Ecological Monitoring of the Rota Vicentina Walking Trails (Part 1)
3 reading timeWhat is the purpose of a monitoring study?
A large part of the Rota Vicentina (RV) walking trails is located within the Southwest Coast Site of the Natura 2000 Network and the Natural Park of Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast. For this reason, it’s easy to understand that nature conservation has been a key concern for the project’s promoters.
On the other hand, nature and landscape are essential elements for the success of Rota Vicentina and, more broadly, for the economic sustainability of tourism in southwestern Portugal. Therefore, even before the project began, the RV team was focused on understanding the potential ecological impacts of the walking trails and how to prevent or minimize any negative effects.
It began with an environmental impact study in 2013, prior to the opening of the trails. This marked the “year zero” of monitoring. What was studied in this initial phase of the project?
- Research was conducted on the ecological impacts of other walking routes around the world. Although monitoring these impacts is not common in Portugal, there are countries with extensive results in this area, even having a dedicated field of research within Ecology known as Recreation Ecology
- A list and characterization of all impacts of walking routes described in scientific literature were created, covering landscape, soil, vegetation, and fauna. This information was then adapted to the specific reality of this region, resulting in a set of predictable negative and positive impacts for the Rota Vicentina walking trails.
- The areas crossed by the trails that would be most susceptible to negative ecological impacts were identified, particularly the coastal zone with its dune environment, which is highly sensitive to human disturbance.
- A set of indicators was developed and applied to measure these impacts over time. For example, if a predicted impact is the widening of trails, the trail width is measured in “year zero” and then remeasured in subsequent years.
In the meantime, an initial monitoring study was conducted in 2017 (available on the Rota Vicentina website), four years after the project began, and it was repeated in 2023, marking ten years of trail operation.
Paula Canha, bióloga, mestre em Biologia da Conservação, professora na Escola Secundária de Odemira. Vive no concelho de Odemira desde 1987. Os seus principais interesses são o conhecimento, divulgação e preservação dos valores naturais do sudoeste de Portugal. Participou em numerosos estudos ambientais, trabalhos de monitorização ecológica e cartografia de valores naturais. Colabora, entre outros […]
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