HIKING TRAILS EVALUATION IN THE NATURAL PARK OF SERRAS
DE AIRE E CANDEEIROS, PORTUGAL
Luís Carvalhinho
Paulo Rosa Filipe Gomes
Polytechnic Institute of Santarém, Portugal
ABSTRACT:
intends to perform a technical evaluation on the hiking trails of the Natural Park of Serras
Technical Evaluation”, validated for this purpose. The results indicated the typology of the
-
information to the management entity, stakeholders, and general visitors. Keywords: Hiking
INTRODUCTION
The social paradigms associated with occupations of leisure time
increase of recreational practices in touch with nature around the
140
-
and professionals.
-preciation, among others, makes these practices also assume an im-portant role as a factor of local development, especially in protected
-ties within spaces endowed with protected status, of tourism in gen-eral and sport tourism in particular, since these are also an addition to
of recreational, sporting, and tourist practices in protected areas re-
--
rect management practices, more focused on social most participated
-uting for the preservation of ecosystems and local development. For
”
the opportunity to enjoy nature, and approach local people and their
141
-tive lifestyles for many practitioners, including local visitors and tourists,
-posted. Regarding routes PR,
Hiking is one of the most popular sporting activities in contact
--
-
-ing from these practices under the perspective of recreational ecology
-
Considering that the quality of recreational and sports areas is criti-
safety of these activities is also associated with risk factors related to
that the proper management of natural spaces where the hiking activi---
tats play a very important role in creating and maintaining spaces for
of adventure and risk activities in nature should involve rethinking the spaces for these activities and the appropriate security measures
-
142
provement of natural spaces for sport is crucial and involves a lot of
-
-tion of environmental and sports constraints or restrictions, features
-ing geographical and temporal characteristics and services, among oth-
the supporting infrastructures, environmental restrictions, or safety is-
-
It is therefore considered that a signposted trail on the ground can
the part of those who perform the marking in their management and maintenance. There are technical guidelines governing the marking, signalling, and maintenance of these spaces, mainly within the sport
-cesses and assessment decisions and the consequent maintenance of
-portance and necessity that this area offers in terms of development and recognition. On the other hand, concerns related to characteris-
conservation of the environment, and safety aspects are essential to -
rience of hikers.
-th
-stone formations in Portugal, its karst morphology, nature of vegeta-
143
-
th of Au-th
from the NBSM from NPSAC, only the Natural Park of Sintra-Cas--
ment, development, and regulation of sporting activities in protected
territory without directly harming the conservation of nature, as well as the respective load capacities or other restrictions inherent to this.
-cient to ensure the quality of the spaces at all the different levels pre-
-
to create instruments that allow planning processes and management of sports areas. These should have a strong theoretical and practical
procedures for improvement.
METHODS
th
-
144
Tab
le 1
: Sam
ple
Mu
nic
ipal
ity
Iden
t. in
itia
lsN
ame
Typ
eK
mD
ur.
Dep
artu
re /
Arr
ival
Alc
anen
aO
lhos
d’Á
gua
do A
lvie
laLi
near
2km
1.00
hLo
w
Val
e de
Ven
tos
Circ
ular
3km
1.30
hV
ale
de V
ento
sLo
w
Serr
a da
Lua
Circ
ular
6km
3.00
hP.
C. R
ural
-Arr
imal
Low
Circ
ular
6km
3.00
hP.
C. R
ural
-Arr
imal
Low
Circ
ular
3km
1.30
hLo
w
Line
ar12
km6.
00h
Med
ium
Cas
tele
joC
ircul
ar12
km6.
00h
Cen
tro
de A
tivid
ades
de
Ar L
ivre
-Alv
ados
Med
ium
Line
ar1k
m1.
00h
Low
Cor
redo
ura
Circ
ular
13km
6.00
hM
ediu
m
Circ
ular
11km
5.00
hV
alic
ova-
Cor
tinas
Med
ium
Est
rada
rom
ana
Circ
ular
5.00
hLo
w
Rio
Mai
orM
arin
has
de S
alC
ircul
ar3k
m1.
30h
Cen
tro
de T
ecel
agem
M
ediu
m
Rio
Mai
orC
ircul
ar15
km5.
00h
Med
ium
Alg
ar d
o Pe
naC
ircul
ar3.
00h
Low
Torr
es N
ovas
Line
ar4.
00h
Low
Circ
ular
13km
5.00
hM
ediu
m
145
In general, and considering the total of 136 km of marked hiking
-
Moreover, it appears that most trails have a circular typology, i.e., the point of departure is the same as the place of arrival, thus facilitating the logistics and movement of hikers.
signs and marks.
to vegetation, Drainage, Waste dumps, Side trails.
-
RESULTS
The data collected through the measuring instrument ‘HTTE’ al-lowed to present the results for the dimensions of the aforementioned
-lems diagnosed in the trail dimension, in relation to each of the hiking trails in NPSAC. Therefore, to evaluate this aspect, we used the follow-
-
146
Table 2: Evaluation of “Trail Dimension”
Number and typology of problems
Magnitude of the problems
Municipality Identif. (initials)/name A B C D 1 2 3 T
Alcanena 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 0 1 0 2 0 0 2
1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
1 3 2 0 6 0 0 6
1 1 0 1 3 0 0 3
1 2 0 1 4 0 0 4
1 2 0 0 3 0 0 3
1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
1 1 1 0 3 0 0 3
0 2 0 0 1 1 0 2
Rio Maior 1 3 1 1 6 0 0 6
Rio Maior 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 2 0 2 0 0 2
Torres Novas 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 2
0 0 3 0 3 0 0 3
Totals%
10 16 10 3 38 1 0 39
-
Performing an analysis to each hiking trail, we can verify the trails with
--
147
ing trails. Therefore, to evaluate this dimension, we used the following
-
Table 3: Evaluation of “Marking Dimension”
Number and typology of problems
Magnitude of the problems
Municipality Identif. (initials)/name A B C D E 1 2 3 T
Alcanena 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
10 0 7 6 0 23 0 0 23
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 1 1 0 1 0 0 8
0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
1 6 10 2 0 0 68
1 2 1 0 0 4 0 0 4
3 0 5 0 0 5 3 0 8
2 1 1 2 14 0 0 14
2 1 0 0 4 7 0 0 7
Rio Maior 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 2
Rio Maior 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1
1 0 2 5 1 0 0 9
Torres Novas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 2 0 4 0 10 0 0 10
Totals%
85 11 24 27 11 155 3 0 158
--
cantly from the previous analysis, and reveal a more negative trend, since -
-
--
-
hiking trails in NPSAC. Therefore, to evaluate this dimension, we used
-
Table 4: Evaluation of “Conservation Dimension”
Number and typology of problems
Magnitude ofthe problems
Municipality Identif. (initials)/name A B C D E 1 2 3 T
Alcanena 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 2
1 0 3 0 0 4 0 0 4
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 13 0 1 11 5 0 16
0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 2
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 1 1 0 0 4 0 0 4
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rio Maior 1 1 0 1 1 4 0 0 4
Rio Maior 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Torres Novas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 2
Totals%
11 4 17 5 2 32 7 0 39
-
-
Table 5: Evaluation of “Safety Dimension”
Number and typology of problems
Magnitude of the problems
Municipality Identif. (initials) / name A B C D E 1 2 3 T
Alcanena 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 2
0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 2
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 3
0 0 2 0 1 3 0 0 3
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rio Maior 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
Rio Maior 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Torres Novas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals%
0 1 7 2 2 12 0 0 12
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-sion has the lowest frequency of issues regarding all dimensions stud-
-
DISCUSSION
hiking in NPSAC.
-lems per trail. Moreover, from the perspective of the quality of trails,
-
that the practice develops in natural spaces. In this situation, it should
--
facts, as the frequent use of these spaces for recreational purposes also -
tion from covering areas and signs of the trails. On the other hand, --
populations in order to promote the natural and cultural values of lo-cal societies and a greater awareness of the natural resources.
151
also with some vandalism. Thus, the wear on the colouring, togeth-
-advantage, which is the case of the lack of effective inspection and maintenance of the trails. Characteristics related to the marking and
of any hikers that face this trail.
-
-
--
vegetation’, ‘Waste dumps’ and ‘Side trails’, present values of relatively -
-
-
-
152
-
where most cases were found and with more severity. It is in this scope that regular and effective monitoring of the trails — especially those
people and the quality of the respective destinations are at stake.Finally, we should also consider that the management of such a
the near future. In this perspective, not only are natural resources to -
-
-provement of the services they provide.
CONCLUSIONS
This study sought to assess the totality of 16 hiking trails marked -
-
153
more severe. The ‘Damage to the marks and signs’ of the trails is the
‘Lack of signage’. In general, most situations are easy to solve, how-
-
in terms of maintenance and future action, despite having a reduced
the conservation of the environment.
-fectively solved.
-edge of the reality of the practice of hiking on the NPSAC, regarding
local spaces. Finally, it is recommended that the various entities, stake-holders and the general population consider the results of this work, so
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