ABSTRACT:
A long-term study was done to provide information on the impact of horse traffic on montane trails. The study, conducted in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, indicated that intensity of use is not the controlling factor in trail stability. Rather, the degree of soil erosion and sediment production is a function of the geomorphic processes active on a particular landform interacting with climatic events. Seasonal horse use is important in that it exposes the soil surface. Then, processes, such as sheetwash, rilling, gullying, and soil creep, can actively modify the trail. Lateral and vertical erosion on trail sections is largely governed by the landforms traversed by the trail.
Footnotes
Rebecca M. Summer is a senior geologist with Simons, Li & Associates, Inc., P.O. Box 1816, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80522. This research was completed in cooperation with Rocky Mountain National Park officials. David Stevens, Betsy Armstrong, and Nel Caine assisted with this report, as did the staff at Simons, Li & Associates, Inc.
- Copyright 1986 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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