Informal trail creation: hiking,trail running,and mountain bicycling in shortgrass prairie

This study considers initial impacts on vegetation cover caused by mountain bicycling, trail running, and hiking in a shortgrass prairie environment. Vegetation cover measurements were taken at multiple intervals following experimental recreational use on three uphill and three downhill trail segments. All three activities caused statistically significant increases in bare ground cover between the first baseline measurement and post-treatment sampling one year later. Short-term effects were more variable: walking and bicycling caused statistically significant increases in bare ground, but running did not. The study suggests that impacts to vegetation differ not just between uses, but also within a single type of recreational activity depending upon site-specific characteristics, and that the timing of use and recovery are important factors in informal trail creation. The rapid creation of trail impacts also has management implications, especially as recreational pressures increase and recreationists seek more challenging terrain and opportunities off-trail. This research suggests that the dynamics of trail formation from running deserve further attention and likely differ from hiking or mountain biking impacts.