Stay on trails: Detrimental effects of recreational activities on soil compaction and infiltration
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15243/jdmlm.2024.114.6213Keywords:
ecosystem services, national park, soil degradation, sustainable tourism, tramplingAbstract
Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (BTS-NP) in East Java, Indonesia showcases a breathtaking volcanic landscape and cultural allure, drawing hundreds of thousands of domestic and international visitors. Recreational activities involving human and animal trampling and motorized-vehicle traffic caused soil disturbance along their networks of paths, trails, or roads, potentially having a detrimental long-term effect on the tourism industry and environmental services provided by the national parks. However, the extent of the impact of these disturbances on soil properties remains unclear. This study assessed the impact of different disturbance intensities, consisting of undisturbed locations as a control (zone 1), low to medium- (zone 2), and high- (zone 3) disturbance intensities on five different BTS-NP tourism hotspots, including Entrance Wonokitri (EW), Whispering Sand (WS), Parking Temple (PT), Teletubbies Hill (TH), and Entrance Bromo Stairs (EB), on soil properties, including soil compaction represented by soil penetration resistance, and soil infiltration. This study revealed that the higher severity impact of recreational activities on soil compaction was parallel with higher disturbance intensity, particularly in EW and TH. In these particular locations, higher soil compaction is significantly linked to lower soil infiltration, thus needing extra attention and protection. Meanwhile, in WS, PT, and EB, soil infiltration was more controlled by the establishment of a cemented topsoil layer consisting of mixed sand, sulfur, and water. Better management strategies, such as the use of proper trails and road infrastructures, particularly on EW and TH, might be relevant to minimize the impact of recreational activities on these ecologically, economically, and culturally important areas.
References
Adedokun, B.C., McHenry, M.T. and Kirkpatrick, J.B. 2023. Informal camping on the margin of wild country: Early indicators of degradation and potential for some positive nature conservation outcomes. Land Degradation & Development 34:3867-3880. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.4722
Ayunin, S.Q. 2010. Vegetation Analysis in the Savanna of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS). Maulana Malik Ibrahim University, Malang, 131 pp (in Indonesian).
Ballantyne, M. and Pickering, C.M. 2015a. The impacts of trail infrastructure on vegetation and soils: Current literature and future directions. Journal of Environmental Management 164:53-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.08.032
Ballantyne, M. and Pickering, C.M. 2015b. Recreational trails as a source of negative impacts on the persistence of keystone species and facilitation. Journal of Environmental Management 159:48-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.05.026
Barros, A., Aschero, V., Mazzolari, A., Cavieres, L.A. and Pickering, C.M. 2020. Going off trails: How dispersed visitor use affects alpine vegetation. Journal of Environmental Management 267:110546. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110546
Cambi, M., Certini, G., Neri, F. and Marchi, E. 2015. The impact of heavy traffic on forest soils: A review. Forest Ecology and Management 338:124-138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.11.022
dos Santos Pereira, L., Rodrigues, A.M., do Carmo Oliveira Jorge, M., Guerra, A.J.T., Booth, C.A. and Fullen, M.A. 2022. Detrimental effects of tourist trails on soil system dynamics in Ubatuba Municipality, São Paulo State, Brazil. Catena 216:106431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2022.106431
Dudley, N. 2008. Guidelines for Applying Protected Area Management Categories. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland available at https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/pag-021.pdf. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.CH.2008.PAPS.2.en
Feng, L., Gan, M. and Tian, F.-P. 2019. Effects of grassland tourism on Alpine meadow community and soil properties in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies 28:4147-4152. https://doi.org/10.15244/pjoes/99065
Firdaus, A., Farida, N. and Widiartanto, W. 2022. The influence of tourist attractions and service quality on intention to revisit through visit decision as an intervening variable (Study on visitors of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park). Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi Bisnis 11:774-781 (in Indonesian). https://doi.org/10.14710/jiab.2022.36128
Hakim, L. and Miyakawa, H. 2018. Integrating ecosystem restoration and development of recreation sites in degraded tropical mountain areas in East Java, Indonesia. AIP Conference Proceedings 2019. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5061886
Hakim, L. and Soemarno. 2017. Biodiversity conservation, community development and geoturism development in Bromo-Tengger-Semeru-Arjuno biosphere reserve, East Java. GeoJurnal of Tourism and Geosites 20:220-230.
Hill, W. and Pickering, C.M. 2006. Vegetation associated with different walking track types in the Kosciuszko alpine area, Australia. Journal of Environmental Management 78:24-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2005.04.007
Jagerbrand, A.K. and Alatalo, J.M. 2015. Effects of human trampling on abundance and diversity of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens in alpine heath vegetation, Northern Sweden. SpringerPlus 4:95-95. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40064-015-0876-z
Lei, S.A. 2004. Soil compaction from human trampling, biking, and off-road motor vehicle activity in a blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima) shrubland. Western North American Naturalist 64:125-130.
Lucas-Borja, M.E., Bastida, F., Moreno, J.L., Nicolas, C., Andres, M., Lopez, F.R. and Del Cerro, A. 2011. The effects of human trampling on the microbiological properties of soil and vegetation in mediterranean mountain areas. Land Degradation & Development 22:383-394. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.1014
McNearny, P., Riley, J. and Wennersten, A. 2012. Trampling increases soil compaction; soil compaction depresses vigor of Andropogon gerardii. Tillers 3: 25-28.
Mingyu, Y., Hens, L., Xiaokun, O. and Wulf, R.D. 2009. Impacts of recreational trampling on sub-alpine vegetation and soils in Northwest Yunnan, China. Acta Ecologica Sinica 29:171-175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chnaes.2009.07.005
Newsome, D., Stender, K., Annear, R. and Smith, A. 2016. Park management response to mountain bike trail demand in South Western Australia. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism 15:26-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2016.07.001
Ouren, D.S., Haas, C., Melcher, C.P., Stewart, S.C., Ponds, P.D., Sexton, N.R., Burris, L., Fancer, T. and Bowen, Z.H. 2007. Environmental effects of off-highway vehicles on Bureau of Land Management lands: A literature systhesis, annotated bibliographies, and internet resources. Open-File Report 2007-1353, U.S. Geological Survey, Virginia. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20071353
Pickering, C.M. and Hill, W. 2007. Impacts of recreation and tourism on plant biodiversity and vegetation in protected areas in Australia. Journal of Environmental Management 85:791-800. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2006.11.021
R-Core-Team, 2023. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. URL https://www.R-project.org/.
Saputra, D.D., Sari, R.R., Hairiah, K., Roshetko, J.M., Suprayogo, D. and van Noordwijk, M. 2020. Can cocoa agroforestry restore degraded soil structure following conversion from forest to agricultural use? Agroforestry Systems 94: 2261-2276. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-020-00548-9
Saputra, D.D., Sari, R.R., Hairiah, K., Widianto, Suprayogo, D. and van Noordwijk, M. 2022. Recovery after volcanic ash deposition: vegetation effects on soil organic carbon, soil structure and infiltration rates. Plant and Soil 474:163-179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-022-05322-7
Sukojo, B.M. 2003. Mapping ecosystems in the Bromo Mountain area using remote sensing technology. Makara Journal of Teknologi 7(2): 63-72. https://doi.org/10.7454/mst.v7i2.166
Webb, R.H. 2002. Recovery of severely compacted soils in the Mojave Desert, California, USA. Arid Land Research and Management 16:291-305. https://doi.org/10.1080/153249802760284829
Wolf, I.D., Croft, D.B. and Green, R.J. 2019. Nature conservation and nature-based tourism: A paradox? Environments 6. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments6090104
Downloads
Submitted
Accepted
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Submission of a manuscript implies: that the work described has not been published before (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, or thesis) that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that if and when the manuscript is accepted for publication, the authors agree to automatic transfer of the copyright to the publisher.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Scientific Journal by Eko Handayanto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://ub.ac.id.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://ircmedmind.ub.ac.id/.