Abstract
Mountain protected areas (PAs) aim to preserve vulnerable environments and at the same time encourage numerous outdoor leisure activities. Understanding the way people use natural environments is crucial to balance the needs of visitors and site capacities. This study aims to develop an approach to evaluate the structure and use of designated skiing zones in PAs combining Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking and analytical methods based on graph theory. The study is based on empirical data (n = 609 GPS tracks of backcountry skiers) collected in Tatra National Park (TNP), Poland. The physical structure of the entire skiing zones system has been simplified into a graph structure (structural network; undirected graph). In a second step, the actual use of the area by skiers (functional network; directed graph) was analyzed using a graph-theoretic approach. Network coherence (connectivity indices: β, γ, α), movement directions at path segments, and relative importance of network nodes (node centrality measures: degree, betweenness, closeness, and proximity prestige) were calculated. The system of designated backcountry skiing zones was not evenly used by the visitors. Therefore, the calculated parameters differ significantly between the structural and the functional network. In particular, measures related to the actually used trails are of high importance from the management point of view. Information about the most important node locations can be used for planning sign-posts, on-site maps, interpretative boards, or other tourist infrastructure.
Highlights
Protected areas (PAs) play a crucial role in the conservation of vulnerable mountain ecosystems [1].Depending on the nature conservation regime, they may have social functions, such as provisioning space for recreation, research, and educational purposes [2]
The main contribution of the study is the application of graph theory to analyze a recreational system considering the physical structure of the environment, and its actual use
Global Positioning System (GPS) tracks are analyzed within Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and focus on calculations ofpoint densities illustrating the intensity of recreational use [17,20,22,23], intersections with other thematic layers such as nature protection zones and wildlife habitats [20], or movement parameters of individual visitors [21,23,34]
Summary
Protected areas (PAs) play a crucial role in the conservation of vulnerable mountain ecosystems [1].Depending on the nature conservation regime, they may have social functions, such as provisioning space for recreation, research, and educational purposes [2]. Protected areas (PAs) play a crucial role in the conservation of vulnerable mountain ecosystems [1]. Understanding the way people use natural environments is crucial to balance the needs of visitors and site capacities [4,5]. In recent years an increased interest in network analytics can be observed within tourism domain [8,9]. This analytical approach contributes to a better understanding of the structure and the behavior of the whole system, where various types of relationships (social, economic, operational, informational, spatial, etc.) may be investigated [9]
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