| Abstract [eng] |
This Paper assesses the impact of vacationers on the natural recreational area located in the Ankenesstrand village near the town of Narvik in the Northern Norway region (68°24‘39.4“ – 17°23‘14.7“). The main objective of this paper is to analyse and assess the vegetation diversity of the natural recreational area, the signs of anthropogenic activities and to provide recommendations for the management and stewardship of the area. The Paper is divided into two parts: the field survey and the analysis of the data collected. The field survey was carried out using the Braun-Blanquet cover-abundance scale. The assessment was carried out in 100 units of 1m2 at 5 sites. The software Rstudio was used for data analysis and graphical representation. The methods used for the statistical analysis were Welch’s t-test, Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. These statistical methods were used to compare the differences between the vegetation and bare ground cover% and Ord% data of Study I and Study II between groups of plots located at different distances from the trail (m). The mode was calculated from the Braun-Blanquet cover-abundance data. The study identified 44 plant species belonging to 28 families. The most abundant family, with 6 species, is the heath family (Ericaceae). The second in abundance is the willow family (Salicaceae), with 4 species. 3 different species were found in each of the aster family (Asteraceae), the broomrapes family (Orobanchaceae) and the rose family (Rosaceae). 2 species each were found in the birch family (Betulaceae) and the woodsia family (Woodsiaceae). No invasive or protected species were found among the identified species, but 11 species were found that fall into the category of species susceptible to trampling, 5 of which show differences in abundance with distance from the trail. The Braun-Blanquet cover-abundance scale mode for Study I and Study II is 2. This indicates that a large number of specimens of the same species have been identified or cover at least 5% of the study area. The recreational area has been found to contain signs of anthropogenic activity, mostly related to the management and stewardship of the ski slope. Changes in the impact of recreational trails on vegetation cover show that vegetation cover increases with distance from the trail. Changes in bare ground cover show that the amount of vegetation-free ground cover decreases with increasing distance from the trail. |
