Long-Term Research and Its Monitoring of Trail Impacts: A Case Study of Tataka Trail, Yushan National Park, Taiwan
登山步道游憩冲击之长期监测--以玉山国家公园塔塔加步道为例

This study was conducted to investigate and monitoring the trail impacts caused by visitors' trampling.The Tataka Trail of Yushan National Park located in central Taiwan was selected as an example.In addition to the Index of Vegetation Impact(IVI),acquired through combing cover reduction(CR),floristic dissimilarity(FD) and height reduction(HR) of the indicator plant(Yushania niitakayamensis),was taken as a synthetic indicator for monitoring the extent of vegetational change,the amount of soil erosion on trail transects was adopted as indicator for trail degradation.The results of monitoring carried out from 1991 to 2004 revealed the following conclusions:1)Visitors are obviously concentrated on holidays,it leads to serious extent of vegetation impact and soil erosion caused by visitors' trampling in Tataka recreation area;2)The extent of IVI on trailside of Tataka trail was as high as 75%,and the amount of soil erosion of trail transect per year was 338.7cm~3/cm;3)Using the change of trail transect area as an indicator for estimating the degree of trail erosion considerably accords with the use of the Index of Vegetation Impact(IVI).Both parameters should be the easy and practical indicators respectively for monitoring the extent of recreational impacts on alpine ecosystem;4)Yushania niitakayamensis,a dwarf bamboo,was the most resistant and resilient undergrowth growing on simulated trails of Tataka grassland,and Miscanthus transmorrisonensis was the next.Some suggestions for management were offered to minimize the trampling impacts of the trail.