Impacts of trails on plants, soil and their interactions in the subalpine meadows of Mount Jade Dragon, Northwestern Yunnan of China

Trails are a type of tourism infrastructure that impact vegetation and soil, which are essential for sustainable recreation practices. There is limited recreation ecology research on the impact of trails in China, especially on Mount Jade Dragon, where it is characterized as a global biodiversity hotspot with high scenic value. Impacts of trails on vegetation, soil and their interaction were assessed for the subalpine meadow area of Mount Jade Dragon. The aims of this research were: (i) to assess trail effects on vegetation, soil and their interaction, and (ii) to evaluate the effects of the trail type and usage level on trail impacts. Vegetation and soil properties were measured at control and trailside sites along formal and informal trails of different usage levels. A three-way analysis of variance was performed to determine the effects of site location, trail type and usage level. Canonical correspondence analysis was used to visualize species composition along trails and to ordinate species with respect to the soil variables. A multiple linear regression model was used to examine relationships between soil variables and vegetation cover. The results showed that trails led to vegetation cover, height and species richness reduction as well as soil organic matter and moisture content loss. Trails also affected soil-vegetation relationships. Soil organic matter and soil moisture content played an important role in determining vegetation along trails at low-usage sites. The soil-vegetation relationships were weakened at high-usage sites. Compared with informal trails, formal trails had a protective effect on vegetation cover, especially at high-usage sites. These results suggest that park managers should limit the spread of informal trails at high-usage sites, upgrade existing informal trails, and rehabilitate damaged areas. Further, greater recognition should be given to research on soil protection and soil-vegetation relationships.

步道是一种旅游基础设施，会对植被和土壤产生影响，而植被和土壤对于可持续的游憩活动至关重要。中国关于步道影响的游憩生态学研究有限，尤其是在玉龙雪山，它是具有高景观价值的全球生物多样性热点地区。对玉龙雪山亚高山草甸地区的步道对植被、土壤及其相互作用的影响进行了评估。本研究的目的是：（i）评估步道对植被、土壤及其相互作用的影响；（ii）评估步道类型和使用程度对步道影响的作用。在不同使用程度的正式步道和非正式步道沿线的对照点和步道旁点测量了植被和土壤特性。进行了三因素方差分析以确定地点位置、步道类型和使用程度的影响。采用典范对应分析来可视化步道沿线的物种组成，并根据土壤变量对物种进行排序。使用多元线性回归模型来检验土壤变量与植被覆盖之间的关系。结果表明，步道导致植被覆盖度、高度和物种丰富度降低，以及土壤有机质和水分含量减少。步道还影响了土壤 - 植被关系。在低使用程度的地点，土壤有机质和土壤水分含量在决定步道沿线的植被方面起着重要作用。在高使用程度的地点，土壤 - 植被关系减弱。与非正式步道相比，正式步道对植被覆盖有保护作用，尤其是在高使用程度的地点。这些结果表明，公园管理者应限制高使用程度地点非正式步道的蔓延，升级现有的非正式步道，并修复受损区域。此外，应更加重视土壤保护和土壤 - 植被关系的研究。