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Citation for publication number
266:
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Cole, David N. 1995. Disturbance of natural vegetation by camping: experimental applications of low-level stress. Environmental Management 19(3): 405-416.
Leopold
Publication Number 266
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Abstract:
Previously undisturbed sites in four different vegetation types were camped on for 1 night and for 4 nights. Changes in vegetation cover and vegetation height were measured after camping and 1 year later. Results are presented separately for different campsite zones--parts of the site where campers slept, cooked meals, and stored their packs. Just 1 night of camping was sufficient to cause evident impact in all four vegetation types, although the amount of impact varied significantly between zones and between vegetation types. Vegetation impact on campsites used 4 nights was generally less than twice as severe as impact on the sites used 1 night. The effects of camping on vegetation were also predicted for 12 other vegetation types on the basis of vegetational responses to experimental trampling. These results suggest that impact can almost always be minimized by confining camping to a small number of campsites instead of dispersing use across many campsites.
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