Recreational impacts on European Sites 2

Recreational impacts on European Sites (2) Durwyn Liley

Impacts of Recreation • Damage – trampling, erosion, vegetation wear, vandalism • Fire • Contamination – eutrophication, alien species • Disturbance – habitat loss, energetic costs, stress • Management issues – hostility to tree felling, resources

Approximately 36ha (3.1% of site) is track or path

Nightjar density and habitat

Nightjar density (per ha)

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0 C le a rfe ll

C onife r

De ciduous

Dry he a th

Mix he a th

W e t he a th

Young conife r

Nightjar density in relation to predicted visitor numbers within sites

Responses by activity

Numbers next to activity give number of observations. Only observations where birds present and within 200m included. 1034 hours fieldwork across 7 SPAs.

Top ten activities: i.e. Which activities cause the most major flights Activity

No. of major flights

% of major flights

% of visitor volume

Dog walker, dog off lead

409

45

29

Walker (no dog)

167

18

35

Bait Digging

81

9

2

Dog walker, all dogs on lead

51

6

8

Motor vehicle

31

3

2

Birdwatcher

21

2

1

Rowing Boat

18

2

0

Jogger

13

1

5

Cyclist

13

1

8

Kitesurfer

11

1

1

Data from 10100 observations of different activities, across 51 vantage points.

Settlement pattern & access 25

Total people count for each section

400 20

350 300

15

250 200

10

150 100

5

50 0

0 S

Length of study site (11 km north to south)

No people at all: population increase of 85% Numbers of people doubled: decrease of 23%

N

Total number of nests found per section

450

Strategic Solutions Strategic mitigation strategies being considered/developed: •Thames Basin Heaths •Dorset Heaths •North Kent •Solent •South Devon •Cannock Chase •Ashdown Forest

• • • • • • • •

Wardening Dog projects Parking provision New green infrastructure (SANGs) On site management/ infrastructure Codes of conduct Awareness raising Zoning

Unpalatable to some, but give confidence and removes need for complex individual assessments

End thoughts • Range of impacts from recreation: difficult to understand “in-combination” • Complex balancing act between needs to promote access and site protection • Understanding access patterns is fundamental: where people come from, where they go, what they do, why?

• Powerful if linked with ecological studies; • Studies now for a range of different European sites, a range of habitat types and interest features. Issues in particular for heathland and coastal sites.

• Still gaps in our understanding and a need for a ‘national’ perspective