Ecological impacts of revegetation and management practices of ski slopes in northern Finland

Ski Resort Closures and Opportunities for Sustainability in North America

More than half of the ski resorts in North America have closed since the early building booms—many facing a warming climate and pressures to find water to make artificial snow. Researching and documenting all resorts between 1969–2019, we find that 59% of all resorts in North America have closed since the resort boom of the 1960s and 70s (65% in the United States, 31% in Canada). This shift has left some states or provinces with only one or no resorts remaining. To proactively persevere with a variable climate, less water, and a need for more energy to make snow, we suggest mountains holistically plan for sustainability. Recommendations include third party environmental certification, commitment to sustainability at the management level, communication to customers about sustainability practices and implementing unique models for remaining open and competitive. These practices include resort consolidation, multi-mountain passes, and/or unique ownership models. We believe that ski resorts must focus on positive environmental practices, sustainability planning, and climate change adaptation if they want to remain viable and competitive in the coming decades.

The Analysis of the Ski Slopes and the Degree of Economic Dependence Induced by Winter Sports Tourism. The Case of Romania

Winter sports are the main attraction for many tourist areas in Romania, contributing significantly to the development of local economies. Based on this, the study aims to analyze the ski areas in Romania, as well as the extent to which they contribute to the sustainable development of the local economy. This is particularly important as, in recent decades, climate change has significantly affected winter sports, especially skiing. Thus, an analysis of the physical characteristics of ski runs in Romania (number, length, width, level difference and slope) is accompanied with an analysis on the dynamics of the share of tourism in the local economy of winter sport locations, based on tourism turnover relative to total turnover in the local economy. Both graphic and cartographic methods were used in this study, based on an analysis of quantitative and qualitative data available for ski slopes in Romania and the host localities. We used ArcGIS 10.6 software for the preparation of graphical representations and other software to process large databases. The research results showed a great diversity regarding counties, localities and ski slopes depending on the characteristic features of ski slopes (number, length, width, level difference and slope). In our study, the evolution of the share of turnover in tourism in terms of total turnover presented several categories of localities based on their economic dependence on winter sports; the impact in this regard was found to be very differentiated between localities.

Winter Sports Resorts and Natural Environment—Systematic Literature Review Presenting Interactions between Them

The systematic literature review method was adopted to analyze the content of papers published since 2001 that focused on interactions between winter sports resort operations and the natural environment. A total of 86 papers published in journals indexed in SCOPUS data base were analyzed. Three main groups of topics presented in analyzed papers were found: the environmental impact of winter sports resorts, the management of environmental impacts and sustainable development of winter sports resorts, and finally the impact of climate change on winter sports resort operations. The biggest number of publications were devoted to the latter topic, and interest in conducting research within this area has apparently grown during the last two decades. However, most conclusions reached by the authors of numerous studies are site-specific and difficult to extend to other resorts/destinations. Additionally, the conclusions presented in many papers are contrary to the results achieved in other publications. Several gaps in our contemporary scientific knowledge and directions of future research are suggested in addition to the abovementioned results of the analysis conducted in the presented paper as the final conclusion of the research.

Plant community responses to environmentally friendly piste management in northeast Iran

It is well-known that pistes have adverse effects on alpine ecosystems. Previous studies urged that pistes should be installed and managed in the ways to minimize negative impacts on natural habitats. However, the impacts of this type of management on the plant communities are not widely studied. The aim of this study was to examine species composition and biodiversity changes in an environmentally friendly managed piste in northeast Iran. This piste has been established in a previously degraded alpine landscape. For the vegetation survey, we sampled 44 within and 28 off-piste plots. Except for the piste management, other environmental factors were similar between the piste and off-piste plots. Dominant species were determined, and variation in community composition of the two areas was visualized. Also, native species, phylogenetic, and functional Hill diversity of the two areas were compared. The results showed that there was a moderate differentiation in the species composition of the piste and off-piste. Two palatable species (i.e., Bupleurum falcatum and Melica persica) were dominant in the piste and were not recorded in the off-piste. The diversity calculations results showed that the species diversity of the piste was higher than that of the off-piste. Phylogenetic diversity at the level of frequent and dominant plants showed a similar result. The piste had a higher functional diversity in terms of functional richness, and functional diversity of frequent and dominant plants. Our findings imply, after 10 years, species, phylogenetic, and functional diversity of the piste is significantly improved. Environmentally friendly piste management (EFPM) induced species composition change that led to emerging species that were absent in the off-piste. We can conclude that EFPM led to restoration of a degraded landscape. Long-term impacts of EFPM are still unknown, therefore, caution should be undertaken regarding the installation of new environmentally friendly pistes in other areas.

Impact of ski piste management on mountain grassland ecosystems in the Southern Alps

In the Southern Alps, climate warming induced the use of artificial snow since two decades. In this area, two different ski piste management practices prevail: (1) large and medium ski resorts (M), which guarantee a ski season of four to five months using artificial snow, whereas (2) in the small, local ski resorts (S) it usually lasts two or three months. Our research addresses two main questions: 1) what is the impact of the ski pistes on the physico-chemical properties of the snow, on the soil and on the vegetation of mountain grassland ecosystems and 2) does the impact on the mountain grassland ecosystems change between medium and small ski resorts? Our experimental approach follows a pairwise design of plots on mountain grasslands of the ski pistes and control plots on mountain grasslands outside the pistes, where we examined the snow and soil properties and the vegetation composition. Under the long ski-season management (M) we found a significantly lower soil temperature below the snow cover of the ski pistes than the one below the natural snowpack, but this difference was limited to the period of natural snow cover. Only in M, pistes showed a lower biomass production and species richness in the mountain grassland plant communities compared to the controls, while there was no effect in S. The proportions of plant functional groups' cover changed in both ski resort types between piste and control. The most important factors affecting the observed differences in vegetation between pistes and controls were snow duration, snow and soil chemical properties, with more marked differences in the soil properties in M respect to S. The study concludes that reducing the ski season's length, therefore limiting the artificial snow's input, as in S, is more adequate to minimize the environmental impact in a changing climate.

Impacts of ski pistes preparation and ski tourism on vegetation

Vegetation of the ski slopes in the Low Tatras National Park in Slovakia was evaluated through the environmental variables and species composition caused by human impact assessment. We compared the grasslands located on pistes, off pistes and on the edge of pistes, and within these we also recorded the grassland management. The results show that the majority of study areas managed by transport of sod clippings has reached the lowest number of species; contrariwise, the grasslands with no management are characterized by the highest number of species. Areas on pistes managed by cutting correlates positively with the bare ground. Cover of mosses positively correlates with the total cover and areas with no management. Total of 17 synanthropic plant species and 2 nonnative species as the indicator of human interventions were noticed. They occurred particularly on the edge areas but also in the surroundings of the off piste areas.

The effect of anthropogenic and natural factors on the prevalence of physicochemical parameters of water and bacterial water quality indicators along the river Białka, southern Poland

This study was aimed to determine the anthropogenic and natural factors affecting spatial and temporal changes in the physicochemical parameters and bacterial indicators of water quality in the river Białka. The impact of intensive development of the tourist infrastructure on the quality of river water and the potential health threats to tourists was also assessed. Water samples were collected over a period of 2.5 years, once per each month in four sites along the river. Temperature, electrolytic conductivity, pH, and water level were measured onsite; flow rate data were acquired from the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management; chemical analyses allowed to determine the amount of fourteen ions, while microbiological indicators included total and thermotolerant coliforms, total and thermotolerant Escherichia coli, and mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria. The combination of hydrological, hydrochemical, and microbiological methods generated large amount of data, which were processed by multivariate statistical analysis. A downstream cumulative effect was observed in the contamination of the river water. Fecal coliforms and E. coli were detected in all sites, suggesting the source of fecal contamination even in the protected areas. Intensive development of a ski resort and the related infrastructure, together with the need to accommodate numerous tourists in the examined region, has an evident environmental impact. The resulting deterioration of water quality poses health risks to tourists, as water from the Białka river is used for a variety of purposes, including as a raw drinking water or for artificial snowing of ski slopes. The seasonal changes in the physicochemical parameters mainly result from varying natural factors that shape the water quality in the studied region. The differences in the number of analyzed microorganisms result from seasonal variation in touristic activity and are affected mostly by point sources of sewage inflow.

Tourism, biodiversity and protected areas--Review from northern Fennoscandia

Tourist numbers in northern Fennoscandia outweigh those in other northern boreal - arctic regions, which creates a specific need to evaluate the impacts of tourism. This review 1) identifies patterns and trends in the vegetation and wildlife of northern Fennoscandian terrestrial ecosystems as a consequence of tourism and recreation, 2) discusses the implications of findings in terms of the intensity, area and magnitude of impacts, changing climate and management needs under increasing tourist pressure, and 3) identifies research gaps. The reviewed studies show negative environmental and biodiversity impacts that are most pronounced near tourist resorts. The most sensitive plants, birds and mammals decline or disappear from the disturbed sites, and the species composition shifts from 'wild' species to cultural and human associated species. There is little research on the spread of alien species, but the few examples show that alien species can be promoted by tourism activities. Impacts of the use of motorized vehicles have not been widely studied either, despite the extensive track network which can cause disturbance to wildlife. The integrated impacts of tourism and climate change on the vegetation and wildlife was not addressed directly in any of the reviewed studies. In addition, little research has been done on carrying out restoration at tourist areas. Scientific research on these topics is needed to prevent, minimize or restore the most negative ecological impacts of tourism and recreation.