Recreational Changes in the Forest Ecosystem Components: Case Study of the Cultural Heritage Site “White Sea Petroglyphs” (Republic of Karelia)

Abstract

Recreation digression of forest ecosystems in the heritage site “White Sea Petroglyphs” was studied for the first time. This site is a compact system of rock outcrops partially cleared of forest vegetation, which bear Neolithic rock carvings (petroglyphs), and are linked together by walking trails. Patterns have been identified in the transformation of soils, plant cover components (tree stand, tree seedlings, understory and living ground cover), as well as fine roots (within 3 mm in diameter) of woody species under the recreation impact. Trampling was found to deform and destroy the top soil horizons, entailing a significant loss of the forest floor thickness and organic matter stores. Overall, the flora of the area is quite well preserved; 95–100 % of which is represented by native species. The living ground cover is noticeably damaged in the most actively used sites (fragments of trails and vista points). They feature a poor species composition, shrinking of the herb-dwarf shrub and moss-lichen cover, and a low percent cover of grassland and ruderal species. Easily accessible and actively visited sites have no or reducing amounts of tree seedlings, the tree stand is damaged and forest regeneration is hampered – the number of viable seedlings is minimal (100 pcs/ha). The mass of roots below 3 mm in diameter in heavily trampled trails showed a reduction of up to 74 %, while the root saturation in less affected trails slightly increased. Recreation transformations of the plant communities have not resulted in a loss of their resilience so far. The recreational digression in the studied sites was classified into stages I–III (weakly disturbed – strongly disturbed). Function zoning of the area should be modified using recreation-tolerant communities more intensively in order to reduce recreation impact. The most damaged areas, which are losing their stability, should be excluded from active use by modification of walking trails and building additional boardwalks.