Abstract
It is well‐known that pistes have adverse effects on alpine ecosystems. Previous studies urged that pistes should be installed and managed in the ways to minimize negative impacts on natural habitats. However, the impacts of this type of management on the plant communities are not widely studied. The aim of this study was to examine species composition and biodiversity changes in an environmentally friendly managed piste in northeast Iran. This piste has been established in a previously degraded alpine landscape. For the vegetation survey, we sampled 44 within and 28 off‐piste plots. Except for the piste management, other environmental factors were similar between the piste and off‐piste plots. Dominant species were determined, and variation in community composition of the two areas was visualized. Also, native species, phylogenetic, and functional Hill diversity of the two areas were compared. The results showed that there was a moderate differentiation in the species composition of the piste and off‐piste. Two palatable species (i.e., Bupleurum falcatum and Melica persica) were dominant in the piste and were not recorded in the off‐piste. The diversity calculations results showed that the species diversity of the piste was higher than that of the off‐piste. Phylogenetic diversity at the level of frequent and dominant plants showed a similar result. The piste had a higher functional diversity in terms of functional richness, and functional diversity of frequent and dominant plants. Our findings imply, after 10 years, species, phylogenetic, and functional diversity of the piste is significantly improved. Environmentally friendly piste management (EFPM) induced species composition change that led to emerging species that were absent in the off‐piste. We can conclude that EFPM led to restoration of a degraded landscape. Long‐term impacts of EFPM are still unknown, therefore, caution should be undertaken regarding the installation of new environmentally friendly pistes in other areas.
Highlights
Land‐use changes and grazing are the main drivers for habitat degrada‐ tion in the mountainous ecosystems (Bhatta, Grytnes, & Vetaas, 2018; Lembrechts et al, 2017; Li, Fassnacht, Storch, & Bürgi, 2017; Lu et al, 2017; Pauchard et al, 2009)
The piste has been established in degraded alpine land since 2008, it can be supposed that different management of the piste and neighboring lands has different effects on plant communities in the area
Our goal is to examine whether Environmentally friendly piste management (EFPM) could alleviate the effects of land degradation caused by long‐term overgrazing
Summary
Land‐use changes and grazing are the main drivers for habitat degrada‐ tion in the mountainous ecosystems (Bhatta, Grytnes, & Vetaas, 2018; Lembrechts et al, 2017; Li, Fassnacht, Storch, & Bürgi, 2017; Lu et al, 2017; Pauchard et al, 2009). Piste management is among the commonly investigated types of land‐use changes considered to be an alpine habitat disturbing event (Roux‐Fouillet, Wipf, & Rixen, 2011). Neither machine‐grading nor species cut‐ ting was performed in the nature‐friendly piste management (Kašák et al, 2013) This piste provides a natural experiment for the assess‐ ment of the consequences of EFPM in the area. The piste has been established in degraded alpine land since 2008, it can be supposed that different management of the piste and neighboring lands has different effects on plant communities in the area. Piste management affects the plant species composition and biodiversity (Allegrezza, Cocco, Pesaresi, Courchesne, & Corti, 2017; Roux‐Fouillet et al, 2011; Wipf et al, 2005). Phylogenetic diversity was considered because it is related to evolutionary history and is a measure of conservation priority (Faith, 2016)
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