Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
part of the itinerary of international visitors to the WHS. Berg Lake Trail
(BLT) is 23 km long, and covers three of the four vegetation zones
previously noted, SBSS in the valley bottoms, ESSF at higher altitudes
(1350-1750 meters) and AT for regions of altitude above 1750 meters.
The elevation of the BLT is between 900 and 1750 meters. The trail is
well used and intensively managed; some 15,000 people hike the trail
each year and just under a third of them (4000) camp overnight. The
Mount Fitzwilliam Trail (MFT), by contrast, is a low-use (362 annual
visitors; one-third camping overnight) and less intensively managed
trail. Developed in the 1980s as an alternative overflow trail to reduce
impacts on the BLT, the MFT was part of a wider management strategy
to disperse visitors. Fourteen kilometers in length, with equal distances
constructed or left in a natural state, MFT traverses two vegetation
zones, namely ICH (trail elevation of up to 1050 meters) and ESSF (eleva-
tion exceeding 1050 meters). The elevation of the MFT ranges from 900
to 1850 meters. The appeal of this trail to the overnight hiker is the
alpine conditions at the end of the trail that include a lake which is often
still frozen by late June.
Nepal and Way (2007a) conducted extensive research on both trails in
2003, undertaking a continuous survey of trail conditions for 18 km of the
BLT and 13 km of the FWT, as well as fixed-transect surveys, 39 for BLT
and 29 for FWT transects at intervals of 450 meters along both trails. Both
types of surveys were designed to detect changes in vegetation conditions
along the trails, comparing disturbed with undisturbed sites. The mea-
surements taken at fixed-transect sites included: trail width (m), cross-
section area (cm 2 ), maximum incision (cm), tread surface characteristics
(percentile estimates), soil penetration resistance (SPR) (tons ft 2-1 ) and
exposed rocks and roots (frequency). Other measurements included align-
ment, trail position, trail grade, soil texture, vegetation zone and vegeta-
tion cover. Of these measurements, five were viewed to be main ecological
impact indicators: trail width, cross section area, maximum incision, SPR
and exposed rocks and roots. Table 5.1 displays these measurements in
terms of the amount and severity of impact for both of the trails.
The above statistics suggest that the trails have different levels of
impact, with the impact being greater for Berg Lake Trail. However,
independent sample t tests revealed that there were only significant dif-
ferences of ecological impact between the two trails for cross-section
area and soil penetration resistance.
Trail impact was also detected from the continuous survey of both
trails using observation measurements such as running or standing
( Continued )
 
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