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Vegetation associated with different walking track types
in the Kosciuszko alpine area, Australia
Wendy Hill, Catherine Marina Pickering*
School of Environmental and Applied Sciences, Griffith University, PMB 50 Gold Coast Mail Centre, Queensland 9726, Australia
Received 6 August 2004; revised 3 March 2005; accepted 12 April 2005
Available online 15 August 2005
Abstract
Tourism infrastructure such as walking tracks can have negative effects on vegetation including in mountain regions. In the alpine area
around continental Australia’s highest mountain, Mt Kosciuszko (2228 m), there is a range of walking tracks (paved, gravel and raised steel
mesh surfaces) in addition to an extensive network of informal/non-hardened tracks. Vegetation characteristics were compared between track
types on/under tracks, on the track verge, and in the adjacent native vegetation. For a raised steel mesh walkway there was no difference in
vegetation under the walkway, on the verge, and 3 m away. In contrast, for a non-hardened track there was 35% bare ground on the track
surface but no other detectable impacts. Gravel and paved tracks had distinct verges largely comprising bare ground and exotic species. For
non-hardened tracks there was an estimated 270 m2 of disturbance per km of track. For wide gravel tracks the combined area of bare ground,
exotic plants and gravel was estimated as 4290 m2 per km, while for narrow gravel tracks it was estimated as 2940 m2 per km. For paved
tracks there was around 2680 m2 per km of damage. In contrast, there was no detectable effect of raised steel mesh walkway on vegetation
highlighting some of the benefits of this surface over other track types.
q 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Tourism impacts; Alpine; Management
1. Introduction
There is increasing awareness that tourism and recreation
infrastructure can have a variety of direct and indirect
adverse environmental impacts (Buckley et al., 2000;
Worboys et al., 2001; Eagles et al., 2002; Newsome et al.,
2002; Pickering et al., 2003). However, there has been a lag
in research comparing environmental impacts of many
infrastructure options. For environmental management this
is critical information when selecting among infrastructure
options and may offset differences in direct economic costs
(Worboys et al., 2001).
Environmental managers of sites where walking is
popular, often have to select among a range of walking
track surfaces to replace existing unhardened tracks or when
introducing new routes. Tracks can result in linear
disturbance to soils, vegetation and animal movement.
0301-4797/$ - see front matter q 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2005.04.007
* Corresponding author. Tel.: C61 7 5552 8059; fax: C61 7 5552 8067.
E-mail address: [email protected] (C.M. Pickering).
The total area of disturbance can be quite large, particularly
for hardened tracks surfaces that replace vegetation.
Comparing the area of disturbed/replaced vegetation per
km of track allows managers to assess the potential damage
from different track surfaces. This type of information can
be important in the management of tourism including
infrastructure, particularly in sensitive vegetation of high
conservation value. One such site where a range of track
surface types have been used in the past is the alpine area
around Australia’s highest mountain, Mt Kosciuszko
(2228 m a.s.l.) (Worboys et al., 2001; Worboys and
Pickering, 2002; Pickering and Buckley, 2003).
Summer tourism and recreation in the Kosciuszko alpine
area is popular with estimates of between 65,000 and 100,
000 people visiting the area during the snow free period
each year (Johnston and Pickering 2001; Pickering and
Buckley, 2003; Johnston and Growcock, 2005). Day-
walking is the most common activity and a range of track
surfaces have been provided (Virtanen, 1993; AALC 2001;
Johnston and Growcock, 2005). Although some information
on the construction and maintenance costs of many of these
track types is available (AALC, 2001), information on the
relative environmental costs associated with their
Journal of Environmental Management 78 (2006) 24–34
www.elsevier.com/locate/jenvman
W. Hill, C.M. Pickering / Journal of Environmental Management 78 (2006) 24–34 25
construction and use is required (Worboys and Pickering,
2002). The extent to which different tracks are associated
with damage to native vegetation is important, for this and
other mountain protected areas. Vegetation and soils in
these region are often fragile and slow to recover from
disturbance (Costin, 1955; Clothier and Condon, 1968;
Virtanen, 1993; Korner, 1999; McDougall, 2001).
There are many kilometres of non-hardened, informal
tracks in the Kosciuszko alpine area (Virtanen, 1993; Arkle,
2000). Some are old horse trails from the grazing period
(w1830–1944), while others have developed more recently
as visitors leave hardened tracks to access other areas
(Virtanen, 1993; Worboys and Pickering, 2002). In addition,
a range of hardened track types has been provided, some of
which are upgrades of existing roads and tracks introduced
during the grazing period, while others have been
specifically provided for tourism by the New South Wales
National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), the agency
responsible for managing Kosciuszko National Park (Wor-
boys and Pickering 2003).
To provide quantitative information on the environmen-
tal effect of tracks vegetation characteristics associated with
four track surface types that have been used in the
Kosciuszko alpine area were compared.
2. Description of the study area/site
2.1. Site
The alpine area around Mt Kosciuszko consists of
100 km2 of true alpine vegetation, extending from the
treeline at around 1830 m to the top of Mt Kosciuszko
(Costin et al., 2000; Fig. 1). The soils are well developed
compared with alpine soils elsewhere around the world, and
are predominantly acidic organo-mineral soils classified as
alpine humus (Costin et al., 2000). The vegetation,
consisting of low growing shrubs, herbs and graminoids,
occurs in distinct communities, the most extensive of which
is tall alpine herbfield (Costin et al., 2000).
2.2. History of hardened tracks in the Kosciuszko
alpine area
The location and surface of some popular tracks in the
Kosciuszko alpine area are a consequence of previous land
use. For example the gravel Kosciuszko Summit Road was
constructed in 1906 to provide vehicular access for tourists
to Mt Kosciuszko, but was closed to public traffic in 1982
(Worboys and Pickering, 2002). Currently, between 5500
and 8500 people per year use this track. Since 1967 the track
has been maintained by the NPWS.
The other major route to Mt Kosciuszko is by a raised
steel mesh walkway, starting approximately 340 m beyond
the top of the Thredbo Chairlift Top Station and extending
to Rawson Pass, below the summit of Mt Kosciuszko
(Virtanen, 1993; Harrigan, 2001). This walkway, consisting
of un-galvanised ‘cut-corrugated grip’ steel mesh, was
constructed between 1982 and 1986 to alleviate multiple
tracking and severe erosion problems, and to prevent further
damage to the vegetation associated with the previous
unformed track (Worboys and Pickering, 2002). It is the
most popular route in the alpine area, with around 50,000
people using sections of this walkway (Arkle, 2000;
Johnston and Growcock, 2005).
Another popular track in the alpine area exists between
Charlotte Pass and Blue Lake. Around 5000–78,000 people
per year walk from Charlotte Pass to the Snowy River, a
distance of only 2 km, with fewer people going on to Blue
Lake and the Main Range (A. Growcock, Griffith
University, pers. comm. 2003; Fig. 1). Originally, a horse
trail from the grazing period, the track was upgraded by the
New South Wales Soil Conservation Service in 1964–1965
to provide vehicular access for stabilisation of areas of soil
erosion on the Main Range (Virtanen, 1993). To reduce
gravel loss along some sections of this track the NPWS laid
concrete pavers, in the early 1980s (Virtanen, 1993).
Concrete pavers were also used in the first section of the
track from the Thredbo Chairlift Top Station to the start of
the raised steel mesh walkway.
3. Methods
3.1. Vegetation sampling
Tall alpine herbfield vegetation (as defined by Costin
et al., 2000) was sampled at randomly selected sites on each
of the three hardened tracks detailed in Section 2.2 and
along a regularly used informal track during January–
February 2002 (see Fig. 1).
Vegetation characteristics were measured at three
locations in 50!150 cm quadrats with the long axis of the
quadrat parallel to the track: (1) on the track (or under the
steel mesh); (2) immediately adjacent to the track; and (3)
3 m away from the track in natural vegetation. Species
richness (native and exotic), and percentage overlapping
cover of bare ground or vegetation (native species, exotics,
graminoids, herbs and shrubs) were recorded. At each site,
the width of the track and if present, the width of a distinct
verge was measured. The verge was defined as the visibly
disturbed area immediately adjacent to the track, e.g. visible
evidence of exotics, bare areas, trampled vegetation, or
gravel fans. For the raised steel mesh walkway sites were
excluded if they were located over areas of the previous
rehabilitated informal track.
3.2. Analysis of the data
As the tracks measured differed in history and usage, the
association between each track type and vegetation was
tested in a series of specific a priori hypotheses. When
Fig. 1. Map of Kosciuszko alpine area showing location of sites and the different walking track types.
W. Hill, C.M. Pickering / Journal of Environmental Management 78 (2006) 24–3426
necessary, Tukey’s post hoc tests were used to compare
means. Cover values were arcsine square root transformed,
while count data (native and weed species richness) were
subjected to natural log transformations.
To determine if there were any inherent differences in the
native vegetation among the different tracks, a preliminary
comparison was made of the natural vegetation at each site
using the data from the quadrats 3 m away from the tracks.
The cover values for these quadrats were compared using a
Multi Dimensional Scaling ordination of the Bray–Curtis
dissimilarity measures using the package PRIMER v 5.2.2
on untransformed data. The ordination results showed no
clustering of quadrats within the track types indicating that
there was no inherent difference in the native vegetation
among track types.
To determine the effect of the unformed track and the
steel mesh walkway on vegetation separate One-way Split
Plot ANOVAs were performed in SPSS 10.0 for Windows,
with quadrat location as the slit plot. To determine if gravel
and paved walking tracks affected vegetation on the verges
compared to the natural vegetation, Two-way Split Plot
ANOVAs were performed. The fixed factor was track type
and the split plot was quadrat location (verge and 3 m away
from track).
To quantify the potential preference of taxa for verges a
Preference Index (Liddle, 1997) was calculated for the most
common taxa. The index equals the number of verge
quadrats in which a species occurred divided by the total
number of verge and adjacent natural quadrats in which the
species occurred.
W. Hill, C.M. Pickering / Journal of Environmental Management 78 (2006) 24–34 27
3.3. Area affected by tracks
To determine the amount of alpine area currently affected
by tracks, the approximate length of each track surface type
was estimated using GIS mapping techniques. The width of
each track surface type and disturbed verge was calculated
by taking the average of the widths of the tracks and verges
as measured at three randomly selected places at each site
sampled. Based on these estimates of the length and width
of each track type the total area occupied by the track
surface and verge were calculated.
Using the vegetation quadrat data it was then possible to
calculate the proportion of the track surface and verge
occupied by weeds and bare area. This enabled an estimate
of the total area affected by tracks to be obtained, that is the
total area without vegetation (bare/hardened surface)
together with the total area covered by weeds on the track
and verge.
4. Results
4.1. Vegetation
Out of the 74 species recorded, six were exotics: Sheep
Sorrel (Acetosella vulgaris); Dandelion (Taraxacum offici-
nale); Flatweed (Hypochoeris radicata); Clover (Trifolium
repens); and the grasses Brown-top Bent (Agrostis
capillaris) and Swamp Bent (Agrostis sp.) (Table 1). The
most diverse families were Poaceae (11 species), Asteraceae
(20 species) and Cyperaceae (seven species).
4.2. Unformed track
The major effect of the unformed track was vegetation
loss on the track surface (Table 2; Fig. 2a). As hypothesised
there was significantly more bare area on the unformed track
(35%) than on the verge (5%) or 3 m away in the native tall
alpine herbfield (3%). Both the verge and the natural
vegetation had very little bare ground (Table 2; Fig. 2a).
Correspondingly, there was significantly less native species
cover on the track than on the verge or 3 m away, but no
difference in this measure between the verge and 3 m away
(Table 2; Fig. 2b). The loss of native vegetation cover on the
track did not result in a reduction in native species richness
(Table 2; Fig. 2c). Nor did it result in exotic species
establishment, with no exotic species found on the track,
adjacent to the track, or 3 m into the natural vegetation
(Fig. 2d and e).
There was more shrub cover 3 m away from track (45%)
compared to the verge (6%) and on the track (0%) (Fig. 3a).
This may reflect a common pattern of walkers avoiding
shrubs, and thereby concentrating impacts on lower growing
vegetation (Liddle, 1997). There was no difference in the
proportion of herbs and graminoids on the track, on the
verge or 3 m away from the track (Table 2; Fig. 3a).
4.3. Raised steel mesh walkway
The raised steel mesh walkway was not associated with
increased bare areas (Fig. 2a) or alterations in native species
cover or richness (Fig. 2b and c) or exotic cover or richness
(Table 2; Fig. 2d and e). There was almost complete native
species cover in all raised steel mesh walkway quadrats
(Table 2; Fig. 2b). Conversely, there were almost no bare
areas under the track (3%), on the verge (2%) and 3 m away
(2%)(Fig. 2a).
Vegetation in all quadrats was dominated by graminoids
with relatively low cover of shrubs at all locations and a
trend for more herbs on the verge than either under the track
or 3 m away (Fig. 3b).
Only one exotic species was recorded under or near
the raised steel mesh walkway: Rumex, Sheep Sorrel
(Acetocella vulgaris). This naturalised weed is relatively
common in tall alpine herbfields, where it is associated
with natural or human disturbance (Mallen-Cooper,
1990; Costin et al., 2000). It was found at low
frequencies, and did not show any preference for the
walkway (Table 1).
4.4. Gravel and paved track
The gravel and paved tracks were associated with clear
differences in vegetation. Verges were dominated by exotics
and extensive bare areas, compared to the native vegetation
(Table 3, Fig. 2a, d and e). Both track types had more exotic
species diversity on the verge than in the native vegetation,
with a trend for more exotic species to be found on paved
than gravel track verges (Table 3; Fig. 2e). There was
significantly more exotic cover on the verges of both track
types compared with the natural vegetation. Gravel tracks
had almost 20% exotic cover on the verge, compared to only
3% in the adjacent natural vegetation. Paved tracks had 39%
exotic cover on verges, compared with just 4% in the
adjacent natural vegetation (Fig. 2d). There was no
significant difference between the track types in cover of
exotics (Table 3).
There were statistically significantly fewer native
species on verges, compared to the native vegetation,
for both gravel and paved tracks, but no effect of track
type on native species richness (Table 3, Fig. 2c).
Similarly, both gravel and paved tracks had less cover of
natives on the verge compared with native vegetation;
with no difference between track types in native species
cover (Table 3, Fig. 2b). There was statistically
significantly more bare area on the verge of both the
paved and gravel tracks than in the native vegetation,
with no significant difference between paved and gravel
tracks in bare area (Table 3; Fig. 2a). There was
significantly less cover of native graminoids and herbs on
the verge of the gravel and paved tracks compared to
natural vegetation, due to increased cover of exotics and
bare patches in these quadrats (Table 3; Fig. 3c and d).
Table 1
Number of quadrats in which plant species were recorded: (1) under/on tracks, (2) on track verges and (3) 3 m from track in tall alpine herbfields, for alking track types in the Kosciuszko alpine area in
January 2002
Family Species Common name Unformed Raised walkway ravel Pavers
1 2 3 1 2 3 2 3 1 2 3
*Polygonaceae Acetosella vulgaris (syn.
Rumex acetocella)
Rumex, sheep sorrell 3 2 1 5 4 4 4
*Poaceae Agrostis capillaris Brown-top bent 1
*Poaceae Agrostis sp. Swamp bent 4
*Asteraceae Taraxacum officinale Dandelion 3 3 5 1
*Asteraceae Hypochoeris radicata Catsear, flatweed 4 2
*Fabaceae Trifolium repens White clover 2 6 6
Apiaceae Aciphylla simplicifolia Mountain aciphyll 1
Poaceae Agrostis muelleriana Mueller’s bent 1
Rubiaceae Asperula gunnii Woodruff 2 1 1 2 3 4
Liliaceae Astelia psychrocharis Pineapple grass 1
Myrtaceae Baeckea sp. 2 1 1
Asteraceae Brachyscome obovata Baw baw daisy 4 6 3 1 2
Asteraceae Brachscome spathulata
subsp. spathulata
Spoon daisy 1 1
Brassicaceae Cardamine robusta Snow bitter cress 1
Cyperaceae Carex breviculmis Short-flower dryland sedge 2 1 2 3 2 1 1
Cyperaceae Carex gaudichaudiana Tufted sedge 2 4 2 1 1 1 1
Cyperaceae Carex sp. 3 3 4 1 1 4
Cyperaceae Carex cephalotes Button sedge 1
Cyperaceae Carex hebes Tufted sedge 1 2 2
Asteraceae Celmisia costiniana Herbfield sedge 1 4 4 2 3 4 8 1 3
Asteraceae Celmisia pugioniformis Dagger-leaf celmisia 1 2 2
Gentianaceae Chionogentias muelleri-
ana subsp. alpestris
Muellers snow gentian 1 2 2 1 1
Asteraceae Craspedia alba Dwarf billy button 3 1 1
Asteraceae Craspedia aurantia Orange billy button 2 2 1 5
Asteraceae Craspedia costiniana Hairy billy button 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1
Asteraceae Craspedia maxgrayi Woolly billy button 2 2 3 1 2 1
Poaceae Deyeuxia carinata Slender bent-grass 2 4
Apiaceae Diplaspis nivis Snow pennywort 1
Restionaceae Empodisma minus Spreading rope-rush 5 6 6 1 4
Epacridaceae Epacris glacialis Bog heath 5 3 1 1 3
Epacridaceae Epacris microphylla Coral heath 1 3 1
Onagraceae Epilobium gunnianum Gunn’s willow herb 1 2 1
Asteraceae Erigeron nitidus Sticky fleabane 1 1 1
Asteraceae Erigeron sp. 1
Asteraceae Euchiton nitidulus Shining cudweed 1 1 1 1 3 3
Asteraceae Euchiton fordianus Ford’s cudweed 1
Scrophulaceae Euphrasia collina var.
diversicolor
Variable eyebright 1 3 2 1 2
Asteraceae Ewartia nubigena Silver ewartia 1 1 1
Poaceae Festuca rubra Red fescue 1
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four w
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1
Geraniaceae Geranium potentilloides Alpine swamp crane’s-bill 1 1
Proteaceae Grevillea australis Alpine grevillea 1
Epacridaceae Leucopogon montanus Snow-beard heath 1 1
Cyperaceae Isolepsis aucklandica Slender club-rush 2
Cyperaceae Isolepsis sp. 2 3
Juncaceae Luzula sp. 1 1 1 1
Juncaceae Luzula alpestris Mountain woodrush 1 1 1 1 1
Asteraceae Leucochrysum albicans
subsp. alpinum
Alpine sunray 1
Juncaceae Luzula novae-cambria Rock woodrush 1 1
Violaceae Melicytus sp. Woody violet 1 1 4 2 1
Asteraceae Microseris lanceolata Native dandelion 1 1 2 1 4 3
Portulacaceae Neopaxia australasica White purslane 1
Apiaceae Oreomyrrhis brevipes Rock caraway 1 1 5 5 4 1 1
Apiaceae Oreomyrrhis eriopoda Australian caraway 4 3 4 5
Epacridaceae Pentachondra pumila Carpet heath 2 1 2
Thymelaceae Pimelea alpina Alpine rice flower 1 1 2 1 1 3
Plantaginaceae Plantago muelleri Plantago 1
Poaceae Poa costiniana Prickly snow grass 4 5 6 4 4
Poaceae Poa fawcettiae Smooth blue snow grass 6 7 1 6
Poaceae Poa hiemata Soft snow grass 8 9 4 1
Poaceae Poa saxicol Rock poa 4 3 2 1
Orchidaceae Prasophyllum sp. Tadgell’s leek orchid 1 2 1 1 1
Orchidaceae Prasophyllum tadgellia-
num
1
Ranunculaceae Ranunculus gunnianus Gunn’s alpine buttercup 2 1 2 1
Ranunculaceae Ranunculus muelleri Felted buttercup 1 1
Asteraceae Senecio gunnii Gunn’s groundsel 1
Poaceae Rytidosperma australe Snowpatch grass 1 1
Asteraceae Senecio pinnatifolius var.
pleiocephalus
Highland groundsel 3 2
Asteraceae Senecio pectinatus Alpine groundsel 1 1
Caryophyllaceae Scleranthus biflorus Twin-flower knawel 2 2 2 2
Sphagnum Moss 1 2 4 4 2
Stackhousiaceae Stackhousia pulvinarus Alpine stackhousia 1 1
Poaceae Trisetum spicatum subsp.
australiense
Bristle grass 1
Violaceae Viola betonicifolia subsp.
betonicifolia
Showy violet 3 2 4 2 2 4 2
*Exotics. Vegetation was sampled at nine sites along an unformed track; seven sites along the raised steel mesh walkway ten along gravel tracks and ten along paved tracks.
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Table 2
Results from One-way Split Plot ANOVAs first comparing vegetation and bare areas among quadrats under, on verge and 3 m away for unformed walking
tracks and then comparing quadrats for the raised steel mesh-walking track in the Kosciuszko alpine area
Variable Quadrat location
Unformed walking track Raised steel mesh walking track
d.f. F P d.f. F P
Native species richness 2 0.124 0.884 2 3.056 0.085
Native species cover 2 11.590 0.001 2 1.347 0.297
Bare area cover 2 11.85 0.001 2 0.559 0.586
Graminoid cover 2 2.234 0.139 2 1.187 0.318
Herb cover 2 0.577 0.573 2 2.926 0.092
Shrub cover 2 7.213 0.006 2 0.371 0.697
W. Hill, C.M. Pickering / Journal of Environmental Management 78 (2006) 24–3430
The preference index identified verge specific taxa
including the two exotics Agrostis sp. and Hypochoeris
radicata along with the native Senecio pinnatifolius and
Carex sp (Table 4). There were also taxa that tended to
occur in the native vegetation and not on the verge including
RaisedPaversUnformedGravel
Bar
e/ha
rden
ed a
rea
(%)
100
80
60
40
20
0
RaisedPaversUnformedGravel
Nat
ive
spec
ies
rich
ness
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
RaisedPaversUnformedGravel
Exo
tic s
peci
es r
ichn
ess
4
3
3
2
2
1
1
0
(a) (b
(d(c)
(e)
Fig. 2. Mean and standard error for measures of vegetation: (a) bare/hardened are
species cover (%); and (e) exotic species richness associated with four track types
adjacent to track; (B) 3 m from track). RaisedZRaised steel mesh walkway.
the shrubs Pimelea alpina and Epacris glacialis, the herbs
Craspedia aurantia, Microseris lanceolata and Celmisia
costiniana along with the graminoids Empodisma minus,
and Poa costiniana.
RaisedPaversUnformedGravel
Nat
ive
spec
ies
cove
r (%
) 100
80
60
40
20
0
RaisedPaversUnformedGravel
Exo
tic s
peci
esco
ver
(%)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
100
)
)
a (%); (b) native species cover (%); (c) native species richness; (d) exotic
in the alpine area of Kosciuszko National Park, NSW. ((,) on track; (C)
Shrub HerbGraminoid
Cov
er (
%)
for
unfo
rmed
trac
k
100
80
60
40
20
0ShrubHerbsGraminoidsC
over
(%
) fo
r ra
ised
ste
el m
esh
wal
kway 100
80
60
40
20
0
ShrubsHerbsGraminoid
Cov
er (
%)
for
grav
el w
alki
ng tr
ack
100
80
60
40
20
0Shrub HerbGraminoid
Cov
er (
%)
forp
aved
wal
king
trac
k
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
100
(a) (b)
(d)(c)
Fig. 3. Mean and standard error of area of quadrats (%) covered by graminoids, herbs and shrubs along walking tracks in Kosciuszko alpine area in January
2002. (a) Unformed walking track; (b) raised walkway; (c) Gravel walking tracks; and (d) paved walking tracks. ((,) on track; (C) adjacent to track; (B) 3 m
from track). Note for the paved and gravel surfaced tracks only the verge and adjacent natural vegetation values were graphed.
W. Hill, C.M. Pickering / Journal of Environmental Management 78 (2006) 24–34 31
4.5. Area affected by tracks
There are approximately 107 km of unformed walking
tracks in the alpine area giving a total disturbed area of 28,
402 m2, or 266 m2 per km of unformed track (Table 5). There
appear to be no exotic species associated with the unformed
track, with disturbance solely through creation of bare ground.
There are 3.96 km of raised steel mesh walkway
(Table 5). Although there were some bare areas and a
very small area of exotic cover under this walkway it was
equivalent to the natural vegetation (Table 5). Even
ascribing all exotic plants and bare area under the walkway
to the impact of the walkway, this only gives an estimate of
224 m2 of bare area, and 21 m2 of exotics associated with
the surface of this walkway. As there was no visible area of
disturbance on the edge of the raised walkway, there was no
verge effect. Therefore, the total area of potential
disturbance associated with this walkway was estimated as
244 m2, or 62 m2 per km of walkway (Table 5).
The total length of gravel track was estimated at 13.
70 km, of which just over half (7.80 km) is the Summit
Road (Table 5). The total area of non-native vegetation
cover (exotics or bare area) associated with this road was
33,580 m2, or 4290 m2 per km. Other gravel tracks are
narrower, resulting in an estimated 17,380 or 2940 m2 per
km of track. The total area of native vegetation estimated as
lost for all gravel tracks in the Kosciuszko alpine area is
50,960 m2.
There were 2.30 km of concrete paver track, giving an
estimated total area of disturbance associated with pavers of
3170 m2 or 2680 m2 per km of track (Table 5).
5. Discussion
Protected area tourism destinations including those in
mountain regions should have tourism infrastructure that is
socially acceptable and environmentally and economically
sustainable (Worboys et al., 2001; Eagles et al., 2002;
Newsome et al., 2002). A common problem in areas where
walking is popular is that informal, unhardened tracks
develop and are used. Currently, there are over 107 km of
unformed track in the Kosciuszko alpine area potentially
creating around 28,402 m2 of disturbed or lost native
vegetation. Research into trampling impacts indicates that
relatively few passes by walkers can cause prolonged and
sustained damage particularly for fragile mountain veg-
etation (Cole, 1993; Liddle, 1997; Whinam et al., 2003;
Whinam and Chilcott, 2003). In Australia, around 200
passes by walkers is enough to damage alpine herbfields,
including flattening vegetation, increased litter and bare
area formation (Growcock and Pickering, 2002a,b; Whinam
Table 3
Results from Two-way Split Plot ANOVAs comparing two tracks types (gravel and pavers) in the Kosciuszko alpine area
Native sp. richness Native cover Exotic sp. richness Exotic cover
d.f. F P d.f. F P d.f. F P d.f. F P
Quadrat location 1 10.658 0.005 1 40.787 0.000 1 16.603 0.001 1 18.908 0.000
Track type 1 0.077 0.785 1 0.879 0.357 1 4.122 0.058 1 0.077 0.785
Quadrat location*
track type
1 0.000 1.000 1 0.055 0.818 3 0.053 0.820 1 1.440 0.247
Bare area cover Graminoid cover Herb cover
d.f. F P d.f. F P d.f. F P
Quadrat location 1 5.137 0.037 1 17.385 0.001 1 23.884 0.000
Track type 1 0.151 0.702 1 0.113 0.742 1 0.043 0.837
Quadrat location* track type 1 1.195 0.290 1 0.112 0.104 3 0.000 0.999
Fixed factor was track type (gravel walking tracks and paved walking tracks). Split plot was quadrat location (verge and 3 m away in tall alpine herbfield).
sp.ZSpecies.
W. Hill, C.M. Pickering / Journal of Environmental Management 78 (2006) 24–3432
and Chilcott, 2003). For these bare areas vegetation
recovery is sometimes only possible where soil loss has
not exceeded a threshold level. Beyond this threshold,
further erosion can occur even in the absence of further use
till bedrock is reached (Johnston et al., 2002; Whinam and
Chilcott, 2003).
To minimise impacts of unformed tracks such as those
found in this study, as well as those identified in other
Table 4
Preference for verge quadrats among taxa occurring in four or more verge and ad
Species Common name Gravel
Verge Natural
Agrostis sp.* Swamp bent 4
Hypochoeris radicata* Catsear, flatweed 4
Senecio pinnatifolius var.
pleiocephalus
Highland groundsel 3
Carex sp. 1 1
Taraxacum officinale * Dandelion 3 3
Viola betonicifolia subsp.
betonicifolia
Showy violet
Craspedia costiniana Hairy billy button 1 1
Trifolium repens * White clover 2
Acetosella vulgaris (syn.
Rumex acetocella)*
Rumex, sheep sorrell 5 4
Carex gaudichaudiana Tufted sedge 1 1
Craspedia maxgrayi Woolly billy button 1
Epilobium gunnianum Gunn’s willow herb 1
Euchiton nitidulus Shining cudweed 3 3
Oreomyrrhis eriopoda Australian caraway 4 3
Scleranthus biflorus Twin-flower knawel
Sphagnum Moss 4 4
Poa fawcettiae Smooth blue snow grass 6 7
Asperula gunnii Woodruff 2
Deyeuxia carinata Slender bent-grass 2 4
Pimelea alpina Alpine rice flower 1
Craspedia aurantia Orange billy button 2
Microseris lanceolata Native dandelion 1 4
Celmisia costiniana Herbfield sedge 8
Empodisma minus Spreading rope-rush 4
Epacris glacialis Bog heath 1
Poa costiniana Prickly snow grass 4
Preference indexZ# verge quadrats species recorded/total # of verge and natural
studies (Cole, 1993; Liddle, 1997; Growcock and Pickering,
2002a,b; Newsome et al., 2002; Whinam et al., 2003;
Whinam and Chilcott, 2003) managers can: (1) close
unformed tracks and/or (2) provide active educational
campaigns to encourage off-track walkers to reduce impacts
by spreading out, or (3) harden the surface (Liddle, 1997;
Worboys et al., 2001; Newsome et al., 2002). Track
hardening can be expensive and may create additional
jacent natural quadrats of gravel and paved tracks
Pavers Index # quadrats
Verge Natural
1.00 4
2 1.00 6
2 1.00 5
4 0.83 6
5 1 0.67 12
4 2 0.67 6
2 1 0.60 5
6 6 0.57 14
4 4 0.53 17
1 1 0.50 4
2 1 0.50 4
2 1 0.50 4
0.50 6
4 5 0.50 16
2 2 0.50 4
2 0.40 10
1 6 0.35 20
3 4 0.33 9
0.33 6
1 3 0.20 5
1 5 0.13 8
3 0.13 8
1 3 0.08 12
0.00 4
3 0.00 4
4 0.00 8
quadrats species occurred in. *Zexotic species.
Tab
le5
Est
imat
eso
fK
osc
iusz
ko
alp
ine
area
affe
cted
by
dif
fere
nt
trac
ksu
rfac
ety
pes
Len
gth
of
trac
ks
Wid
th(m
)T
ota
lar
ea(m
2)
%b
are
gro
und
or
har
den
edsu
rfac
e
cov
er
%ex
oti
cco
ver
To
tal
area
wit
ho
ut
veg
etat
ion
(m2)
To
tal
area
exo
tics
(m2)
To
tal
area
of
dis
-
turb
ance
(m2)
mK
mT
rack
Ver
gea
Tra
ckV
erg
eT
rack
Ver
ge
Tra
ckV
erg
eT
rack
Ver
ge
Tra
ckV
erg
eT
ota
lp
erk
m
Un
form
edb
10
,67
33
10
6.7
30
.65
0.3
66
9,3
76
.35
76
,84
7.6
53
5.4
05
.00
0.0
00
.00
24
,55
9.2
33
84
2.3
80
.00
0.0
02
8,4
01
.61
26
6.1
0
Rai
sed
stee
lm
esh
39
57
3.9
61
.80
0.0
07
12
1.7
20
.00
3.1
41
.71
0.2
90
.29
22
3.6
20
.00
20
.65
0.0
02
44
.28
61
.74
Gra
vel
(Su
mm
itR
d)
78
25
7.8
34
.03
0.4
43
1,5
36
.22
68
55
.02
99
.80
10
.90
0.0
01
9.8
93
1,4
73
.14
74
7.2
00
.00
13
63.4
63
3,5
83
.80
42
91
.66
Pav
ers
23
00
2.3
02
.27
0.4
75
21
9.3
12
15
7.6
59
9.4
05
.89
0.0
03
9.6
45
18
8.0
01
27
.09
0.0
08
55
.29
61
70
.38
26
82
.46
Oth
erG
ravel
trac
ks
59
08
5.9
12
.60
0.5
61
5,3
62
.02
66
52
.94
99
.80
10
.90
0.0
01
9.8
91
5,3
31
.30
72
5.1
70
.00
13
23.2
71
7,3
79
.74
29
41
.50
aW
idth
of
ver
geZ
dis
turb
edv
erg
e(e
vid
ence
of
wee
ds,
ero
sion
,bar
ear
ea,g
rav
elfa
ns,
etc.
).N
ote
no
dis
turb
edv
erg
ere
cord
edfo
rra
ised
stee
lm
esh
wal
kw
ay,t
hu
sth
ere
isn
oes
tim
ate
of
area
of
dis
turb
edv
erg
e.b
Incl
ud
esw
ide
ran
ge
of
‘foo
tpad
’tr
ack
sin
alp
ine
area
,in
clu
din
gso
me
that
exte
nd
into
sub
alp
ine
(see
Fig
.1).
W. Hill, C.M. Pickering / Journal of Environmental Management 78 (2006) 24–34 33
environmental problems depending on vegetation type and
the track surface material used.
There are three issues associated with using gravel and
paved tracks. First, native vegetation is replaced with a
hardened surface, with a potential 11- to 20-fold decrease in
vegetation where an unformed track of the type measured
here is replaced with a gravel or paved track. Second, tracks
can provide habitat for exotics with between 20 and 40% of
the verge comprising exotics, some of which appear to be
verge specific, while others have spread into adjacent native
vegetation. Third, gravel and pavers have high removal and
rehabilitation costs with rehabilitation alone costing O$160
AUD per m2 (Johnston, 1998).
Some of the negative effects of the paved and gravel
tracks documented in this study may be due to the history of
the specific tracks measured and may not occur for other
gravel and paver tracks in this or other areas. However,
some issues are generic to these track types: such as the need
to remove native vegetation during track construction and
the high costs of removing the tracks if required. In addition,
distinct exotic and bare area verges are also forming next to
the most recently installed gravel tracks (Good, R. NPWS,
pers com. 2003).
Plants found on the gravel and paver track verges include
species that are considered part of an international
‘trampling flora’ (Liddle, 1997). This includes Taraxacum
officinale, Trifolium repens and Hypochoeris radicata:
species that are often found on tracks and road edges in
Europe, North America and South America (Liddle, 1997).
In the Australian Alps, soils along tracks and road verges
have been found to differ from soils under adjacent native
vegetation (Johnston and Johnston, 2004). Although
currently untested, it has also been suggested that lime
leaching out of the concrete pavers may alter soils
contributing to the establishment and growth of weed
species on the verge.
The results of this research indicate that a more
environmentally sustainable track option could be raised
steel mesh. It appears to have had limited negative impact
during its construction and use with similar vegetation under
the track, adjacent to the track and 3 m away. Therefore, this
walkway does not appear to require control of exotic plants
on the verges, unlike the gravelled and paved tracks. Also
the possible removal of the walkway is likely to be less
problematic, as a full cover of native species is already
present under the walkway. Finally, installation of the
walkway does not require the types of expensive drainage
work associated with gravel and paved tracks.
There have been some interesting and unanticipated
effects of the walkway. Soil temperatures are slightly
warmer and conditions more humid often resulting in more
prolific and taller vegetation (S.W. Johnston, Australian
National University, pers. comm. 2002). Also, it has been
noted that the vulnerable native Broad Toothed Rat
(Mastacomys fuscus) uses the area under the walkway as
W. Hill, C.M. Pickering / Journal of Environmental Management 78 (2006) 24–3434
a runway potentially reducing the potential for predation by
foxes (K. Green, NPWS, pers. comm. 2002).
6. Conclusion
Information about the impacts of different track types on
vegetation is important for regions having high conservation
values, with increasing use as tourism destinations, and
having a slow capacity to recover from disturbance. The
raised steel mesh walkway used in the Kosciuszko alpine
area appears to result in a small environmental footprint on
the native vegetation compared to that of gravelled and
paved tracks. Therefore, such track types should be the
preferred option in this and other areas experiencing high
levels of tourism use.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Tanya Fountain for field assistance, Michael
Arthur for statistical advice, NSW National Parks and
Wildlife Service for site access and for those who provided
comments on this manuscript. This research was supported
by the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable
Tourism, Griffith University.
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