WORLD ECOTOURISM CONFERENCE 2010 Noor Jalilah Binti Jumaat EVALUATION OF SOIL AND VEGETATION IMPACTS FROM RECREATION ACTIVITIES IN ULU BENDUL RECREATIONAL FOREST, NEGERI SEMBILAN   Noor Jalilah Binti Jumaat Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdullah Mohd Department of Forest Management,Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor,

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION CONTENT INTRODUCTION OBJECTIVES MATERIALS AND METHODS RESULTS AND DISCUSSION CONCLUSION REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION A combination of natural resource factors in a forest created attractions to recreation activities to peoples (Hammit and Cole, 1998). Hence, persistent physical activities in the forest caused undesirable and physical changes to the natural resources of a forest (soil condition and vegetation health). Most of the impacts were started from a trail used to access the recreation area.

INTRODUCTION Excessive trail-related impacts to vegetation, soil, and wildlife or water quality may affect the comfort and recreational experience of visitors. In order to mitigate the problem of impacts on the natural resources along the trails, related management actions need to be taken immediately including monitoring the areas systematically and continuously and focus on the impacted areas to avoid the occurrence of an adverse situation.

OBJECTIVES To quantify the physical changes on soil and composition of plant species. To compares the changes those occur between parts of lowland and types of physical changes.

STUDY AREA Ulu Bendul Recreational Forest, Negeri Sembilan MATERIALS AND METHODS STUDY AREA Ulu Bendul Recreational Forest, Negeri Sembilan Compartments 45 and 52 in Angsi Forest Reserved Negeri Sembilan Total area : 6.47 ha Height : 825 meters a.s.l Forest type : Lowland Dipterocarp Forest 02° 42´ 67´´ N latitude 102° 03´ 93´´ E longitude

COMPARISON OF USED AND UNUSED SITES MATERIALS AND METHODS RESEARCH DESIGN DESCRIPTIVE SURVEY COMPARISON OF USED AND UNUSED SITES

Research Design DESCRIPTIVE SURVEY Estimates and measurements are taken on sites to access current resource conditions (Rochefort and Swinney, 2000) Physical changes to soil : measurements on expansion of trail width, soil compaction, and presence of gullies. Plant composition : identification and estimation of type of plant species.

Systematic Observation Research Design DESCRIPTIVE SURVEY Systematic Observation hiking trails in lowland part of Gunung Angsi were divided into 3 sub-parts ; lower sub-part (<100 m) middle sub-part (100 – 200 m) upper sub-part (200 – 300 m) The observation and measurement were conducted on every Saturday started at 8.30 a.m in three consecutive weeks in the month of February 2008 Three impacted plots were built at each sub-parts

COMPARISON OF USED AND UNUSED SITES Research Design COMPARISON OF USED AND UNUSED SITES Measurements were taken on recreation sites (impacted plot) and nearby undisturbed site which is a control plot (Hall and Kuss, 1989). Control plots were built at each sub-part with three replications of impacted plots (beside the trail). The plant species that present in control plot were compared to the impacted plot in order to determine whether there are appearance of exotics species and type of species survived. Simple random sampling identify the plant composition by selecting plant species in control plot randomly

Expansion of trail width MATERIALS AND METHODS FIELD MEASUREMENTS Physical changes on soil Measurement taken for physical changes and equipments used in these procedures PHYSICAL CHANGES EQUIPMENTS USED Expansion of trail width Measuring tape (20 m) Deepness of gullies Ruler/ Measuring tape Soil compaction Pocket Penetrometer

DATA ANALYSIS Descriptive Analysis Correlation Analysis MATERIALS AND METHODS DATA ANALYSIS Descriptive Analysis to get frequencies, maximum and minimum value, mean, and standard deviation to evaluate the physical changes on soil surface Correlation Analysis to seek for a relationship between an expansion of trail with presence of gully and soil compaction. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to test the significant difference of all sub-parts of lowland part of Gunung Angsi with all types of physical changes on soil.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Analysis of variance for lowland part of Gunung Angsi RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Analysis of variance for lowland part of Gunung Angsi UPPER MIDDLE LOWER F P-Value Expansion of trail width 1.003a 0.904ab 2.167c 10.713 0.000 Presence of gullies 0.00a 7.89ab 41.89c 48.520 Soil compaction 3.378b 2.311a 2.900ab 5.848 0.009

SOIL COMPACTION

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS SOIL COMPACTION There were no changes occur on value of soil compaction within three weeks in plot 2 in upper sub-part and plot 3 in middle sub-part of lowland. The most compacted soil is in plot 3 in the upper sub-part with 4.2 g/cm2 followed by plot 1 in lower sub-part with 4.0 g/cm2. However, soil in plot 2 in middle sub-part was the most uncompacted area with only 2.2 g/cm2 of compaction.

EXPANSION OF TRAIL WIDTH

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS EXPANSION OF TRAIL WIDTH The highest total increment of trail expansion within 3 weeks are plot 1 in upper sub-part and plot 2 in middle sub-part with 0.7 meters. There are no enlargement of trail width occurred in plot 1 in middle sub-part within 3 weeks. From field observation, there are two different paths in plot 3 in the lower sub-part. It has been divided by several shrub and there is a big rock has blocked one of the path. This situation leads to the creation of another trail. After being used continuously, it resulted in expanding trail width reached almost 4.0 meters length.

EXPANSION OF TRAIL WIDTH PLOT 3 LOWER SUB-PART

PRESENCE OF GULLY

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS PRESENCE OF GULLY Gullies presentations were absent in plot 1 and plot 3 in middle sub-part and upper sub-part of lowland of Gunung Angsi. There were gullies presentations in all plots in lower sub-part. The deepest gully was in plot 2 in lower sub-part with 60 cm depth. The highest increment of deepness of gully within 3 weeks is at plot 2 in lower sub-part with 10 cm. In connecting with the appearance of gully erosion, trail expansion usually takes place. It is a natural tendency of users to walk along the trail edge rather than trail tread to avoid gully erosion.

PRESENCE OF GULLIES PLOT 2 LOWER SUB-PART PLOT 2 MIDDLE SUB-PART

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Correlation of expansion of trail width with presence of gullies and soil compaction

PLANT COMPOSITION PLANT UPPER SUB-PART MIDDLE LOWER C P1 P2 P3 Agrostistachys longifolia √   Alstonia angustiloba Dyera constulata Lithocarpus wallichianus Neolamarckia cadamba Knema sp Tacca spp. Oxyspora bullata Aporusa benthamiana Donax grandis Callamus spp C: Control Plot P1: Plot 1 P2: Plot 2 P3: Plot 3

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS PLANT COMPOSITION There were no species left in plot 3 in lower sub-part Due to the trail expansion that damaged the vegetation either by trampling or other reactions by users (e.g: bend or shake the plants). Only one species survived in plot 3 in upper sub-part This happen as a result of the high degree of compaction (4.2 g/cm2)  a tough condition for plant to survive.

CONCLUSION Lower sub-part of lowland has changed quite significantly that can be seen on the presence of gullies and the expansion of trail. Plot 3 in the lower sub-part of lowland has experienced soil degradation including declination of plant composition. The upper sub-part of lowland is the most compacted area and this lead to the poor establishment of plant where there are about six out of ten species left in impacted plots.

REFERENCES Cole, D.N. (1989). Low-impact recreational practices of wilderness and backcountry (General Technical Report INT-265). Ogden, UT: USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. Hammit, W.E, & Cole, D.N. (1998). Wildland Recreation: Ecology and Management (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley and Sons. Koo, W.K. (2006). Visitors Perceptions on Recreational Use Impacts on Soil and Vegetation in Ulu Bendul Recreational Park, Negeri Sembilan. Degree Thesis. Universiti Putra Malaysia. Liddle, M. J., & Grieg-Smith, P. (1975). A Survey on Tracks and Paths in a Sand Dune Ecosystem. Journal of Applied Ecology, 12, 893-908. Leung, Y. F., & Marion, J. L. (2000). Recreation Impacts and Management in Wilderness: A State-of-Knowledge Review. In D.N. Cole, S.F. McCool, W.T. Borrie & J. O’Loughlin (Comps.), Wilderness Science in a Time of Change Conference- Volume 5: Wilderness Ecosystems, Threats, and Management (Proceedings RMRS-P-15-VOL5)(pp.23-48). Ogden, UT:USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. Marion, J. L., & Leung, Y.-F. (2001). Trail Resource Impacts and An Examination of Alternative Assessment Techniques. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, Volume 19(3), pp.17-37. Rochefort, R.M., & Swinney, D.D. (2000). Human Impact Surveys in Mount Rainier National Park: Past, Present, and Future. In D.N. Cole, S.F. McCool, W.T. Borrie & J. O’Loughlin (Comps.), Wilderness Science in a Time of Change Conference- Volume 5: Wilderness Ecosystems, Threats, and Management (Proceedings RMRS-P-15-VOL5)(pp.165-171). Ogden, UT:USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors would like to thank Mr. Jumaat, Mr. Hairi, Mr. Nizam and Mrs, Nurfaizah for assist us on field work. Thanks to Forest Department of Negeri Sembilan for giving the permission to accomplish this study in Ulu Bendul Recreational Forest Negeri Sembilan.

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