Question: Does long-term visitor trampling close to hiking trails affect the taxonomic and functional composition and diversity of a calcareous grassland, thus reducing its nature conservation value?Location: Ancient calcareous grassland (nature reserve Garchinger Heide) in the Munich Gravel Plain, south Germany.Methods: We sampled plant species composition at four distance classes representing different trampling intensities along replicated transects running perpendicular to 20-yr-old hiking trails in the nature reserve. We used a combination of distance-based multivariate methods and a series of univariate tests to study the effects of trampling on a number of conservation-relevant aspects of taxonomic and functional plant community composition and diversity.Results: The different trampling intensities led to a significant variation in plant species composition that was driven by trait-mediated responses, mainly of traits related to dispersal and regeneration, but these patterns only occurred close to the trails (<1.5 m). Except directly on the trails, species richness, the number of habitat specialists and threatened species, as well as Functional Richness were not or marginally affected by trampling. Multivariate dispersion within levels of trampling intensities and evenness, the latter measured for either species or traits, remained constant across the gradient of trampling intensity.Conclusions: Even after 20 yr of exposure to different intensities of trampling, calcareous grassland vegetation showed only few and spatially limited compositional responses, while its nature conservation value was not affected. Therefore, marked hiking trails are a good compromise between meeting the needs for recreation and environmental education, and the conservation of threatened habitat specialists and should be preferred to alternatives such as undirected access that would result in spatially extensive changes in community structure.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.