Hikers = bicyclists
Canadian trail-erosion study
Study examines trail damage from biking, hiking
CBC WebPosted Fri Aug 17 11:43:18 2001
http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?category=SciTech&story=/news/2001/08/17/bikehike010817
http://www.uoguelph.ca/mediarel/01-08-16/biking.html
GUELPH, ONTARIO-- Hikers have long argued the deep treads of spinning mountain bike tires tear up more dirt on trails than a pair of hiking boots. But a University of Guelph study says this isn't true. Botanist Richard Reader and graduate student Eden Thurston studied trail use and found that with average amounts of activity, cycling and hiking have similar effects on terrain. Reader says little research has been done on the physical effects of mountain biking on the environment. "But we've found that hikers have the same effect as bikers do, regardless of the number of trips along the path." For the study, cyclists and hikers were asked to walk or ride down a four-metre-long track with no existing trail in Ontario's Boyne Valley Provincial Park. The impact on vegetation cover and soil exposure was measured at five different intensities of bike and foot traffic (from zero to 500 trips along a specific trail.) According to the data, the trail was most damaged during the first 25 trips and the extent of the damage was equal for hiking and for cycling. Vegetation cover was greatly reduced and soil left exposed. Recovery time The researchers said despite the damage done by the 500-pass trials, one year later, the trail environment had recovered almost 100 per cent. Reader says this means damage from hiking and cycling is reversible if management decisions are made to allow the trails to rest and recover.
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