Fuelwood depletion at wilderness campsites: extent and potential ecological significance

Recreational camping in wilderness areas causes a number of biophysical imp acts, including loss of woody debris through campfires. Although extensive research has documented trampling impacts to vegetation, few studies have e xplored the extent of woody material depletion. This study adapted planar t ransect methods to measure the relative loss of fine (<0.6 cm), small (0.6 to 2.5 cm), medium (2.6 to 7.6 cm) and large (>7.6 cm) diameter materials i n three concentric rings extending 0-5 m, 5-10 m and 10-15 m from the centr e of 58 campsites in different environments ranging in elevation from 1250 to 2225 m in the Cascades Mountains in Oregon, USA. Compared to matched con trols, losses were greatest for small (40%) and medium-sized (63%) material s, but were evident for fine (25%) and large (30%) materials as well. Surpr isingly, depletion (across all sizes) was no greater in the centre of sites than in the outer measurement ring, even though the outer ring was often i n intact vegetation. This suggests that impacts on woody debris extend beyo nd those impacts to vegetation typically monitored at campsites. Such recre ational impacts to woody debris have rarely been systematically described. However, research on woody debris removal related to forest management indi cates possible ecological effects of fuelwood consumption.