Effects of human trampling on the sub-Antarctic vegetation of Macquarie Island
The effects of trampling on six types of vegetation and their underlying soils were investigated on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island. One hundred and fifty foot-passes per year for at least the past 10 years have occurred on a typical 6-km stretch of walking track on the island's upland plateau....
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Scott Polar Research Institute
1994
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1017/S003224740002427X http://ecite.utas.edu.au/40743 |
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ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:40743 2023-05-15T14:03:55+02:00 Effects of human trampling on the sub-Antarctic vegetation of Macquarie Island Scott, JJ Kirkpatrick, JB 1994 https://doi.org/10.1017/S003224740002427X http://ecite.utas.edu.au/40743 en eng Scott Polar Research Institute http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S003224740002427X Scott, JJ and Kirkpatrick, JB, Effects of human trampling on the sub-Antarctic vegetation of Macquarie Island, Polar Record, 30, (174) pp. 207-220. ISSN 0032-2474 (1994) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/40743 Environmental Sciences Environmental Science and Management Environmental Management Refereed Article PeerReviewed 1994 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.1017/S003224740002427X 2019-12-13T21:17:47Z The effects of trampling on six types of vegetation and their underlying soils were investigated on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island. One hundred and fifty foot-passes per year for at least the past 10 years have occurred on a typical 6-km stretch of walking track on the island's upland plateau. Trampling favours vascular plants including exotics, especially Poa annua, while bryophytes and lichens are more common in undisturbed vegetation. The abundance of 19 of the 39 most common species appears to be affected by trampling. Track width is positively correlated with exposure and wet soils, and trampling increases the soil bulk density of the track. The contrast between the soil bulk density of the trampled and untrampled soils increases with increasing exposure. While present environmental damage is within an acceptable range over the majority of the island, the extreme environments are likely to suffer unacceptable levels of damage if increased usage occurs with more tourism or expansion of scientific and related activities. This is demonstrated by the diversion of a short section of plateau track in an atypically heavily used area; the diversion sustained substantial damage after 890 foot-passes during a 15-month period. 1994, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Macquarie Island Polar Record eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Antarctic Polar Record 30 174 207 220 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtasecite |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental Sciences Environmental Science and Management Environmental Management |
spellingShingle |
Environmental Sciences Environmental Science and Management Environmental Management Scott, JJ Kirkpatrick, JB Effects of human trampling on the sub-Antarctic vegetation of Macquarie Island |
topic_facet |
Environmental Sciences Environmental Science and Management Environmental Management |
description |
The effects of trampling on six types of vegetation and their underlying soils were investigated on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island. One hundred and fifty foot-passes per year for at least the past 10 years have occurred on a typical 6-km stretch of walking track on the island's upland plateau. Trampling favours vascular plants including exotics, especially Poa annua, while bryophytes and lichens are more common in undisturbed vegetation. The abundance of 19 of the 39 most common species appears to be affected by trampling. Track width is positively correlated with exposure and wet soils, and trampling increases the soil bulk density of the track. The contrast between the soil bulk density of the trampled and untrampled soils increases with increasing exposure. While present environmental damage is within an acceptable range over the majority of the island, the extreme environments are likely to suffer unacceptable levels of damage if increased usage occurs with more tourism or expansion of scientific and related activities. This is demonstrated by the diversion of a short section of plateau track in an atypically heavily used area; the diversion sustained substantial damage after 890 foot-passes during a 15-month period. 1994, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Scott, JJ Kirkpatrick, JB |
author_facet |
Scott, JJ Kirkpatrick, JB |
author_sort |
Scott, JJ |
title |
Effects of human trampling on the sub-Antarctic vegetation of Macquarie Island |
title_short |
Effects of human trampling on the sub-Antarctic vegetation of Macquarie Island |
title_full |
Effects of human trampling on the sub-Antarctic vegetation of Macquarie Island |
title_fullStr |
Effects of human trampling on the sub-Antarctic vegetation of Macquarie Island |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effects of human trampling on the sub-Antarctic vegetation of Macquarie Island |
title_sort |
effects of human trampling on the sub-antarctic vegetation of macquarie island |
publisher |
Scott Polar Research Institute |
publishDate |
1994 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1017/S003224740002427X http://ecite.utas.edu.au/40743 |
geographic |
Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Macquarie Island Polar Record |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Macquarie Island Polar Record |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S003224740002427X Scott, JJ and Kirkpatrick, JB, Effects of human trampling on the sub-Antarctic vegetation of Macquarie Island, Polar Record, 30, (174) pp. 207-220. ISSN 0032-2474 (1994) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/40743 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/S003224740002427X |
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Polar Record |
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30 |
container_issue |
174 |
container_start_page |
207 |
op_container_end_page |
220 |
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1766274802607194112 |