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The Effect of Visitors on the Properties of Vegetation of Calcareous Grasslands in the Context of Width and Distances from Tourist Trails

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  • Kinga Kostrakiewicz-Gierałt

    (Department of Tourism Geography and Ecology, Institute of Tourism, Faculty of Tourism and Recreation, University of Physical Education in Cracow, 31-571 Cracow, Poland)

  • Artur Pliszko

    (Department of Taxonomy, Phytogeography, and Palaeobotany, Institute of Botany, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, 30-387 Cracow, Poland)

  • Katarzyna Gmyrek-Gołąb

    (Department of Tourism Geography and Ecology, Institute of Tourism, Faculty of Tourism and Recreation, University of Physical Education in Cracow, 31-571 Cracow, Poland)

Abstract

Over the last decades, valuable natural areas considered as zones of silence and rest have been increasingly struggling with the problem of mass tourism. In this study, an investigation of the effect of visitors on the properties of vegetation of calcareous grasslands in the context of width and distances from tourist trails is performed. The study was conducted in seven localities in Cracow (southern Poland) involving calcareous grasslands impacted by tourist trails. The results show that the lower height of plants, the greater number of species and the greater percentage of plant cover damaged by trampling in plots located close to the edge of tourist trails, as well as lower total plant cover and greater mean cover-abundance degree per species along narrow pathways. The dominance of meadow and grassland species, as well as the prevalence of native species, suggests that the composition of the examined vegetation has not been drastically changed. In the majority of the study plots, the dominance of hemicryptophytes and chamaephytes, inconsiderable share of phanerophytes and therophytes, as well as the low share of geophytes, were observed. The infrequent occurrence of species presenting Bidens dispersal type along narrow pathways, as well as in plots located close to the edge of tourist trails, suggests low external transport of epizoochorous seeds by passing people, while the prevalence of species presenting Cornus type in plots located away from the edge of tourist trails might be the effect of dung deposition by animals.

Suggested Citation

  • Kinga Kostrakiewicz-Gierałt & Artur Pliszko & Katarzyna Gmyrek-Gołąb, 2020. "The Effect of Visitors on the Properties of Vegetation of Calcareous Grasslands in the Context of Width and Distances from Tourist Trails," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-28, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:2:p:454-:d:305991
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Kinga Kostrakiewicz-Gierałt & Katarzyna Gmyrek & Artur Pliszko, 2022. "The Effect of the Distance from a Path on Abiotic Conditions and Vascular Plant Species in the Undergrowth of Urban Forests and Parks," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-28, May.
    2. Veronika Piscová & Michal Ševčík & Juraj Hreško & František Petrovič, 2021. "Effects of a Short-Term Trampling Experiment on Alpine Vegetation in the Tatras, Slovakia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-15, March.

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