Indirect Impacts of Nature Based Tourism and Recreation: The Association Between Infrastructure and the Diversity of Exotic Plants in Kosciuszko National Park, Australia

Abstract

Tourism and recreation in protected areas results in a range of indirect impacts on the environment, including facilitating the spread of weeds. This research note examines the associations between tourism infrastructure and the diversity and frequency of exotic plants in a large and popular protected area in south-eastern Australia, Kosciuszko National Park. Of the 156 exotic taxa recorded in 18 vegetation surveys between 1986 and 2004, 152 were associated with tourism infrastructure; 64 taxa on road verges, 50 in ski resort areas, and a further 66 exclusively in the ski resort gardens. As many exotics become invasive environmental weeds, this study highlights the need to limit both the introduction of exotic propagules and the disturbance to natural vegetation during the construction, maintenance and use of tourism infrastructure in protected areas. If damage to vegetation has occurred, effective rehabilitation programmes are required.