Abstract
A variety of counting methods exist to analyze visitor numbers of outdoor settings such as national parks, recreation areas and urban green spaces, with sensor-based approaches being the most frequently applied. In this paper, we describe the application and practicality of camera traps originally designed for wildlife monitoring for visitor management purposes. The focus of the work is on the practicality of trigger camera traps and data collection for visitor monitoring from a more practice- and management-oriented perspective. Camera traps can provide interesting in-depth and detailed information about recreationists and are flexible and suitable for various uses; however, assessing the visual data manually requires significant staff and working time. To deal with the large amounts of data gathered for numbers of passersby and recreation activities, correlation factors between passersby and pictures were determined, so that the number of passersby related to the number of pictures taken per day or per other time unit could be established. In focusing on using the camera traps and assessing the generated data, it became clear that more studies have to be conducted to compare different methods of visitor monitoring and their accuracy in different outdoor environments.
Highlights
Natural and forested landscapes are prime destinations for recreational uses [1].Especially in urban-proximate woodlands, recreational uses will likely increase due to population growth within urbanized areas and due to climate change [2]
In urban-proximate woodlands, recreational uses will likely increase due to population growth within urbanized areas and due to climate change [2]. This increased use will be accompanied by a shift to evening and nighttime use during heatwaves and the emergence of new outdoor recreation activities with respective spatial and temporal uses, for example Geocaching as a recent new recreation activity, which will lead to increased pressure on natural resources and on their ability to provide goods and services [3,4,5,6]
We examine the use of camera traps for visitor counting and monitoring
Summary
In urban-proximate woodlands, recreational uses will likely increase due to population growth within urbanized areas and due to climate change [2]. This increased use will be accompanied by a shift to evening and nighttime use during heatwaves and the emergence of new outdoor recreation activities with respective spatial and temporal uses, for example Geocaching as a recent new recreation activity, which will lead to increased pressure on natural resources and on their ability to provide goods and services [3,4,5,6]. Increasing numbers of recreation activities will lead to more conflicts between different users [7]. Extensive knowledge about visitor numbers and spatial distribution is vital for such concepts [10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
