Influence of Llamas, Horses, and Hikers on Soil Erosion from Established Recreation Trails in Western Montana, USA.
Abstract: / Various types of recreational traffic impact hiking trails uniquely and cause different levels of trail degradation; however, trail head restrictions are applied similarly across all types of packstock. The purpose of this study was to assess the relative physical impact of hikers, llamas, and horses on recreational trails. Horse, llama, and hiker traffic were applied to 56 separate plots on an existing trail at Lubrecht Experimental Forest in western Montana. The traffic was applied to plots at intensities of 250 and 1000 passes along with a no-traffic control under both prewetted and dry trail conditions. Soil erosion potential was assessed by sediment yield and runoff (using a Meeuwig type rainfall simulator), changes in soil bulk density, and changes in soil surface roughness. Soil moisture, slope, and rainfall intensity were recorded as independent variables in order to evaluate the extent that they were held constant by the experimental design. Horse traffic consistently made more sediment available for erosion from trails than llama, hiker, or no traffic when analyzed across wet and dry trail plots and high and low intensity traffic plots. Although total runoff was not significantly affected by trail user, wet trail traffic caused significantly greater runoff than dry trail traffic. Llama traffic caused a significant increase in sediment yield compared to the control, but caused erosion yields not significantly different than hiker traffic. Trail traffic did not increase soil compaction on wet trails. Traffic applied to dry trail plots generally resulted in a significant decrease in soil bulk density compared to the control. Decreased soil bulk density was negatively correlated with increased sediment yield and appeared to result in increased trail roughness for horse traffic compared to hiker or llama traffic. Differences described here between llama and horse traffic indicate that trail managers may want to consider managing packstock llamas independent of horses.KEY WORDS: Recreational impacts; Sediment yield; Trail degradation
Publication Date: 1998-02-18 PubMed ID: 9465134DOI: 10.1007/s002679900101Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research study illustrates the different impacts of hikers, llamas, and horses on the erosion of recreational trails in western Montana. It demonstrates that the type of traffic on hiking trails leads to varying levels of degradation, with horse traffic causing the most significant soil erosion.
Study Overview
- The study was conducted to understand the different physical influences that hikers, llamas, and horses have on the erosion of recreational trails.
- The research was conducted on 56 separate plots along an established trail in Lubrecht Experimental Forest, western Montana.
- Different traffic intensities were applied to these paths, including 250 and 1000 passes, in addition to a no-traffic control, under both dry and prewetted trail conditions.
Methodology
- To measure the potential for soil erosion, the study utilized several methods, which include assessing the sediment yield and runoff using a Meeuwig type rainfall simulator, changes in soil bulk density, and alterations to the surface roughness of the soil.
- The factors of soil moisture, slope gradient, and the intensity of rainfall were noted as independent variables to evaluate the level of constancy maintained by the experimental design.
Results
- Results showed a consistent increase in the availability of sediment for erosion from trails due to horse traffic compared to llama, hiker, or no traffic. This result was consistent across both wet and dry trail conditions as well as both high and low traffic intensities.
- While the overall runoff was not significantly influenced by the type of trail user, it was noted that wet trail traffic resulted in significantly more runoff than dry trail traffic.
- Llama traffic caused a significant increase in sediment yield compared to the control, but the amounts of soil erosion were not significantly different from the hiker traffic.
- Traffic did not increase soil compaction on wet trails, but traffic on dry trail plots generally resulted in a significant decrease in soil bulk density compared to the control. A decrease in soil bulk density correlated negatively with an increase in sediment yield and seemed to increase trail roughness, specifically for horse traffic as compared to hiker or llama traffic.
Implications
- The differences in trail degradation between llamas and horses suggest that trail management strategies may need to consider managing packstock llamas separately from horses, contrary to the current trend of applying the same rules to all packstock.
- The study highlights the importance of considering the type of recreational traffic on trails to maintain their longevity and to prevent unnecessary degradation.
Cite This Article
APA
Deluca TH, Patterson Iv WA , Freimund WA, Cole DN.
(1998).
Influence of Llamas, Horses, and Hikers on Soil Erosion from Established Recreation Trails in Western Montana, USA.
Environ Manage, 22(2), 255-262.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s002679900101 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- University of Montana, School of Forestry, Missoula, Montana 59812, USA
Citations
This article has been cited 10 times.- Forrester H, Clow D, Roche J, Heyvaert A, Battaglin W. Effects of Backpacker Use, Pack Stock Trail Use, and Pack Stock Grazing on Water-Quality Indicators, Including Nutrients, E. coli, Hormones, and Pharmaceuticals, in Yosemite National Park, USA. Environ Manage 2017 Sep;60(3):526-543.
- Barros A, Marina Pickering C. How Networks of Informal Trails Cause Landscape Level Damage to Vegetation. Environ Manage 2017 Jul;60(1):57-68.
- Kidd KR, Aust WM, Copenheaver CA. Recreational stream crossing effects on sediment delivery and macroinvertebrates in southwestern Virginia, USA. Environ Manage 2014 Sep;54(3):505-16.
- Holmquist JG, Schmidt-Gengenbach J, Ballenger EA. Patch-scale effects of equine disturbance on arthropod assemblages and vegetation structure in subalpine wetlands. Environ Manage 2014 Jun;53(6):1109-18.
- Li Z, Huang J, Zeng G, Nie X, Ma W, Yu W, Guo W, Zhang J. Effect of erosion on productivity in subtropical red soil hilly region: a multi-scale spatio-temporal study by simulated rainfall. PLoS One 2013;8(10):e77838.
- Clow DW, Forrester H, Miller B, Roop H, Sickman JO, Ryu H, Domingo JS. Effects of stock use and backpackers on water quality in wilderness in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, USA. Environ Manage 2013 Dec;52(6):1400-14.
- Eagleston H, Rubin C. Non-motorized winter recreation impacts to snowmelt erosion, Tronsen Basin, Eastern Cascades, Washington. Environ Manage 2013 Jan;51(1):167-81.
- Ostermann-Kelm SD, Atwill EA, Rubin ES, Hendrickson LE, Boyce WM. Impacts of feral horses on a desert environment. BMC Ecol 2009 Nov 10;9:22.
- Allen CD. Monitoring environmental impact in the Upper Sonoran Lifestyle: a new tool for rapid ecological assessment. Environ Manage 2009 Feb;43(2):346-56.
- Priskin J. Tourist perceptions of degradation caused by coastal nature-based recreation. Environ Manage 2003 Aug;32(2):189-204.
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