The ecological impacts of recreational trails in a tropical protected area

This thesis investigates the ecological impact of natural area tourism on vegetation, soil, and wildlife in the Tropical Borneo Rainforest Protected Area in Maliau Basin Conservation Area (MBCA), Sabah Malaysia. Despite it being classified as a highly protected area in 1997, visitor and recreation activities continue to rise due to ecological attractions. The research explores impacts on trails through comparing data on ecological indicators which include vegetation, soil, wildlife and light intensity measured across five trails of varying visitation intensity through sampling points and trail proximity along transect lines. Results showed differences in number of individual plants, species and of families found in every trail. Biodiversity indexes showed little differences among trails, suggesting a linearity between the amount of use and impact: no obvious difference was found between proximity and distal plots, while significant differences were registered in trails areas. Moreover, the results also showed a similar trend for soil Compaction, SOM, and SMC. For wildlife, less visited trail indicated highest frequency of animal encounter. The key findings of this study indicated that while the level of trampling impact recorded might still be under the threshold of diminishing species diversity, human trampling in natural areas over long periods can have devastating impacts on the condition of the ecology.