modeling areal measures of campsite impacts on the
TRANSCRIPT
MODELING AREAL MEASURES OF CAMPSITE IMPACTS ON THE APPALACHIAN NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL TO ENHANCE ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY
Johanna Arredondo, PhD Student
Virginia Tech
THE FAILURES OF UNCONFINED
CAMPING 𝐴𝑔𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑡 =
𝑖=1
𝑁
𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑖
**An increase in site size OR the number of sites increase
aggregate impact
◦ Site expansion creates excessively large campsites,
◦ Site proliferation creates excessive #’s of unnecessary sites,
◦ Crowding/conflict occurs due to high campsite densities.
Sustainability is inclusive of RESOURCE, SOCIAL, AND MANAGERIAL
dimensions
Definition: A “sustainable” campsite can: accommodate the
intended type and amount of use over time without unacceptable
levels of expansion, degradation, maintenance, and social crowding
or conflict.
ECOLOGICAL/PHYSICAL SUSTAINABILITY
Once visitors are on the campsite, what qualities of the campsite will help limit resource impacts?
• Generally, a primary resource protection objective is to minimize the “aggregate” area of camping impact by minimizing campsite numbers and sizes.
• Ability of the campsite to contain visitor use and prevent campsite expansion or proliferation
• Ability of the campsite to withstand the impacts of permitted users
• Challenged alignments can be mitigated with various techniques: borders, facilities, permitting
• Level of impact during development stage appropriate for sensitivity of area
• Level of long term impact of campsite commensurate with landscape
Individual
Sites
Shelter
Sites
Group
Sites
McCargoe Cove Campground
Isle Royale National Park
The Importance of Topography!
(Marion and Farrell,
2002)
FIELD COLLECTED DATA
Assessment of inventory
indicators:Site expansion potential
Tree canopy cover
Use type
Use level
Offsite Rugosity
Offsite Woody Vegetation Density
Assessment of campsite
impact indicator:Total site area
Exposed soil
Vegetation ground cover on-and off-site
42 study
segments with
LiDAR data
37 downloaded
as DEMs
5 downloaded
as classified
point clouds and
interpolated to
DEMs
ZONAL STATISTICS TO BUFFER
Aspect
Slope
Soils
Slope
Curvature
Terrain Ruggedness Index
TPI (Landscape Scale)
TPI (Mid Scale)
TPI (Micro Scale)
Buffer
LASSO REGRESSION
FOR VARIABLE SELECTIONOnsite
Aspect
NLCD
Forest Cover Type
Landform
Level 4 Ecoregion
Canopy Cover
State
• Surrounding
Slope
TPI
TRI
StDev Slope
StDev Elev
• Distances
Water
Shelter
Vista
Toilet
Parking
AT
Other Site
• Other
Use Level
Use Type
Rugosity
Density of Woody Veg
Picnic Table
Stove Rock
OLS with chosen variables
To simplify further: removed
variables with p>0.05 in
succession from largest to smallest
REGRESSION MODELING RESULTS
Significant variables
Variables
Regression Models
Categories Site Size (m2)Area of Vegetation
Loss (m2)
Estimate p-value Estimate p-value
Campsite Type
Shelter 65.5 <.0001* 34.0 <.0003*
Campsite -20.9 0.0495* -5.5 0.4172
Side-hill -42.7 0.0073* -20.3 0.0327*
Road Site -2.0 0.9284 -8.3 0.5520
Offsite Terrain
>15% Slope (%)-0.7 <.0001* -0.3 0.0004*
Tree Cover (%) 0.4 0.0005*
Dist to Nearest
Site (m)-0.1 0.0024* -0.04 0.0029*
Rugosity
High -28.8 0.0015* -8.5 0.0986
Medium 5.4 0.4662 -3.1 0.4743
Low 23.4 0.0002* 11.7 0.0021*
Intercept 269.22 31.01
R-square 0.34 0.28
SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS: SUSTAINABLE CAMPSITES ARE
...CONSTRAINED BY TOPOGRAPHY
Campsites located in sloping terrain resist expansion and
effectively concentrate use to limit campsite size.
Most effective if a campsite is mostly surrounded by sloping
terrain
SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS: ROCK AND ROUGHNESS
A topographically rough landscape deters campers and
concentrates use
GIS measurements were not significant –possibly rockiness/terrain roughness on too fine a scale to be picked up by LiDAR or
interpolation methods
Regression Modeling Results
Significant variables that influence area of impact and
vegetation loss:
• Sloping Topography – sloping offsite terrain (>15%)
significantly deters campsite expansion
• Side-hill Campsites – significantly smaller than campsites or
shelter sites
• Rugosity – offsite rockiness discourages expansion
• Grasses –Grasses/sedges on sunny sites constrain campsite
expansion and increase vegetation cover
VISITOR CAMPSITE PREFERENCES
Identifying an ecologically sustainable campsite does little good
if visitors don’t find the attributes they are seeking.