A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Recreational trails are an important cause of fragmentation in endangered urban forests: A case-study from Australia
Highlights Over 5.7% of 829ha of endangered forest was lost to 46.1km of recreational trails and their edge effects. Fourteen different trail types contributed to this loss most of which were narrow informal bare earth trails. The amount of forest lost to trails approaches that of recent urban development. In urban remnants with numerous entry points, fragmentation was higher. Recreational trails, particularly those unregulated, contribute significantly to the loss and fragmentation of endangered forest remnants.
Abstract Remnant urban forests are often popular sites for recreational activities such as hiking, biking and motorised recreation. This can result in the formation of extensive trail networks, fragmenting vegetation into patches separated by modified edge effects and ultimately contributing to the degradation of the ecosystem as a whole. Here we use a GIS approach to assess the extent and diversity of trail-based fragmentation across 17 remnants of endangered urban forest (total area 829ha, Tall Open Blackbutt Forest) in southeast Queensland, Australia. Fourteen different trail types totalling 46.1km were mapped with informal biking and hiking trails the most common (57%, 26.5km). More than 47ha (5.7%) of forest have been lost to trails and their edge effect, nearly equal to the area recently cleared for urban development. The degree of fragmentation in some remnants was in the same order of magnitude as found for some of the most popular nature-based recreation sites in the world. In localised areas, the fragmentation was particularly severe as a result of wide trails used by motorised recreation, but these trails were generally uncommon across the landscape (5%). Spatial regression revealed that the number of access points per remnant was positively correlated with the degree of fragmentation. We encourage more landscape-scale research into trail-based fragmentation due to its capacity to impact extensive areas of endangered ecosystems. Management should seek to minimise the creation of informal trails by hardening popular routes, instigating stakeholder collaboration and centralising visitor flow.
Recreational trails are an important cause of fragmentation in endangered urban forests: A case-study from Australia
Highlights Over 5.7% of 829ha of endangered forest was lost to 46.1km of recreational trails and their edge effects. Fourteen different trail types contributed to this loss most of which were narrow informal bare earth trails. The amount of forest lost to trails approaches that of recent urban development. In urban remnants with numerous entry points, fragmentation was higher. Recreational trails, particularly those unregulated, contribute significantly to the loss and fragmentation of endangered forest remnants.
Abstract Remnant urban forests are often popular sites for recreational activities such as hiking, biking and motorised recreation. This can result in the formation of extensive trail networks, fragmenting vegetation into patches separated by modified edge effects and ultimately contributing to the degradation of the ecosystem as a whole. Here we use a GIS approach to assess the extent and diversity of trail-based fragmentation across 17 remnants of endangered urban forest (total area 829ha, Tall Open Blackbutt Forest) in southeast Queensland, Australia. Fourteen different trail types totalling 46.1km were mapped with informal biking and hiking trails the most common (57%, 26.5km). More than 47ha (5.7%) of forest have been lost to trails and their edge effect, nearly equal to the area recently cleared for urban development. The degree of fragmentation in some remnants was in the same order of magnitude as found for some of the most popular nature-based recreation sites in the world. In localised areas, the fragmentation was particularly severe as a result of wide trails used by motorised recreation, but these trails were generally uncommon across the landscape (5%). Spatial regression revealed that the number of access points per remnant was positively correlated with the degree of fragmentation. We encourage more landscape-scale research into trail-based fragmentation due to its capacity to impact extensive areas of endangered ecosystems. Management should seek to minimise the creation of informal trails by hardening popular routes, instigating stakeholder collaboration and centralising visitor flow.
Recreational trails are an important cause of fragmentation in endangered urban forests: A case-study from Australia
Ballantyne, Mark (author) / Gudes, Ori (author) / Pickering, Catherine Marina (author)
Landscape and Urban Planning ; 130 ; 112-124
2014-07-11
13 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English