Linking Culture and the Environment

Y.-F. Leung et al. 23
the selection of visitor and site management strategies and actions that prevent
or minimize resource impacts. Such knowledge is especially critical in
managing backcountry and wilderness areas because facility development
and site-hardening practices commonly used in frontcountry or developed
settings are usually considered inappropriate and are too costly in these
primitive settings (Fig. 2.1).
Despite the long history of visitor impact studies, only recently has the
term recreation ecology been applied consistently to reference this literature.
Most definitions refer recreation ecology to a field of study that seeks to identify,
assess, understand and manage resource impacts caused by park and
protected area visitors (Cole, 1989; Marion and Rogers, 1994; Leung and
Marion, 1996; Liddle, 1997; Hammitt and Cole, 1998). The field of recreation
ecology is multidisciplinary, with studies conducted by researchers from
diverse disciplines such as biology, ecology, forestry, geography, soil science
and wildlife science. Only a small group of researchers have devoted their
careers to this field of study (Cole, 1987; Leung and Marion, 2000).
Types and causes of visitor impacts
Visitor activities result in a variety of impacts affecting vegetation, soil, water
and wildlife resources. For example, trampling by foot traffic, recreational
animals or wheeled vehicles can easily damage ground vegetation or cause a
change in composition or loss of cover (Hammitt and Cole, 1998). Such traffic
quickly pulverizes organic materials such as leaf litter, exposing soil to compaction
and erosion by water or wind. Compacted soils inhibit seed germination,
root penetration and water infiltration, increasing water runoff and
erosion and decreasing soil moisture (Liddle, 1997). Surface runoff may carry
soil, faecal material, soaps and other chemicals from recreation sites to
streams, lakes and rivers, increasing sedimentation, nutrients and pathogens
that may threaten water quality and human health (Kuss et al., 1990).
The mere presence of visitors may cause animals to flee, temporarily or
permanently displacing them from preferred habitats to other areas, where
they must compete with existing animal populations, or to lower-quality
habitats (Muthee, 1992). Displaced animals are greatly disadvantaged in
competing with resident animals, are more susceptible to predation and may
have insufficient food or cover in less-preferred habitats. Other animals may
be attracted to visitors’ food, obtaining food scraps, improperly stored food
or food offered directly by visitors or guides. The development of unnatural
food dependencies can alter natural wildlife activities and may cause
increased predation, nutritional deficiencies and intestinal problems (Knight
and Gutzwiller, 1995).
The types of visitor activity influence the severity of environmental
impacts. For instance, trampling from foot-traffic of humans or some recreational
livestock such as pack llamas is less impacting than trampling from
horses whose impact force per unit area is far greater (Liddle, 1997). Wheeled
vehicles create linear depressions that may collect and accelerate water runoff