Effects of all-terrain vehicle traffic on tundra terrain near Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska
Racine CH and Johnson LA. 1988. Effects of all-terrain vehicle traffic on tundra terrain near Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska. Special Report. 88-17. US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. Hanover, NH
(Adapted from authors' abstract.) This report describes the terrain disturbance on all-terrain vehicle (ATV) trails in the Anaktuvuk Pass area in terms of microrelief, permafrost, soil, vegetation, and visible change. During the summers of 1985 and 1986, terrain disturbance at 31 sites representing trails over dry, moist, and wet tundra was evaluated by rating the levels of soil exposure, vegetation destruction, and microtopographic depression (ruts). Surface and frozen layer profiles across selected trail sites were also obtained, and trail visibility from the air and ground was rated. Of the 31 trail samples, 8 were rated at a high level of disturbance, 16 showed moderate disturbance, and 7 were rated at a low level. ATV trails at Anaktuvuk Pass have natural analogs in the form of caribou trails. It is suggested that this type of disturbance thus is not new to the tundra ecosystems of the area.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Racine, Charles; Johnson, Lawrence
- Date of Issue
- 1988
- Publisher
- US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory
- Units
- GAAR
- Keywords
- all-terrain vehicles, Anaktuvuk Pass, ATVs, Environmental Impacts, Gates Of The Arctic National Park And Preserve, Photographs, Soils, Tundra, Vegetation