Tourism: an alternative to development?: reconsidering farming, tourism and conservation incentives in Northwest Yunnan mountainous communities

In the last decade, tourism has developed rapidly in the mountainous areas of northwest Yunnan. This growth has led to substantial economic and social changes, with resulting environmental consequences. This article uses a case study to illustrate how local farmers involved in tourism changed their agricultural practices as a result of the transformations that took place in the area. The aim was to examine tourism's expected benefits of poverty alleviation and conservation incentives. Tourism investments were found to have been adopted only by households with available cash and labor, whereas they remained inaccessible for the poor, small landowners who most needed a new source of income and used their land more exhaustively. Relatively rich, large landowners did not take the opportunity to reduce their agricultural activities. Instead, they used supplementary incomes earned from tourism to hire external labor to cultivate their land more intensely. Tourism development failed to generate real incentives for mountain farmers to adopt more conservation measures and prevent soil erosion and nonpoint source agricultural water pollution, which currently constitute serious environmental problems for mountain environments in Yunnan. This article presents recommendations based on the conclusions of the study

A GIS approach towards estimating tourist's off-road use in a mountainous protected area of Northwest Yunnan, China

To address the environmental impacts of tourism in protected areas, park managers need to understand the spatial distribution of tourist use. Standard monitoring measures (tourist surveys and counting and tracking techniques) are not sufficient to accomplish this task, in particular for off-road travel. This article predicts tourists' spatial use patterns through an alternative approach: park accessibility measurement. Naismith's rule and geographical information system's anisotropic cost analysis are integrated into the modeling process, which results in a more realistic measure of off-road accessibility than that provided by other measures. The method is applied to a mountainous United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in northwest Yunnan Province, China, where there is increasing concern about potential impacts of unregulated tourist use. Based on the assumption that accessibility tends to attract more tourists, a spatial pattern of predicted off-road use by tourists is derived. This pattern provides information that can help park managers develop strategies that are effective for both tourism management and species conservation

Comparison of surface and planimetric landscape metrics for mountainous land cover pattern quantification in Lancang Watershed, China

Landscape pattern structure can be quantified by landscape pattern indices (LPIs). One major drawback of the commonly used LPIs is that the landscape is represented by a planar map, which depicts the projection of a nonflat surface into a 2-dimensional Cartesian space. As a result, ecologically meaningful terrain structures like terrain shape or elevation are not taken into account and valuable information is lost for further analysis. A method to compute LPIs in a surface structure has been developed by Hoechstetter et al, who calculated landscape patch surface area and surface perimeter from digital elevation models. In this paper, Hoechstetter's set of LPIs was used and extended. A parametric t-test was used to assess the differences between the commonly used planimetric metrics and the surface landscape metrics for quantification of a mountain vegetation pattern at 3 levels (patch, category, and landscape) and for natural and anthropogenic categories in the Lancang (Mekong) watershed in China. The results show that the surface-based metrics for area, perimeter, shape, and distance to nearest-neighbor metrics were significantly larger than the same metrics derived by a planimetric approach for patch, category, and landscape levels in 2 different mountainous areas. However, diversity and evenness metrics did not feature significant differences between the surface-based landscape and the landscape represented in the planar maps. When comparing the area metrics for natural and for anthropogenic categories, significantly larger differences between these categories were found when the surface approach was used. The common planimetric method may underestimate the differences between natural and anthropogenic categories on areas and mean patch area in steep mountain areas

Transient Stability of Epigenetic Population Differentiation in a Clonal Invader

Epigenetic variation may play an important role in how plants cope with novel environments. While significant epigenetic differences among plants from contrasting habitats have often been observed in the field, the stability of these differences remains little understood. Here, we combined field monitoring with a multi-generation common garden approach to study the dynamics of DNA methylation variation in invasive Chinese populations of the clonal alligator weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides). Using AFLP and MSAP markers, we found little variation in DNA sequence but substantial epigenetic population differentiation. In the field, these differences remained stable across multiple years, whereas in a common environment they were maintained at first but then progressively eroded. However, some epigenetic differentiation remained even after 10 asexual generations. Our data indicate that epigenetic variation in alligator weed most likely results from a combination of environmental induction and spontaneous epimutation, and that much of it is neither rapidly reversible (phenotypic plasticity) nor long-term stable, but instead displays an intermediate level of stability. Such transient epigenetic stability could be a beneficial mechanism in novel and heterogeneous environments, particularly in a genetically impoverished invader

Measuring tourist’s water footprint in a mountain destination of Northwest Yunnan, China

Monitoring and minimizing tourist's water consumption is essential for the sustainable development of mountain destinations in the world. However, available data and a generally accepted protocol on such measurement are still limited. This study uses water footprint accounting to quantify tourist's water demand in the Liming valley, a World Heritage site and a rapidly growing tourism destination in Northwest Yunnan, China. Both the water for direct and indirect use is taken into account based on the consumptive behavior of the tourists in the valley. Data were collected through guesthouse monitoring and a tourist survey in the 2005 tourist season. The results indicate that an average tourist leaves behind a footprint of 5.2 m(3) on local water resources per day. Food production and waste dilution are the two most important water consumption factors. The results also show tourists consume more water than the local residents on per capita basis. This suggests more commitment is necessary to cope with this stress by individual tourists. Management implications to make water use more sustainable in mountain destinations are derived from this study

Integration of Satellite Imagery, Topography and Human Disturbance Factors Based on Canonical Correspondence Analysis Ordination for Mountain Vegetation Mapping: A Case Study in Yunnan, China

The integration between vegetation data, human disturbance factors, and geo-spatial data (Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and image data) is a particular challenge for vegetation mapping in mountainous areas. The present study aimed to incorporate the relationships between species distribution (or vegetation spatial distribution pattern) and topography and human disturbance factors with remote sensing data, to improve the accuracy of mountain vegetation maps. Two different mountainous areas located in Lancang (Mekong) watershed served as study sites. An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) architecture classification was used as image classification protocol. In addition, canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) ordination was applied to address the relationships between topography and human disturbance factors with the spatial distribution of vegetation patterns. We used ordinary kriging at unobserved locations to predict the CCA scores. The CCA ordination results showed that the vegetation spatial distribution patterns are strongly affected by topography and human disturbance factors. The overall accuracy of vegetation classification was significantly improved by incorporating DEM or four CCA axes as additional channels in both the northern and southern study areas. However, there was no significant difference between using DEM or four CCA axes as extra channels in the northern steep mountainous areas because of a strong redundancy between CCA axes and DEM data. In the southern lower mountainous areas, the accuracy was significantly higher using four CCA axes as extra bands, compared to using DEM as an extra band. In the southern study area, the variance of vegetation data explained by human disturbance factors was larger than the variance explained by topographic attributes

Invasive Acacia mearnsii De Wilde in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China: a new biogeographic distribution that Threatens Airport Safety

Acacia mearnsii De Wilde is on the top 100 of the world’s most invasive alien species and has successfully invaded many areas around the world. However, its distribution and expansion is seldom reported in China. This study for the first time conducted a survey on the new distribution of A. mearnsii at the Kunming Changshui Airport (Yunnan Province, China), through monitoring on population characteristics (number, density, height and ground diameter) and spatial distribution (spread distance). Our survey results show that A. mearnsii has spread rapidly across the airport. This study discusses three factors of environmental factors, human disturbance and weed characteristics behind this successful invasion. The species invasion has a strong potential to change the local vegetation structure, enhances the probability of bird strikes at the airport, and is vulnerable to invade new biogeographic regions if it is not controlled. Currently, eradication combined with mechanical control is considered to be the best option for control. Our study helps improve awareness about the potential risk of A. mearnsii invasion in other airports around China and the world

Association of Non-native Plant Species With Recreational Roads in a National Park in the Eastern Himalayas, China

Although the eastern Himalayas have high plant biodiversity, we know very little about plant invasions in the region. This study is the first to examine non-native plant distribution in a popular eastern Himalayan national park. A total of 61 non-native plant species were found in roadside plant communities, which are frequently disturbed by hikers, pack animals, and recreational vehicles. These species were annual or biennial herbs, most of which originated in America or Europe. Non-native plant richness varied with the degree of anthropogenic disturbance. Specifically, greater numbers of non-native species were found at road heads and ends, which are generally subject to intense human activity. The average number of non-native species also varied according to the type of road and road use, with more present along motor roads and horse-riding trails than along hiking trails. These results highlight the role of vehicles and pack animals as dispersal vectors and provide a foundation for future invasion management decisions. To prevent the spread of non-native plants from park roads to the adjacent landscape, we also recommend the development of educational and monitoring programs that encourage tourist participation in conservation efforts