GetDiv – a call for a global coordinated study on plant diversity changes on nature trails

Abstract

ABSTRACT Despite the growing popularity of nature tourism, we have limited systemic knowledge of how it affects nature, from both an abiotic and biotic perspective, and what these effects are in different regions, habitats or trail types. Here we propose a coordinated global experiment framework – GetDiv – for a comprehensive understanding of the effects of visitor’s load on the vegetation of nature trails. For preliminary analysis we selected 20 trails in Estonia, and we show that plant diversity along the trails is negatively affected by visitoŕs load in both forest and open habitat. We present here the rationale for the methodological approach, and call for a coordinated global effort to collect comparable and comprehensive data of diverse aspects of nature trails, with a focus on plant diversity. All the necessary guidelines and protocols to fill out for participating in GetDiv are included in the GetDiv webpage: https://getdiv.wordpress.com/. For participation in the first GetDiv study, the deadline for contribution is December 2024.