Balancing recreation and conservation: Ecological impacts of trail networks in protected areas

Hakemuksen tiivistelmä

Protected areas are vital for biodiversity conservation but also provide important recreational opportunities. In urban and peri-urban contexts, these dual roles create trade-offs: while trails enable access, their intensive use and informal expansion can accelerate habitat fragmentation, reduce core areas, and weaken ecological connectivity. Despite growing recognition of these risks, trails remain understudied as drivers of fragmentation in protected areas. This project examines the ecological impacts of trail networks in Finland’s protected areas through a three-part framework. First, trail susceptibility modelling integrates field surveys, remote sensing, and visitor-use data with machine learning to identify segments most vulnerable to degradation. Second, fragmentation analysis evaluates how trail density alters patch structure and species richness, testing thresholds and taxon-specific responses. Third, connectivity modelling applies graph and circuit theory to assess how informal trails reshape connectivity and to explore scenarios of trail expansion or corridor restoration. By addressing trails as the nexus of recreation and conservation, the study generates new knowledge and decision-support tools for more sustainable protected area management under urban pressure.