Recovery of trailside vegetation from trampling in a tropical rain forest |
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| Authors: | Douglas H. Boucher Jeannette Aviles Rafael Chepote Oscar E. Domínguez Gil Braulio Vilchez |
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| Affiliation: | (1) Office of Rep. Bernie Sanders, House of Representatives, 20515 Washington, DC, USA;(2) Appalachian Environmental Laboratory Center for Environmental and Estuarine Studies, University of Maryland, Gunter Hall, 21532 Frostburg, Maryland, USA;(3) Centro de Investigaciones y Documentación de la Costa, Atlántica, Apartado A-189, Managua, Nicaragua;(4) Centro de Pesquisas do Cacau, Comissao Executivo do Plano da Lavoura Cacaueira, Apto. #7, 45600 Itabuna, BA, Brazil;(5) Departamento Fitosanitario Facultad de Agronomia, Universidad del Zulia, Apto. 15378, Maracaibo, Venezuela;(6) Departamento de Quimica (Area de Biologia), Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Apartado 159, 7050 Cartago, Costa Rica |
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| Abstract: | Practically no information exists on the impact of human trampling on tropical rain forest vegetation. We studied three trails with varying periods of use and recovery in a tropical rain forest in Costa Rica. Human impact on trailside plants was curvilinearly related to use, as found by other workers in temperate zone vegetation. Recovery in a period of two years and eight months had been rapid, and herbs and seedlings were more abundant along the recovering trail than in undisturbed forest. The results imply that a shifting mosaic of trails, analogous to the mosaic created by light gaps, may be the best management technique to minimize the impact of human visitors in tropical rain forests. |
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| Keywords: | Trails Trampling Impact Rain forest Diversity Tropics |
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