The effect of recreational impacts on soil and vegetation of stabilised Coastal Dunes in the Sharon Park, Israel
Introduction
The demands of ecotourism have been increasing steadily for some years now. To meet these demands with the limited supply of open spaces with high landscape, faunal and floral values, ecological management must be taken into consideration so that the damage caused will be minimal and remediable. Among the extremely vital factors to decision making in determining the policy of their management are the soil and vegetation responses to various levels of recreational use.
Soil is the environmental factor that is stressed most immediately by the level of recreational activity, while sand soils react rapidly and more strongly than clay soils [1], [2], [3], [4]. Visitor traffic and other recreational activities cause soil compression, the reduction in soil volume resulting from a loss of natural porosity, as well as a drop in the infiltration/percolation ratio which causes increased overland flow and erosion [2], [3], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9]. Cole [2], for instance, found that the soil bulk density was 20% higher and the infiltration percentage 80% lower in a camping area of the Grand Canyon in Arizona than in inaccessible parts of the same area. A decrease in the soil porosity volume also causes a reduction in the soil moisture [2], [3], [10]. The extent of this effect depends on the soil structure and texture. In sand soils, for instance, which are characterised by high porosity and low field capacity, trampling results surprisingly in increased soil moisture because of compaction and reduction in porosity volume. All of this is, of course, true only as far as the threshold of the carrying capacity for trampling and travel, beyond which threshold the moisture level decreases as it does for clay soils [3], [4]. A high positive correlation has been reported between the intensity of visitor use and trail attributes (width, depth from the surface level and the degree of soil compaction) [4], [11], [12].
Recreational stress also reduces the amount of litter and organic matter in the upper layer of the soil [2], [4], [10]. This layer is of the greatest importance since it forms a buffer that protects the mineral soil beneath it from the stresses imposed from above. The organic matter also contributes nutrients to the soil, and is responsible to a considerable measure for soil stability [13], [14]. Soils rich in organic matter and containing a thick layer of litter are more resistant to recreational stress than infertile soils that are poor in litter and organic matter content [10], [11].
Vegetation is also affected by recreational activities. Several studies informed a negative correlation between recreational intensity and plant cover, plant height, species richness and species diversity. The species composition and the dominant life forms also vary with time [1], [2], [4], [15], [16], [17]. Many studies have pointed out that the herbaceous plants, and particularly annuals, are more resistant than other life forms to recreational stresses [2], [3], [10], [18], [19].
Of all habitats, sandy ones are the most sensitive to any disturbance (including recreational use) [1], [20]. Moreover, stabilised sand dunes that carry a climax vegetation community have been found to respond more strongly to any disturbance as compared with shifting and semi-stabilised sand dunes [21].
The studies on recreational impact on soil and vegetation are based on two different approaches. The first is the experimental approach in which controlled levels of recreational use are applied to previously undisturbed sites, usually on small plots. Many investigators have taken this experimental approach in different vegetation types [11], [17], [21], [22], [23]. The second approach is based on observations on long established trails, assuming that the soil and vegetation, particularly the annual plants, whose life cycle is short, adapted themselves over time to recreational stresses imposed upon them over the years. Thus, the trails are in dynamic equilibrium with the interfering factor whose intensity varies during the year as well as from year to year [1], [2], [9], [12], [18], [19], [24], [25]. Hall and Kuss [19] stated that such approach lead to a better understanding of the soil response and the relative tolerance of plant communities to human use and the displacement of native flora by species better adapted to withstand use pressures.
The aim of the present study was to monitor the effect of visitor traffic on soil and annual plant properties on long-established trails in the stabilised coastal dunes in the Sharon Park. The central questions in this study were, is the effect of visitors limited to the area within the boundaries of the trails, or does it extend further, and how far? In other words, is the effect localised on a micro scale or on a meso- and macro scales? Assuming that the level of visitor use in this area increases from the end of summer to the beginning of winter (the start of the growing season) and into spring (peak of flowering and visitors’ and hikers’ season), do the plants’ attributes change during the growing season as a result of visitors’ use, and if so in which manner?
Section snippets
Study area
The study was carried out in the woodland of the Sharon Park, which is scheduled to be declared a national park in the near future. The overall coastal woodland area is 104 ha. This woodland stretch from the Hadera planted forest in the north to the industrial Emek Hefer area in the south. Its eastern border is the old Haifa–Tel Aviv road (Highway No. 4), and its western border is the main Haifa–Tel Aviv road (Highway No. 2) (Fig. 1a). The climate is Mediterranean. The average annual rainfall
Methods
Eight different trails in the coastal woodland were randomly selected in September 1997. Four of them are subject to a high visitor use, and the other four to a lower use. The level of use was defined on the basis of familiarity with the area, observation of visitors, and the properties of the trails. Observation of visitors was done on weekends and holidays from December 1997 to April 1998 inclusive. Observations included counting the hikers and the vehicular at parts of the trail where the
Vegetation
The plant cover on the trails under high visitor use varied from the centre of the trail outwards. In the two squares flanking the centre of the trail (henceforth “trail”), the plant cover approached zero. In the next two squares, those flanking the previous ones (henceforth “edges”), the plant cover increased to 50%. The third pair of squares, identified as the control squares, showed an 80% plant cover (Fig. 2). The differences between the trail, the edges, and the controls were significantly
Discussion
Several studies have pointed out that recreational uses change the attributes of the soil and vegetation, although the effect is very local, extending in some cases beyond the boundaries of the trail by about 1 m on each side [3], [10], [15], [19], [22], [33]. This is not the case in our research area: recreational use extends several meters beyond the trails boundaries. The average width of the trails in the coastal woodland where the visitor use is high reaches about 2.7 m. This area is almost
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