The impact of recreational trampling and vehicular traffic on sandhill communities
Date
1981
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
ORCID
Type
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
The study investigated the effects of pedestrian trampling and vehicular
traffic on two sites of the Dundurn sandhills in southern Saskatchewan,
where soils are loamy sand to sandy loam in texture. Experimental
trampling was conducted at 0, 10, 50 and 100 passes/week for 10 weeks
of the summer (June - August) in 1979 and 1980 on native Stipa-Koeleria
prairie, seeded Bromus-Agropyron prairie and Populus tremuloides understorey.
Treatments were designed to compare the effects of one and two
summers of trampling and the extent of community recovery in the year
following one summer of trampling. The woodland comnunity was most
affected by trampling but the vegetation recovered relatively well during
1980 after trampling had ceased. Of the prairies, the seeded cover was
slightly less tolerant than the native cover, but recovery was relatively
slow on both. Existing paths also indicated that grassland cover was
more resistant than woodland cover. Plant height was reduced in the
prairies, and litter depth was reduced in the woodland by trampling, but
both recovered slightly during 1980 after trampling ceased.
Soil penetrometer resistance increased with increased trampling intensity
in all communities, and recovered slightly in the woodland and
seeded prairie. Bulk density was not significantly affected by trampling
at these levels, except in the woodland.
Relative importance of species was affected slightly by trampling in
the prairies, and greatly affected in the woodland. In the woodland, the
total number of species decreased greatly after 50 and 100 passes/week,
and graminoid species became more important. Although plant cover was
nearly restored in the recovery year, species composition remained
altered.
Trampling at 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 100 passes/week for one summer,
showed that cover decreased with increasing trampling intensity in
an approximately linear fashion on both prairies. Shoe type (hiking
boots, flat soled shoes, heeled shoes) did not affect trampling damage at
250 passes/summer. Juniperus horizontalis was more tolerant to trampling
than woodland plants, and more tolerant than prairie plants after 10
passes/week but less tolerant than the seeded prairie after 30 passes/
week.
Abandoned vehicle tracks suggested that plant cover recovery in
lightly and medium used tracks occurred within 5 - 6 years, but soil compaction
persisted for a longer period. Recovery of heavily used tracks
was slower, and invasion of native species appeared to follow colonisation
by weeds and exotic species. Heavily used cart tracks, abandoned
for 60 years had recovered native plant cover, but soil compaction persisted.
Description
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Citation
Degree
Master of Science (M.Sc.)
Department
Plant Ecology
Program
Plant Ecology