Recreational Pressure Research Articles

Features of heavy metals and metalloids accumulation in soils of Samara and Syzran large recreational zones

The paper discusses the results of ecological and geochemical studies of soils in the Sokolii Mountains located near Samara and in a specially protected natural area Monastyrskaya Mountain located within the borders of Syzran, Samara Region. These territories are of great interest in connection with their active use for urban recreation. The studied parts of the Sokolii Mountains (northeastern, eastern and southeastern surroundings of the Kuznetsov Mountain) are natural forests, the protected area Monastyrskaya Mountain is an artificially created forest stand. The territories under comparison differ in their origin, typological characteristics of soils, including their granulometric composition and humus content, as well as in the degree of recreational pressure. It has been established that heavy metals and metalloids accumulate more actively (2,05,5 times) in the soils of the upper layer in the vicinity of the Kuznetsov Mountain than in the sandy and loamy soils of the Monastyrskaya Mountain, which are characterized by a more significant geochemical heterogeneity. In both territories, the average concentrations of chemical elements do not exceed regional clarks and maximum permissible concentrations. An analysis of the geochemical indices of the studied soils revealed the predominance of the scattering of heavy metals and metalloids over the concentration processes in them. According to the magnitude of concentration clarks and scattering for both recreational territories, an association of accumulating elements was revealed; it included only Se and Cd while the association of scattering elements included Sr, Rb, Cr, V, As, Pb, Ni, Co, Cu, Zn, Mn. In the soils of the Monastyrskaya Mountain dispersal processes are more presented while in the soils of the Kuznetsov Mountain surroundings accumulation processes are more presented. In general, the northeastern, eastern and southeastern environments of the Kuznetsov Mountain and the Monastyrskaya Mountain are characterized by a relatively low level of heavy metals and metalloids pollution, which makes it possible to consider these territories as environmentally sustainable, but requiring the development of a scientifically-based mode of recreational use.

Recreation-related disturbance to wildlife in California—better planning for and management of recreation are vital to conserve wildlife in protected areas where recreation occurs

Expanding levels of authorized and unauthorized non-consumptive recreation increasingly threaten sensitive biological resources in areas protected primarily or solely to conserve them. As California’s human population grows, recreational use in protected areas grows commensurately. The majority of the documented effects on wildlife from non-consumptive recreation are negative; they include detrimental changes in behavior, reproduction, growth, immune system function, levels of stress hormones, and finally, to the survival of individual animals and persistence of wildlife populations and communities. This paper provides insights from the recreation ecology literature into these recreation-related disturbances to insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals from hiking, jogging, biking, horseback riding, boating, and off-highway/ all-terrain vehicles. The documented evidence of these disturbances to wildlife reveals the flaw in the prevalent assumption that recreation is compatible with biological conservation, the dual-role protected areas’ core function. This assumption usually rests on the expectations of (1) allowing only ecologically sound siting of recreational areas and ecologically acceptable types, levels, and timing of recreation, and (2) providing sufficient monitoring, management, and enforcement of recreation to ensure the perpetuation of viable populations of focal sensitive species. However, it is rare that these expectations are met. The ultimate essential outcome of the information provided in this paper is the cessation of the extant recreation-related exploitation of dual-role protected areas. This calls for a societal course change involving: widespread, long-term, and continual multimedia dissemination of the science-based information about recreation-related disturbance to wildlife; application of a science-based approach to siting recreational areas and allowing only ecologically acceptable types, levels, and timing of recreation; and, perpetual personnel and funding explicitly for management at levels commensurate with recreational pressure. These measures would also improve the often cited economic, educational, and recreational/health benefits of dual-role protected areas.

Trophic links of the chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) in transformed forest ecosystems of North-Eastern Ukraine

The сhaffinch (Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758; Passeriformes, Fringillidae) is one of the most colourful forest species of birds living in Europe, West Asia and North Africa. The diet of this species was studied as a contribution to the conservation of the population of this species in transformed forests of the north-eastern part of Ukraine. Four forest ecosystems were studied: three model sites in oak forests, transformed under intensive recreation pressure, and one model site in a pine-oak forest. A total of 39 invertebrate taxa, dominated by Insecta (93.0%) were found. The orders Coleoptera (32.6%) and Lepidoptera (63.5%) prevailed in the diet of finch nestlings, the highest number of taxa (52.3–76.2%) was represented by phytophages. The phytophagous species also constituted the majority of the consumed prey items (44.0–55.6%). Environmental conditions provided an important effect on the diet structure. The most favourable foraging conditions for the species were found in protected natural areas. According to the analysis, the finch foraging efficiency was similar in all the studied sites. The highest biodiversity indices were found in a protected area of Homilshanski Forests National Nature Park. Results of the research have indicated the crucial role of Fringilla coelebs in the population management of potentially dangerous agricultural pests.

Identifying the Risks Impacting on the Sustainable Development of a Tourism Area

The sustainable development of most tourism areas is accompanied with ever-increasing recreational pressure and the ever¬growing threat of depletion of their natural and recreational resources. All efforts at strategic planning or long-term forecasting may be baffled if there is insufficient understanding of where the risks are coming from and what impact they may have on the environment. It is of utmost significance for tourism areas to keep track of all risks attendant upon their path to sustainable development, which is about achieving balanced recreational pressure and a number of positive socio-economic effects. On balance, there is a need to identify the entire set of risks that may face an area as a result of tourism activity in it. This paper explores some of the key threats to the sustainable development of tourism areas, identifies some of the key risks inherent to the process, and proposes a method for rank-ordering the risks based on their gravity.

Concept of soil Red book of the Ukrainian Carpathians

The system and method of selection and documentation of soils that need to be included in the Red Book on the basis of research on natural and anthropogenic soils of the Ukrainian Carpathians were developed. Six categories of soil of the Red Book such as standards of typical, rare, endangered, cultivated and anthropogenic soils, unique soils have been proposed. Natural soils (typical, rare, endangered, unique) must functioned as soil etalons for changes evaluation that occur under the influence of forest management and recreational pressure, as well as protection of soil diversity. Etalons of cultivated soils play the role of models for agricultural lands; etalons of anthropogenic soils are used to determine the condition of land of urbo- and technocomplexes.

Results of Our Long-Term Observations on Stationary Transects in the Volga-Akhtuba Floodplain

By the beginning of the 1970s, only two large regions with natural vegetation, namely the Volga–Akhtuba floodplain and the Volga delta, had remained in the Volga River valley. The largest part of the remaining valley had been converted into a cascade of reservoirs. The conservation of meadow, marsh, and forest plant communities in the lower reaches of the Volga River located in the semi-desert and desert zones is due to regular water releases of the Volgograd hydroelectric power station downstream. These artificial water discharges into the Lower Volga valley in the spring–summer period have taken the place of natural floods. However, in the conditions of regulated water flow, the rise in the water level decreased during floods and the duration of flooding of the floodplain ecotopes shortened. The river channel deepened along a 100-km river section in the near-dam part of the Volgograd hydroelectric power station in the northern part of the floodplain. These dams hinder water flow to the Akhtuba–Volga floodplain during spring and summer floods. They surround agricultural lands with artificial irrigation systems and settlements in the floodplain. The recreational use of the Lower Volga valley has increased in the past few decades. Before the construction of the largest Volga hydroelectric complexes (the Kama, Gorky, Kuibyshev, Volgograd, and Saratov ones) in 1954–1955, five geobotanical transects were laid out in the course of the Caspian expedition of Moscow State University. Subsequently, four of the transects were surveyed in 1982 and 2008 –2013. It was established that xerophytization and ruderalization of vegetation occurred on all transects. These phenomena were not similar in different sections of the floodplain. They were most pronounced near the Volgograd Hydroelectric Power Station and in the places of narrowing of the valley. The reduction in the height and duration of floods after the regulation of the water flow, high local grazing, and recreation pressure is the main reason for xerophytization and ruderalization of vegetation. Among the invasive species, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Conyza canadensis, Bidens frondosa, and Xanthium strumarium s.l. play the most important role in changes in the vegetative cover of the Volga–Akhtuba floodplain. Thus, not all phenomena related to the dynamics of the vegetation and flora in the Volga–Akhtuba floodplain were caused by restructuring of the Volga hydrological regime after regulation of its water flow. The invasion of alien plants, increased recreation load, and changes in the economic use of the vegetation cover in the territory have played a particular role in this process.

The assessment of the Kyiv urban ecotopes comfort as a birds' habitat

The city is one of the most specific ecosystems of the modern biosphere. The combination of natural and artificial components and elements of the city have made it a complex system of ecotopes with various levels of anthropogenic transformation. Still the structure of urban ecosystems includes some patches of undisturbed or minimally disturbed landscapes, which may be considered the home for the most abundant part of urban biocenosis – the urban avifauna. Therefore, in this research the concept and features of urban zoocenosis in specific application to avifauna of the Kyiv urban system have been considered. A modern city if found to offer a range of benefits for birds, including food, shelter, and higher temperatures over the year and lower predator pressure and competition. However, the level of food quality as well as the condition of environment components are low and impose real health threats. Physical pollution, in particular noise and electro-magnetic impacts are also serious disturbing factors. Considering these factors, the ecotopes most suitable for birds have been defined among the parks, forests, lakes and cemeteries of the city – total 59 objects. In order to assess their comfort for birds, the specific ranking scale has been developed. The parameters taken into consideration in the course of assessment are as follows: general spatial characteristics (size and fragmentation of the territory), vegetation quality (covered territory, height and age of trees), forage availability and diversity, hydrographic situation (access to water bodies), environment quality (level of water and air pollution, noise pollution, non-organic wastes directly at the site), human pressure (density of people moving, area with artificial covers, level of anthropization), bird supporting elements and activity, and also predation pressure. According to the obtained result the forests around and its residuals inside Kyiv are the least transformed and consequently the most comfortable for the support of birds diversity. They are followed by cultivated semi-natural areas, which comfort declines as the levels of recreational pressure, human presence and proximity to the city center increases. Finally, the last in the list are small parks or cemeteries, cut off from water bodies or water bodies lacking dense vegetation. An important issue, showed by personal visual observations, is that the activity of humans aimed at support of birds communities within area of any status is proved to be more important as compared to obvious disadvantages seen at certain areas.

Human recreation reduces clutch size in great tits Parus major regardless of risk-taking personality

AbstractRecreation negatively affects wildlife by influencing animal behavior vital to reproduction and survival. Such nonconsumptive effects of perceived predation risk are mainly studied in ground-breeding birds. However, if antipredator responses characterize bird species generally, so should nonconsumptive effects of perceived predation associated with human recreation. Moreover, as individuals consistently differ in behaviors linked to antipredator responses, they should also differ in responses to recreation, with bolder birds being less affected. To test this key prediction, we quantified effects of human recreation pressure on a cavity-breeding passerine. We uniquely quantified human recreation pressure over a substantial (8-year) period within 12 nest box populations of the great tit Parus major, assayed annually for reproductive parameters. We detected considerable spatial variation in recreation pressure. In plots with high recreation pressure, we found strong support for birds breeding further away from highly frequented paths and birds producing smaller clutches; we also found moderate support for birds producing fewer fledglings. These detrimental effects did not vary with behavioral proxies of an individual’s risk-taking phenotype (exploratory activity). This implies that effects of recreation pressure apply to the average bird, and extend to species (like forest birds) not previously considered.

Evaluating the recreation potential of the national park “Valdayskiy” (Novgorodskaya Oblast, Russia)

The National Park “Valdayskiy” (the Park) was established to preserve the unique lake-forest complex of the Valday upland and to create conditions for the development of organized recreation on this territory. Incomparable beautiful views of different landscapes attracthere thousands of tourists from various Russian regions.The greater number of them prefers lakeshores for camping,so special attention in the research was paid tothe studyofriparian and shallow water vegetation of lakesin zones with different recreation pressureto establish the patterns of vegetation digression.The materials of our observations are supplemented with data on the attendance of tourist sites collected by the Park staff.The region recreation capacities were studied on the base of bioclimatic indices (Bodman’s indices and subjective temperature).It was revealed that only for the period of 1 month (mid-July to mid-August), there is a massive influx of tourists and intensive use of recreation sites on the lakeshores.This leads to degradation of riparian forest and meadow vegetation; destruction of the protective (buffer) zone of aquatic vegetation, erosion of the banks near camps, pollution of shallow water by sewage and garbage. Thus, irregular recreation pressure on water bodies leads to local degradation of natural complexes and eventually to lowering the aesthetic value of riparian landscapes. But such factors as humid (moderate) continental climate with a prolonged cold winter and high relative air humidity throughout the year reduce the period of a strong recreation pressure, and the complicated accessibility of many lakeshores reduce the negative impact of recreation and delay the destruction of natural vegetation. Evaluation of the bioclimatic indices allows Valday to be attributed to regions with a lack of thermal resources, it is preferable to develop here dynamic types of recreation activities practically all over the year. For soft recreation activity the Valday upland are available with limitation from 7 to 8 months in a year and without limitation nearly 1 month in a year. For nature conservation in the Park it is necessary to organize monitoring of lakeshore’s complexes, control of recreation use, determine pressure of tourist traffic, normalizing and differentiating this pressure by the types of possible use and conservation regime.

Using of the methods of landscape research in determining allowable recreational pressure

The development of tourism, as one of the most dynamically developing sectors of the economy, entails an increase in the recreational pressure on the visited territories. The research of modern landscapes shows that their use for recreational purposes can lead not only to significant negative changes in individual components, but also to fundamental disturbances and degradation of landscapes in general. In this connection, the systematic monitoring of the recreational pressure, the search for its optimal values, which do not entail the degradation of the landscape, is of particular relevance. Research of the recreational capacity of landscapes was started as far back as the twentieth century. Over the past decades, the standards of recreational pressure for the most common types of landscapes have been defined. Based on the developed methods of assessing the degree of recreational landscape digression, measures to improve the landscape have been proposed. It has been established that the increase in the economic effect from the development of tourism and recreation is possible on the basis of landscape and recreational analysis, which takes into account the individual characteristics of the territory when determining the permissible recreational pressure. The article briefly describes the main groups of landscape research methods used in determining the permissible recreational pressure on the landscape. The most important parameter on which the researchers rely when they calculate the permissible recreational pressure on the landscape is the density of the recreational pressure. During research of the density of recreational pressure, some traditional methods of researching landscapes are applicable, for example, conducting reconnaissance routes. The analysis of approaches to the definition of permissible recreational pressure on the landscape is spent, a brief algorithm for conducting landscape research at the local level is given, and the example of creating the appropriate landscape maps is given. The article presents the results of landscape researches, conducted on the territory of the Vorotynsky district of the Nizhny Novgorod region. The analysis shows that sustainable development of tourism and recreation can be based on the results of extensive research, including the establishment of landscape features of the territory and the determination of optimal types of recreational activities and the degree of its intensity for each natural-territorial complex.

Monitoring the Pollution of Rudnaya Bay (Sea of Japan) Based on the Heavy Metal Content of Brown Algae

The levels of Zn, Cu, Fe, Cd, and Pb were measured in thalli of the common brown algae species Scytosiphon lomentaria, Fucus evanescens, Stephanocystis crassipes, Silvetia babingtonii, and Saccharina japonica from Rudnaya Bay and adjacent waters. These data allowed assessment of the current spatial distribution of these elements over the waters of the study region and the species-specificity of algae as indicators of heavy metal pollution of the environment. It has been established that the main source of heavy metals entering the bay waters is the small harbor in its southern part, where lead and zinc concentrates from the Dalnegorsk Mining and Processing Plant are loaded on vessels for further transportation. The estimated trace-element composition of algae was compared to that of the samples collected in 2009, which is the year of the last increase and, simultaneously, completion of the production activity of the local lead smelting plant. The results show that by 2016 the concentration of Pb in S. lomentaria collected near Cape Briner at the entrance to the bay decreased 7.4 times. The reduction in the Zn content of S. lomentaria was not as impressive: from 2009 to 2016, it decreased 1.7 times. In algae from Lidovka Bay, which is located north of Rudnaya Bay, the Zn concentration in 2016 increased 1.67 times compared to that in 2010, which is obviously explained by the growing recreational pressure on the coast of this bay.

Dolgaya Spit: Tourism on the Azov Seacoast

The Krasnodar region is one of Russia’s four leaders in terms of tourism development. The number of tourists who visit the Krasnodar region has been rising year after year. Specially protected natural areas, which attract a lot of tourists, come under pressure. Nowadays, natural monuments turned into travel destinations, as a rule, of short-term trips (the so-called weekend journeys). The Dolgaya Spit area is an example of extensive use of natural monuments. It can be expected that tourist flow might exceed the current level, maybe by several times, on the back of rising popularity, the development of transport infrastructure and improved beach quality. To date, the failure to resolve the current problems for a long time has led to unfavorable consequences, with the natural monument degrading rapidly amid growing recreational pressure. The situation is quite complicated. On the one hand, the area’s economic prospects as a resort are unquestionable, although, on the other hand, the Dolgaya Spit needs protection because it is now under the influence of constantly rising anthropogenic factors.

The effect of urban development on visitor numbers to nearby protected nature conservation sites

Abstract New housing development can result in impacts on nearby protected nature conservation sites, even if development is outside the site boundary. High levels of housing may be associated with adverse impacts on ecological features in protected sites from increased recreation pressure. However, few studies have investigated the spatial link between housing and visitor numbers. An understanding of the impact of housing on visitor use, especially the distances at which housing relates to recreation levels and the importance of other factors (e.g. parking provision) is essential to inform the assessment of new housing and is relevant to strategic planning of development within the UK. We use a long-term visitor dataset (2003–8) to disentangle the housing–visitor association at foot-only and parking locations on important nature conservation sites. We conclude with negative binomial regressions that model the effect of housing on visitor numbers, while controlling for habitat, parking provision and season. Our results demonstrate that more housing consistently means more visitors to protected sites, across most habitats. This is particularly the case for on-foot visitors that originate from housing within 1.5 km, highlighting that additional housing development in proximity to protected sites is likely to significantly increase recreation pressure. For visitor numbers at parking locations, levels of housing within 15 km of protected sites were also a significant predictor, but depended on habitat type. These results demonstrate that housing allocations closer to protected sites are likely to have a greater impact in terms of visitor numbers and may help underpin future assessments of strategic plans.

Ecological barriers to tourism development (a case study of the Baikal region)

We examine results of recreation-geographical investigations in the Baikal region, where in Irkutsk oblast and Republic of Buryatia different measures are implemented, aimed at tourist flow increase. An analysis is made of the leading natural-ecological and socio-economic factors for the territorial organization of tourist and recreational activity. This study is based on theoretical-methodological approaches of recreation geography using the landscape planning, zoning and mapping approaches. It is confirmed that the development of the tourist system limits its capacity, which is determined by the natural properties of the natural environment and the state of the basic infrastructure of tourism and the associated infrastructure complexes - transport, social, household, environmental protection. Three types of ecological barriers to tourism development are identified: the existing legislatively established standards regulating recreational pressure on them; the resilience of ecosystems to tourism-related anthropogenic impacts, and the present status of natural ecosystems under recreational pressure. Territorial features of the system are determined by the tourist-recreational zoning, it is proposed to allocate eleven tourist-recreational zones. Based on the results of the research, it is planned to develop the Rules for tourism and recreation adjustment in the Baikal region.

A Global Assessment of Tourism and Recreation Conservation Threats to Prioritise Interventions

Tourism has become a global economic driver, accounting for 11% of global GDP and 10% of total employment. Nature-based and wildlife tourism have particularly grown faster than the rest of the industry over the past 10 years. The sustainability of nature-based tourism, and recreation, is often assumed despite its contribution to global carbon emissions or extirpation of natural habitats. Indeed, the sector is advocated as key to sustainable development particularly for biodiversity and livelihoods gains. Nature tourism is also changing from specialised activities concentrated in protected areas (PA) to diversified activities and decline in PA visitation. This increases the difficulty to monitor and manage its potential impact on biodiversity and other sustainability targets. This growth is environmentally costly with now 5930 species for which tourism and recreation are conservation threats. For the first time we use global social media data to estimate where people go to experience nature and determine how this tourism and recreation pressure overlap with the distribution of threatened species. The more people seek interactions with nature in an area, the larger the number of species threatened by those interactions is. Clear crisis areas emerge where many species sensitive to tourism are exposed to high tourism pressure and those are mainly coastal marine regions. Our current tourism management approaches are not achieving biodiversity conservation. We must prioritise our efforts to diverge tourism away from areas where species are more susceptible to the habitat modification and disturbances caused by this industry.

Creating protected areas in the urban environment, corresponding to the "Smart City" formation concept. The way to sustainable development of urban ecosystems

This article considers the information system of territorial planning of urban development which corresponds with the “Smart City” concept. Article summarizes the results of studies of the state specially protected natural areas of Moscow are in, which allowed to identify negative factors that impede their sustainable development. It addresses the recreational pressure build-up on anthropogenic natural regions (ANR) and its dependence on the city’s planning structure. It also shows the usefulness of a map set development, including: inventory maps, land-use planning maps, recreational pressure maps, which serve as a good tool for ANR territory development pattern projects, also for recommendations preparation aimed at improving the ecological status of the territory, taking its recreational capacity into account. A prerequisite for the adoption of land-use and development rules for the purpose of regulating population density in the bordering natural areas is the need to develop zoning schemes for the territory according to the level of recreational pressure (subzone) and the development of urban planning regulations for the use of land and real estate. To ensure the sustainable development of cities, there is a need for urban planning aimed at creating a safe and qualitative living environment that meets the needs of the of the modern human community, while not infringing on the opportunities of future generations of mankind. The number of these measures will ensure the sustainability of the city's natural skeleton while the functional zoning of anthropogenic natural regions (ANR) will allow regulation of anthropogenic pressure level and will ensure the sustainability of these systems which are aimed at the formation of the “Smart City” concept.

Вікові дерева парків-пам’яток садово-паркового мистецтва Тернопільщини

Наведено дані щодо сучасного стану збереження вікових дерев та їх кількісної структури в парках-пам’ятках садово-паркового мистецтва Тернопільщини. Вікові дерева на об’єктах культурної спадщини представлені 30 видами та двома культиварами (Fagus sylvatica L.‘Atropunicea’ West. і Stypholobium japonicum Schott. ‘Pendula’), більшість з яких (24 види) відносяться до відділу покритонасінних. Вікові особини деревних інтродуцентів виявлено на території восьми парків (Більче-Золотецького, Заліщицького, Раївського, Скала-Подільського, Плотицького, Коропецького, Гримайлівського парків та в залишках парку в с. Млиниська).
 Впродовж інвентаризаційних досліджень здійснено комплексне оцінювання п’яти вікових дерев, які мають статус ботанічних пам’яток природи (вікові дерева, що мають вагоме культурне, історичне значення та повний заповідний режим) і ростуть у Раївському і Заліщицькому парках, охарактеризовано санітарний стан та визначено їхні таксаційно-біометричні показники. На зазначених об’єктах виявлено вікові дерева-інтродуценти Gymnocladus dioicus (L.) C. Koch віком 130 років та Sophora japonica L. віком 150 років, які можуть бути рекомендовані до заповідання як ботанічні пам’ятки природи місцевого значення.
 За результатами оцінки санітарного та естетичного стану визначних дерев запропоновано низку організаційних і технологічних заходів щодо їх лікування, збереження та раціонального використання (створення карти геопросторового розташування вікових дерев, здійснення організаційних заходів з метою зменшення рекреаційного навантаження в межах площі проекції крони, встановлення інформаційних іменних табличок, проведення лікувальних заходів щодо уражених хворобами вікових дерев за сучасними екологічно обґрунтованими технологіями, у т. ч. і методами арбористики).

Model-Based Evaluation of Urban River Restoration: Conflicts between Sensitive Fish Species and Recreational Users

Urban rivers are socioecological systems, and restored habitats may be attractive to both sensitive species and recreationists. Understanding the potential conflicts between ecological and recreational values is a critical issue for the development of a sustainable river-management plan. Habitat models are very promising tools for the ecological evaluation of river restoration projects that are already concluded, ongoing, or even to be planned. With our paper, we make a first attempt at integrating recreational user pressure into habitat modeling. The objective of this study was to analyze whether human impact is likely to hinder the re-establishment of a target species despite the successful restoration of physical habitat structures in the case of the restoration of the Isar River in Munich (Germany) and the target fish species Chondostroma nasus L. Our analysis combined high-resolution 2D hydrodynamic modeling with mapping of recreational pressure and used an expert-based procedure for modeling habitat suitability. The results are twofold: (1) the restored river contains suitable physical habitats for population conservation but has low suitability for recruitment; (2) densely used areas match highly suitable habitats for C. nasus. In the future, the integrated modeling procedure presented here may allow ecological refuge for sensitive target species to be included in the design of restoration and may help in the development of visitor-management plans to safeguard biodiversity and recreational ecosystem services.

Trade-offs between wind energy, recreational, and bark-beetle impacts on visual preferences of national park visitors

Recreation pressure on natural resource settings, as well as the demand for new wind-energy production sites, is growing. In addition, extensive outbreaks of tree-killing insects are globally increasing. Protected-area managers are facing conflicts on proper land uses in and around their areas, and need information on visitor preferences for developing a land use policy for their area, accepted by the public. So far, little research has examined national park visitors’ responses to windmills and recreational infrastructures, visual changes in forest recreation settings resulting from forest insect infestations, high use pressures, and how visitors weigh trade-offs between these technical, biophysical, and socio-environment factors. This study explored national park visitor preferences with a discrete choice experiment that photographically simulated spruce forest stands with varying levels of recreational and technical infrastructures including the presence of windmills, bark beetle outbreaks, forest management practices, and visitor use levels. On-site surveys were conducted with visitors to the Bavarian Forest National Park in Germany (N = 514). Results revealed that the condition of the forest surrounding, followed by the presence of windmills, was the most important variable influencing visitors’ landscape preferences. Visitors preferred healthy mature forest stands and disliked forests with substantial dead wood, many windmills close to the viewpoint and high visitor numbers. Findings suggest that forest conditions and technical infrastructure are important concerns in addressing landscape preferences for forested protected areas and that trade-offs among these variables exist.

RECREATIONAL INFLUENCE ON THE CONDITION AND STRUCTURE OF FOREST SHELTER BELTS

The influence of recreation of varying intensity on the health condition and structure of forest shelter belts formed by common oak (Quercus robur L.) and green ash (Fraxinus lanceolata Borkh.) is estimated. The long-term impact of recreational pressure on shelterbelts that were identical at the time of creation was evaluated. It was found that the long recreational influence of different intensity leads to a significant decrease in the stocking of the tree stand (by 27.5%), changes in the stand structure, deterioration of health condition (in the S-2 section, the health condition index was І.7 and in the S-1 section, ІІ.3) and a decrease in the average diameter of the trees (by 20.5 %). In addition, such an effect led to a significant reduction in the density, both for advance growth (by 73.5 %) and undergrowth (71.3 %), which ultimately affected the change in the openness of the vertical profile of the shelterbelt. Frequently, uncontrolled burning of refuse and dry grass by recreators provoked the emergence of surface fires and additional weakening of the trees in the stand (the health state of damaged trees fluctuated within the 3-4 category of health condition) as well as partial destruction of the advance growth and undergrowth. Cenomorphic analysis of forest phytocoenoses by Belgard revealed the predominance of ruderants. Sylvants (typical species for the forest) and Pratants (steppe species) are represented by three species and have occurred seldomly.