence, trail age, and trail traffic levels on exotic and ruderal species establishment are explored to ascertain the potential impacts of trails on surrounding vegetation. Established trails exhibited a greater presence of exotic and ruderal species along the immediate trailside, showing that disturbed trailsides tend to encourage the growth of these species over time. Furthermore, the established trails exhibited significantly less native, nonruderal, and overall species richness at the trailside. These trailside patterns did not show a significant spread away from the trail edge, even after prolonged time periods. Finally, higher trail use tended to hasten the establishment of exotic species along the trailside. The trails did not introduce new species to the recreation areas; rather they acted as reorganizational tools for species that were already present in the study sites. 相似文献
14.
Informal (visitor-created) trails represent a threat to the natural resources of protected natural areas around the globe. These trails can remove vegetation, displace wildlife, alter hydrology, alter habitat, spread invasive species, and fragment landscapes. This study examines informal and formal trails within Great Falls Park, VA, a sub-unit of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, managed by the U.S. National Park Service. This study sought to answer three specific questions: 1) Are the physical characteristics and topographic alignments of informal trails significantly different from formal trails, 2) Can landscape fragmentation metrics be used to summarize the relative impacts of formal and informal trail networks on a protected natural area? and 3) What can we learn from examining the spatial distribution of the informal trails within protected natural areas? 相似文献
15.
Choosing Indicators of Natural Resource Condition: A Case Study in Arches National Park, Utah, USA 总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2
Jayne Belnap 《Environmental management》1998,22(4):635-642
/ Heavy visitor use in many areas of the world have necessitated development of ways to assess visitation impacts. Arches National Park recently completed a Visitor Experience and Resource Protection (VERP) plan. Integral to this plan was developing a method to identify biological indicators that would both measure visitor impacts and response to management actions. The process used in Arches for indicator selection is outlined here as a model applicableto many areas facing similar challenges. The steps were: (1) Vegetation types most used by visitors were identified. Impacted and unimpacted areas in these types were sampled, comparing vegetation and soil factors. (2) Variables found to differ significantly between compared sites were used as potential indicators. (3) Site-specific criteria for indicators were developed, and potential indicators evaluated using these criteria. (4) Chosen indicators were further researched for ecological relevancy. (5) Final indicators were chosen, field tested, and monitoring sites designated. In Arches, indicators were chosen for monitoring annually (soil crust index, soil compaction, number of used social trails and soil aggregate stability) and every five years (vegetation cover and frequency; ground cover; soil chemistry; and plant tissue chemistry).KEY WORDS: Biological indicators; Recreation impacts; Recreation management; Desert soils; Trampling 相似文献
16.
An Interpretive Study of Yosemite National Park Visitors’ Perspectives Toward Alternative Transportation in Yosemite Valley 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
White DD 《Environmental management》2007,39(1):50-62
The National Park Service (NPS) is increasingly focusing on alternative transportation systems in national parks to address
environmental and social problems arising from a historical reliance on personal automobiles as the primary means of visitor
access. Despite the potential advantages, alternative transportation may require a reorientation in the way that Americans
have experienced national parks since the advent of auto-tourism in the early twentieth century. Little research exists, however,
on visitor perspectives towards alternative transportation or the rationale underlying their perspectives. It remains unclear
how transportation systems affect visitors’ experiences of the park landscape or the factors influencing their travel behavior
in the parks. This report presents an interpretive study of visitor perspectives toward transportation management in the Yosemite
Valley area of Yosemite National Park, California. Qualitative analysis of 160 semi-structured interviews identified individual
psychological factors as well as situational influences that affect visitors’ behavior and perspectives. Individual psychological
factors include perceived freedom, environmental values and beliefs, prior experience with Yosemite National Park and other
national parks, prior experience with alternative transportation in national parks, and sensitivity to subjective perceptions
of crowding. Situational factors included convenience, access, and flexibility of travel modes, as well as type of visit,
type of group, and park use level. Interpretive communication designed to encourage voluntary visitor use of alternative transportation
should focus on these psychological and situational factors. Although challenges remain, the results of this study suggest
approaches for shaping the way Americans visit and experience their national parks to encourage environmental sustainability. 相似文献
17.
Visitor satisfaction has been a consistently stated goal of outdoor recreation management. Recreation resource managers provide
opportunities for the visiting public with the anticipation of satisfying the needs of the visitors. Management efforts are
often evaluated in terms of visitor satisfaction. In the recent decade, a multiple satisfactions approach has been the primary
research paradigm guiding visitor satisfaction research. This paradigm has focused primarily upon behavioral-type dimensions
such as crowding, goal attainment, and resource impacts resulting from behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine
the importance of a setting dimension relative to behavioral-type dimensions for explaining differences in visitor satisfaction.
A sample of 895 river visitors were sent a questionnaire in the mail; 682 were returned for a 76.2% response rate. Regression
analysis indicated the setting dimension was ranked as one of the most important dimensions for explaining differences in
visitor satisfaction. Other dimensions considered included group behavior, perceived crowding, parking, past experience, encounters,
use levels, and time waiting. Implications for management are discussed. 相似文献
18.
Cadillac Mountain—the highest peak along the eastern seaboard of the United States—is a major tourist destination in Acadia National Park, Maine. Managing vegetation impact due to trampling on the Cadillac Mountain summit is extremely challenging because of the large number of visitors and the general open nature of landscape in this fragile subalpine environmental setting. Since 2000, more intensive management strategies—based on placing physical barriers and educational messages for visitors—have been employed to protect threatened vegetation, decrease vegetation impact, and enhance vegetation recovery in the vicinity of the summit loop trail. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the management strategies employed. For this purpose, vegetation cover changes between 2001 and 2007 were detected using multispectral high spatial resolution remote sensing data sets. A normalized difference vegetation index was employed to identify the rates of increase and decrease in the vegetation areas. Three buffering distances (30, 60, and 90?m) from the edges of the trail were used to define multiple spatial extents of the site, and the same spatial extents were employed at a nearby control site that had no visitors. No significant differences were detected between the mean rates of vegetation increase and decrease at the experimental site compared with a nearby control site in the case of a small spatial scale (≤30?m) comparison (in all cases P?>?0.05). However, in the medium (≤60?m) and large (≤90?m) spatial scales, the rates of increased vegetation were significantly greater and rates of decreased vegetation significantly lower at the experimental site compared with the control site (in all cases P?<?0.001). Research implications are explored that relate to the spatial extent of the radial patterns of impact of trampling on vegetation at the site level. Management implications are explored in terms of the spatial strategies used to decrease the impact of trampling on vegetation. 相似文献
19.
Petit S 《Journal of environmental management》2009,90(9):2851-2856
Rural landscapes are highly dynamic and their change impacts on a number of ecological processes such as the dynamics of biodiversity. Although a substantial amount of research has focused on quantifying these changes and their impact on biodiversity, most studies have focused on single dimensions of land use change. This lack of integration in land use change studies can be explained by the fact that data on the spatial, temporal, and ecological dimensions of land use are seldom available for the same geographical location. In this paper, the benefits of taking into account these three dimensions are illustrated with results derived from the Great Britain Countryside Surveys (CS), a large-scale monitoring programme designed to assess change in the extent and ecological condition of British habitats. The overview of CS results presented in this paper shows that (1) changes in land use composition will translate into a variety of spatial patterns; (2) the temporal stability of land use is often lower than can be expected; and (3) there can be large-scale shifts in the ecological condition of the land use types that form our rural landscapes. The benefits of integrated rural landscape studies are discussed in the context of other national monitoring programmes. 相似文献
20.
Proactive monitoring and adaptive management of social carrying capacity in Arches National Park: an application of computer simulation modeling 总被引:6,自引:0,他引:6
Public visits to parks and protected areas continue to increase and may threaten the integrity of natural and cultural resources and the quality of the visitor experience. Scientists and managers have adopted the concept of carrying capacity to address the impacts of visitor use. In the context of outdoor recreation, the social component of carrying capacity refers to the level of visitor use that can be accommodated in parks and protected areas without diminishing the quality of the visitor experience to an unacceptable degree. This study expands and illustrates the use of computer simulation modeling as a tool for proactive monitoring and adaptive management of social carrying capacity at Arches National Park. A travel simulation model of daily visitor use throughout the Park's road and trail network and at selected attraction sites was developed, and simulations were conducted to estimate a daily social carrying capacity for Delicate Arch, an attraction site in Arches National Park, and for the Park as a whole. Further, a series of simulations were conducted to estimate the effect of a mandatory shuttle bus system on daily social carrying capacity of Delicate Arch to illustrate how computer simulation modeling can be used as a tool to facilitate adaptive management of social carrying capacity. 相似文献