The science of visitor management in parks and protected areas: from verbal reports to simulation models

Visitor management in parks, wilderness and other protected areas requires information about visitor-environment interactions and, particularly, the distribution and flow of visitors in space and time. Such information is usually sketchy and based largely on the verbal reports of visitors. A review of recent psychological and neurological research and theory suggests that traditional verbal survey methods cannot in principle provide an adequate basis for models of human landscape navigation. We argue for more use of direct observation of visitor movements and the utility of travel simulation models. Simulation modelling of visitor flow can be helpful in making monitoring programs more efficient, in fine-tuning existing management programs, and in assessing the likely consequences of alternative future scenarios We review early efforts to simulate the flow of recreation use, describe several current modelling efforts and conclude with suggestions for a research and development effort.     

Icons under threat: Why monitoring visitors and their ecological impacts in protected areas matters

Summary   Visitation levels are on the rise in protected areas throughout the world. In response, many icon sites are showing signs of overuse and more protected-area managers report tourism and recreation as threats to sustainable management. Clearly, there is a growing need to assess (monitor) and manage visitors to mitigate their impacts. In this paper, we articulate why targeted visitor-impact monitoring matters and highlight how existing monitoring programmes fail to deliver the necessary information to protected-area managers. We suggest that the availability and quality of visitor data are currently insufficient to facilitate the development of proactive management strategies in most protected areas. We call for more scale-sensitive (time and space) collection of visitor load and environmental (response) data. Specifically, since icon sites (like waterfalls and mountain peaks) are the focus of visitor motivations and activities, we highlight the case for proactive assessment, management and reporting of condition at these sites. Ultimately, visitor trends will be influenced by visitor management. If visitor activities degrade the icon, the financial benefits of tourism and recreation to a protected area may not be sustainable. In addition, the conservation and protection objectives of the protected area will also not be met.     

Monitoring for management of conservation and recreation in Australian protected areas

Protected areas are key to conservation of biodiversity, and Australia is one of the world’s megadiverse regions. Monitoring programs provide the information to assess the state of conservation resources, the severity of threats and the success of management responses. Here we compare the management priorities, monitoring priorities and actual monitoring practices of protected area management agencies in Australia, using four sets of data at continental scale and five at a more restricted regional scale. We track changes over a period of several years and focus at successively finer levels of detail. At both continental and regional scales, most management plans emphasise fire, invasive species and visitor management; and most monitoring programmes refer to visitor numbers and impacts as well as species and ecosystems. There is only a weak match, however, between reported management priorities and actual monitoring programmes; and the effectiveness of management responses is rarely monitored. The level of detail in visitor monitor programmes varies considerably: most parks count visitors, but few know what those visitors do. Threats from fire and invasive species receive more attention that those from recreation. At regional scale, the proportion of parks with defined monitoring programmes and priorities increased significantly from 2003/2004 to 2006/2007. Whilst only a proportion of protected areas monitor endangered species populations, for those that do this is the parameter reported in most detail, with many parks reporting single records of single individuals. Some parks also maintain anecdotal records of rare species outside routine monitoring programs.     

Using geotagged photographs and GIS analysis to estimate visitor flows in natural areas

Protected area management requires detailed information about visitors’ travel patterns. Unfortunately, methods commonly applied to obtain this information (e.g. monitoring, simulation) are expensive and time consuming. As a result, for many protected areas worldwide there are no reliable data upon which management actions (e.g. trail maintenance, introduction of use limits) can be based. Today georeferenced material shared on the Internet (e.g. geotagged photographs, GPS tracks) provides a new valuable source of information about people's movements, though its low density (e.g. few geotagged photographs per unit area) in natural areas has discouraged applications in such contexts so far. We propose a new approach that uses geotagged photographs to identify popular locations, and a gravity model to estimate the volume of visitor flows from access points (e.g. parking lots, bus stops) to those locations. The model, which assumes volumes to be proportional to the popularity of access points and destinations, and inversely proportional to the travel time for going from one to the other, is set up in a GIS environment and calibrated by means of actual visitor counts over a set of locations in the study area.Results of a first application to the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage Site (Italy) are encouraging as the model provided good estimates and a consistent map of visitor flows. The method enables park managers to roughly estimate visitor flows over large trail networks with only limited field work required. Future applications may include the analysis of off-trail movements to predict the intensity of trampling.     

Deriving artificial models of visitors from dispersed patterns of use in the Sierra Nevada Wilderness, California

Natural resource managers are faced with a complex problem of understanding human use patterns and associated impacts in dispersed recreation wilderness settings. While conventional approaches to modelling have limited use in acquiring and understanding such complex associations, spatial simulation models have been proposed as an alternative. The purpose of this paper is to describe a project whose focus is on a dispersed recreation context of backpacking trips and commercial packstock operations in the John Muir Wilderness in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. This paper will discuss the data collection and synthesis to derive agent profiles and rules as a precursor to the development of a dynamic, agent based model that represents the spatial distribution of visitation patterns.     

Recreation ecology research in East Asia's protected areas: Redefining impacts?

Recreation ecology, the scientific study of visitor impacts and their effective management, has been developed largely in North America, Europe, and more recently in Australia, in response to growing impacts of visitor use to protected area resources. A body of literature has been accumulated that contributes to sustainable visitor management in protected areas. This paper traces the development of recreation ecology research in East Asia and examines the field's relevance to East Asia's protected natural areas which endure both a long history of human utilisation and contemporary recreation and tourism pressure, much of which originates from surrounding densely populated urban areas. The formative, expanding and strengthening stages of recreation ecology research in this region were identified through an extensive review of literature published in English and East Asian languages. Each of these three developmental stages was illustrated with examples and compared with the general state of research during the same period. Key challenges and opportunities for future recreation ecology research in the region are discussed in light of this review.     

Restoration of Breeding by Snowy Plovers Following Protection from Disturbance

Promoting recreation and preserving wildlife are often dual missions for land managers, yet recreation may impact wildlife. Because individual disturbances are seemingly inconsequential, it is difficult to convince the public that there is a conservation value to restricting recreation to reduce disturbance. We studied threatened western snowy plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) at a public beach (Sands Beach, Coal Oil Point Reserve) in Santa Barbara, California (USA) before and during a period when a barrier directed foot traffic away from a section of upper beach where snowy plovers roost. The barrier reduced disturbance rates by more than half. Snowy plovers increased in abundance (throughout the season) and their distribution contracted to within the protected area. Snowy plovers that were outside the protected area in the morning moved inside as people began using the beach. Experiments with quail eggs indicated an 8% daily risk of nest trampling outside the protected area. Before protection, plovers did not breed at Coal Oil Point. During protection, snowy plovers bred in increasing numbers each year and had high success at fledging young. These results demonstrate how recreational disturbance can degrade habitat for shorebirds and that protecting quality habitat may have large benefits for wildlife and small impacts to recreation.     

FARSITE火行为模型的原理、结构及其应用

应用空间直观火行为模型模拟大的时空尺度上的林火蔓延过程成为林火管理、规划和科学分析的有效工具。FARSITE(Fire Area Simulator)是一个基于热物理、燃烧学和试验理论为一体的空间直观火行为模型,它集成了现有的地表火、树冠火、飞火和火加速等子模型。FARSITE能够利用GIS和RS提供的空间数据,模拟大时空尺度的林火蔓延,模拟结果能够以地图形式输出,反映林火行为的瞬时状态。本文介绍了FARSITE模型的基本原理、结构和运行机制,并将其应用到丰林自然保护区林火蔓延模拟,以期为国内林火管理和火行为模型的开发提供参考。     

Exploring the implications of recreational disturbance on an endangered butterfly using a novel modelling approach

Site and wildlife managers globally are under increasing pressure to implement management strategies that address the negative implications of outdoor recreational activities on wildlife. For many rare and isolated species any anthropogenic activities that cause disturbance could potentially be detrimental to existing populations. Understanding how non-consumptive recreation can influence a species may therefore be critical to its preservation. We developed a novel approach to specifically address this need. Using a combination of field surveys and simulation modelling exercises, we (1) explored the responses of endangered Karner blue butterflies (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) to recreation, (2) assessed whether such responses influenced oviposition rate and/or host plant choice and (3) tested alternative management strategies that could alleviate the negative impacts of recreation. Our field surveys confirmed that Karner blues were sensitive to recreational disturbance. Butterflies flushed at similar speeds and distances from recreationists (2.2 m at 0.17 m/s), as they would from natural threats, such as predators (2.2 m at 0.19 m/s). Incorporating female response parameters into a simulation model revealed that regular disturbance could reduce egg laying potential and significantly restrict host plant choice, which in turn, could impact the butterfly’s population dynamics. However, we established that it was possible to effectively offset the implications of recreational disturbance using our simulation modelling approach. For example, extending Karner blue breeding habitat from trails and other public rights of way has the potential to alleviate such disturbance. Our study demonstrates that the potential impact of recreation on species of conservation concern should not be overlooked.     

Characterization of the high resolution ESR spectra of the methoxyl radical adducts of 5-(diethoxyphosphoryl)-5-methyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DEPMPO)

Spin-trapping investigators are largely limited by the instability of the radical adducts. Spin trap 5-(diethoxyphosphoryl)-5-methyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DEPMPO) forms very stable alkoxyl radical adducts. However, the presence of two chiral centers in the DEPMPO alkoxyl radical adduct results in two diastereomers with distinctive ESR spectra, which complicates the interpretation of the ESR spectra. We have analyzed the high resolution ESR spectra of the DEPMPO/_•OCH₃ radical adduct. DEPMPO/_•OCH₃ has been synthesized by the nucleophilic addition of alcohols to DEPMPO. The electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrum of DEPMPO/_•OCH₃ in oxygen-free methanol solution reveals superhyperfine structure with hyperfine coupling constants as small as 0.3 G. In order to simplify the analysis of the electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrum, we synthesized the DEPMPO/_•OCD₃ radical adduct. Computer simulation of the DEPMPO/_•OCD₃ ESR spectrum revealed two diastereomers. Hyperfine coupling constants of γ-protons and ₁₇O from the -OCH₃ group were also determined. ESR spectra of DEPMPO/_•OCH₃ in phosphate buffer have also been characterized. The presence of specific hyperfine couplings from the -OCH₃ group can be used for the unambiguous identification of the DEPMPO/_•OCH₃ radical adducts. We suggest that the analysis of high resolution ESR spectra can be used for the unambiguous characterization of DEPMPO radical adducts.     

国家公园研学旅行适宜性评价指标体系构建与实证研究

国家公园兼具自然生态系统保护与教育、游憩等社会文化功能,是自然性、体验性和课程性研学旅行的潜在活动场所之一。研学旅行为国家公园的教育、游憩价值实现提供路径参考。基于"内在价值-外在条件"分析框架,根据独立性、全面性、科学性及可操作原则,选择教育价值、游憩价值、环境条件、相关设施及服务等4个因子构建国家公园研学旅行适宜性评价指标体系,并以钱江源国家公园为例进行实证分析。结果表明,国家公园的研学旅行利用应首先考虑教育价值,在完善教育、游憩等相关设施及服务的同时兼顾环境承载力及利益相关者态度等环境条件,最后考虑游憩价值;钱江源国家公园的研学旅行利用具有良好的教育及游憩价值基础,中小学生的研学旅行需求与利益相关者的支持态度等提供了外在环境条件保障,但在教育、交通及安全等方面的设施及服务有待改善。研究结果可为国家公园及其他场地的研学旅行利用规划与管理提供参考。     

Clarification of the Relationship Between Free Radical Spin Trapping and Carbon Tetrachloride Metabolism in Microsomal Systems

It has been proposed that the C-phenyl-N-tert-butylnitrone/trichloromethyl radical adduct (PBN/^•CCl₃) is metabolized to either the C-phenyl-N-tert-butylnitrone/carbon dioxide anion radical adduct (PBN/^•CO₂⁻) or the glutathione (GSH) and CCl₄-dependent PBN radical adduct (PBN/[GSH-^•CCl₃]). Inclusion of PBN/^•CCl₃ in microsomal incubations containing GSH, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), or GSH plus NADPH produced no electron spin resonance (ESR) spectral data indicative of the formation of either the PBN/[GSH-^•CCl₃] or PBN/^•CO₂⁻ radical adducts. Microsomes alone or with GSH had no effect on the PBN/^•CCl₃ radical adduct. Addition of NADPH to a microsomal system containing PBN/^•CCl₃ presumably reduced the radical adduct to its ESR-silent hydroxylamine because no ESR signal was observed. The Folch extract of this system produced an ESR spectrum that was a composite of two radicals, one of which had hyperfine coupling constants identical to those of PBN/^•CCl₃. We conclude that PBN/^•CCl₃ is not metabolized into either PBN/[GSH-^•CCl₃] or PBN/^•CO₂⁻ in microsomal systems.     

Managing visitor access to seabird colonies: a spatial simulation and empirical observations

Managers of wildlife reserves have a range of tools available to them when considering the best way to provide visitor access while avoiding as many of the negative effects of human disturbance as possible. However, managers lack guidelines as to whether conservation interests are best met by spreading visitors thinly throughout a reserve or by aggregating them in a small area. Here I describe how relationships between disturbance impact and disturbance pressure (the dose–response curve) can be used to address this issue. I generate a spatial simulation of two different models of visitor distribution (one more aggregated than the other) and explicitly model disturbance impact for a variety of dose–response curves. I show that the optimal visitor distribution is likely to depend on the sensitivity of the species and the overall visitor pressure. Importantly, I find that in certain circumstances optimal management can shift from one management option to the other if visitor numbers cross a certain threshold. I use published relationships predicting nesting success of Common Guillemots Uria aalge and Black-legged Kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla to assess optimal management at three nature reserves in Scotland. Optimal management for Guillemots depends on the number of people and the distance between the people and the birds. At sites with high disturbance pressures, management should aim to aggregate visitors in as small an area as possible, whereas at sites with lower disturbance pressure, an even distribution of visitors is favoured. Kittiwake models were not generally accurate, and consequently only site-specific guidelines could be generated, where an even distribution was favoured.     

Monitoring options for visitor numbers in national parks and natural areas

Identifying the physical behaviours of visitors is an essential component of visitor impact management in protected areas. The fundamental baseline information required is visitor numbers, and particularly how these are distributed in time and space across the protected areas. However, obtaining such counts in a reliable and cost-effective manner has proven to be more difficult than commonly expected. Reasons for this difficulty are reviewed, the range of visitor monitoring options available to park managers are described, and the features that park managers want in their visitor counting tools are summarised. The management requirements for implementing and operating an effective monitoring system are also presented.     

Kinetics of the reactions of nitrogen dioxide with glutathione,cysteine, and uric acid at physiological pH

Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂^•) is a key biological oxidant. It can be derived from peroxynitrite via the interaction of nitric oxide with superoxide, from nitrite with peroxidases, or from autoxidation of nitric oxide. In this study, submicromolar concentrations of NO₂^• were generated in < 1 μs using pulse radiolysis, and the kinetics of scavenging NO₂^• by glutathione, cysteine, or uric acid were monitored by spectrophotometry. The formation of the urate radical was observed directly, while the production of the oxidizing radical obtained on reaction of NO₂^• with the thiols (the thiyl radical) was monitored via oxidation of 2,2′-azino-bis-(3-ethylthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid). At pH 7.4, rate constants for reaction of NO₂^• with glutathione, cysteine, and urate were estimated as 2 × 10⁷, 5 × 10⁷, and 2 × 10⁷ M⁻¹ s⁻¹, respectively. The variation of these rate constants with pH indicated that thiolate reacted much faster than undissociated thiol. The dissociation of urate also accelerated reaction with NO₂^• at pH > 8. The thiyl radical from GSH reacted with urate with a rate constant of 3 × 10⁷ M⁻¹ s⁻¹. The implications of these values are: (i) the lifetime of NO₂^• in cytosol is < 10 μs; (ii) thiols are the dominant ‘sink’ for NO₂^• in cells/tissue, whereas urate is also a major scavenger in plasma; (iii) the diffusion distance of NO₂^• is 0.2 μm in the cytoplasm and < 0.8 μm in plasma; (iv) urate protects GSH against depletion on oxidative challenge from NO₂^•; and (v) reactions between NO₂^• and thiols/urate severely limit the likelihood of reaction of NO₂^• with NO• to form N₂O₃ in the cytoplasm.     

The contemporary conservation reserve visitor phenomenon!

Visitors place a complex array of demands on conservation reserves, including provisions for recreation. Rising recreation demand includes a new suite of activities ranging from adventure racing, music events, and motorised activities to extreme sports. Policy implications raise questions anew: what is the fundamental purpose of conservation reserves—nature conservation or recreation or both, and where should the emphasis lie? There is a risk that the current and future emphasis appears to be on increased commercialisation, marketing of conservation reserves as music and/or sporting event venues, places where personal physical challenges can be undertaken alongside a mentality that celebrates human achievement rather than the appreciation of nature! Such a trend may de-emphasise visitor perceptions of conservation reserves as tools for nature conservation. The reported trend in recreational activity requires debate, policy direction and target areas need protected area management effectiveness evaluation to assess conservation implications.     

青海湖湿地生态系统服务价值评估

青海湖是我国最大的内陆高原咸水湖,为社会提供了多项生态系统服务．开展青海湖湿地生态系统服务价值评估能用直观的经济数据揭示青海湖湿地生态系统对受益者的直接贡献,使青海湖湿地生态保护被纳入经济效益权衡的决策分析中.本文根据青海湖湿地生态系统特征及其所在区域社会经济特征,确定了青海湖湿地生态系统最终服务价值评估指标体系,并以2012年为基础年,综合运用市场价值法、替代成本法、区域旅行费用模型、条件价值法等方法定量评估了青海湖湿地生态系统提供给受益者的生态经济价值.结果表明： 2012年青海湖湿地生态系统最终服务总价值为6749.08亿元,其中,水源涵养和气候调节价值分别为4797.57亿元和1929.34亿元,分别占总价值的71.1% 和 28.6%.对所评估的8项最终服务按其价值大小排序为:水源涵养>气候调节>休闲娱乐>非使用价值>释氧>原材料生产>固碳>食物生产.评估结果用直观的数字揭示了青海湖湿地生态系统对受益者的巨大贡献,不仅能提高管理者和公众的湿地保护认知,也为生态补偿标准制定提供了数据基础.评估指标体系为区分湿地生态系统中间服务（功能）和最终服务、开展湿地生态系统最终服务动态评估和优化管理提供了重要方向.     

本溪关门山国家森林公园游客行为特征

研究游客行为特征对于旅游资源的开发、管理以及旅游目的地的可持续发展具有重要的作用。以本溪关门山国家森林公园为研究对象,通过问卷调查的方法对游客的人口统计学特征、地域结构特征、一般行为特征、消费特征及感知特征进行了研究。结果表明:关门山国家森林公园的游客以较高学历的男性中青年为主;客源主要来自本省辽宁,并以沈阳、本溪和大连的游客为主,客源地理集中度指数为35.71;旅游的主要目的是观赏枫叶,出游时间大部分集中在每年"十一"黄金周期间,且半数以上为当日往返的短程游览者;游客偏好与家人一起出游的旅行方式,所选择的交通工具主要为自驾车和旅游专车;游客的消费结构不平衡,主要集中于景区门票和交通费,占总消费的56.7%;游客对景区的喜好度依次为龙门峡景区月台子景区小黄山景区夹砬子景区鸣翠谷景区。总的来说,游客满意度较高,有89.1%的游客愿意重游此地,游客最不满意的地方主要表现在景区卫生方面。基于调查研究结果,对关门山国家森林公园的开发建设和可持续发展提供了相关建议。     

温室秸秆不同还田量条件下DSSAT-CROPGRO-Tomato模型的调参与验证

为了探讨番茄生长模拟模型DSSAT-CROPGRO-Tomato能否准确模拟秸秆还田条件下北方日光温室番茄的生长发育和产量形成过程,基于2016年和2018年温室番茄小区试验数据对模型进行验证。试验设置4个秸秆还田量处理,分别为0(S₀)、1.5×10⁴(S₁)、3×10⁴(S₂)和4.5×10⁴kg·hm^-2(S₃)。利用GLUE参数估计模块获得不同方案相应的作物遗传参数,通过分析和对比番茄物候期、鲜果产量、最大叶面积指数、土壤水分、土壤无机态氮和地上干物质量的实测值与模拟值,验证模型模拟精度并确定最优方案。结果表明,参数PODUR(最优条件下最终果实负载所需光热时长)和SLAVR(比叶面积)的变异系数较大,分别为28.53%和14.13%。模型在2016年所有处理为参数估计方案时模拟精度最高,其ARE和nRMSE分别为10.33%和7.12%。模型对温室土壤水分、番茄生长和产量的模拟精度较高。留一交叉验证法体现模型对温室番茄产量总体误差在18.68%~21.95%。说明CROPGRO-Tomato模型可以较准确模拟秸秆不同还田量条件下沈阳日光温室番茄生长和产量形成过程。