Effects of extreme natural events on the provision of ecosystem services in a mountain environment : The importance of trail design in delivering system resilience and ecosystem service co-benefits

A continued supply of ecosystem services (ES) from a system depends on the resilience of that system to withstand shocks and perturbations. In many parts of the world, climate change is leading to an increased frequency of extreme weather events, potentially influencing ES provision. Our study of the effects of an intense rainfall event in Gorce National Park, Poland, shows: (1) the intense rainfall event impacted heavily on the supply of ES by limiting potential recreation opportunities and reducing erosion prevention; (2) these negative impacts were not only restricted to the period of the extreme event but persisted for up to several years, depending on the pre-event trail conditions and post-event management activities; (3) to restore the pre-event supply of ES, economic investments were required in the form of active repairs to trails, which, in Gorce National Park, were an order of magnitude higher than the costs of normal trail maintenance; and (4) when recreational trails were left to natural restoration, loss of biodiversity was observed, and recovery rates of ES (recreation opportunities and soil erosion prevention) were reduced in comparison to their pre-event state. We conclude that proper trail design and construction provides a good solution to avoid some of the negative impacts of extreme events on recreation, as well as offering co-benefits in terms of protecting biodiversity and enhancing the supply of regulating services such as erosion prevention

Field trip in the Kerala : report

This report contains short information about the geomorphological field trip in Kerala State. The field trip was largely focused on various geomorphological and geoecological aspects of laterites and backwaters which dominate in landscape of Kerala. One of the main highlights of the field trip was to the examination of type locality of laterite. Nearly 60% of the Kerala is covered by laterite or laterite-derived materials, and lateritisation process dominates the landform development from the coast to foothills. The second main highlights of the field trip was to the examination of backwaters which are a network of five big lakes (lagoons and estuaries) and rivers linked by natural and man-made canals