Analyzing the Impacts of Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) Trails on Watershed Processes in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska
Trails created by off-road vehicles (ORV) in boreal lowlands are known to cause local impacts, such as denuded vegetation, soil erosion, and permafrost thaw, but impacts on stream and watershed processes are less certain. In Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (WRST), Alaska, ORV trails ha...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:3298735 2023-05-15T15:12:14+02:00 Analyzing the Impacts of Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) Trails on Watershed Processes in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska Arp, Christopher D. Simmons, Trey 2012-02-12 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3298735 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22327506 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-012-9811-z en eng Springer-Verlag http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3298735 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22327506 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00267-012-9811-z © The Author(s) 2012 Article Text 2012 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-012-9811-z 2013-09-04T03:51:31Z Trails created by off-road vehicles (ORV) in boreal lowlands are known to cause local impacts, such as denuded vegetation, soil erosion, and permafrost thaw, but impacts on stream and watershed processes are less certain. In Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (WRST), Alaska, ORV trails have caused local resource damage in intermountain lowlands with permafrost soils and abundant wetlands and there is a need to know whether these impacts are more extensive. Comparison of aerial photography from 1957, 1981, and 2004 coupled with ground surveys in 2009 reveal an increase in trail length and number and show an upslope expansion of a trail system around points of stream channel initiation. We hypothesized that these impacts could also cause premature initiation and headward expansion of channels because of lowered soil resistance and greater runoff accumulation as trails migrate upslope. Soil monitoring showed earlier and deeper thaw of the active layer in and adjacent to trails compared to reference sites. Several rainfall-runoff events during the summer of 2009 showed increased and sustained flow accumulation below trail crossings and channel shear forces sufficient to cause headward erosion of silt and peat soils. These observations of trail evolution relative to stream and wetland crossings together with process studies suggest that ORV trails are altering watershed processes. These changes in watershed processes appear to result in increasing drainage density and may also alter downstream flow regimes, water quality, and aquatic habitat. Addressing local land-use disturbances in boreal and arctic parklands with permafrost soils, such as WRST, where responses to climate change may be causing concurrent shifts in watershed processes, represents an important challenge facing resource managers. Text Arctic Climate change permafrost Alaska PubMed Central (PMC) Arctic Environmental Management 49 3 751 766 |
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Article Arp, Christopher D. Simmons, Trey Analyzing the Impacts of Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) Trails on Watershed Processes in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska |
topic_facet |
Article |
description |
Trails created by off-road vehicles (ORV) in boreal lowlands are known to cause local impacts, such as denuded vegetation, soil erosion, and permafrost thaw, but impacts on stream and watershed processes are less certain. In Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (WRST), Alaska, ORV trails have caused local resource damage in intermountain lowlands with permafrost soils and abundant wetlands and there is a need to know whether these impacts are more extensive. Comparison of aerial photography from 1957, 1981, and 2004 coupled with ground surveys in 2009 reveal an increase in trail length and number and show an upslope expansion of a trail system around points of stream channel initiation. We hypothesized that these impacts could also cause premature initiation and headward expansion of channels because of lowered soil resistance and greater runoff accumulation as trails migrate upslope. Soil monitoring showed earlier and deeper thaw of the active layer in and adjacent to trails compared to reference sites. Several rainfall-runoff events during the summer of 2009 showed increased and sustained flow accumulation below trail crossings and channel shear forces sufficient to cause headward erosion of silt and peat soils. These observations of trail evolution relative to stream and wetland crossings together with process studies suggest that ORV trails are altering watershed processes. These changes in watershed processes appear to result in increasing drainage density and may also alter downstream flow regimes, water quality, and aquatic habitat. Addressing local land-use disturbances in boreal and arctic parklands with permafrost soils, such as WRST, where responses to climate change may be causing concurrent shifts in watershed processes, represents an important challenge facing resource managers. |
format |
Text |
author |
Arp, Christopher D. Simmons, Trey |
author_facet |
Arp, Christopher D. Simmons, Trey |
author_sort |
Arp, Christopher D. |
title |
Analyzing the Impacts of Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) Trails on Watershed Processes in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska |
title_short |
Analyzing the Impacts of Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) Trails on Watershed Processes in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska |
title_full |
Analyzing the Impacts of Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) Trails on Watershed Processes in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Analyzing the Impacts of Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) Trails on Watershed Processes in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Analyzing the Impacts of Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) Trails on Watershed Processes in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska |
title_sort |
analyzing the impacts of off-road vehicle (orv) trails on watershed processes in wrangell-st. elias national park and preserve, alaska |
publisher |
Springer-Verlag |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3298735 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22327506 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-012-9811-z |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Climate change permafrost Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change permafrost Alaska |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3298735 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22327506 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00267-012-9811-z |
op_rights |
© The Author(s) 2012 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-012-9811-z |
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Environmental Management |
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49 |
container_issue |
3 |
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751 |
op_container_end_page |
766 |
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1766342943363301376 |