ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITING: Tendencies in the Development of Tracks in Open Areas

/ The study aimed to compare the rate of vehicle and pedestrian track development between an unprotected open area and a protected one during the last 50 years. The results indicate that: (1) the rate of change in the length of tracks per 1 square kilometer of a site has been four times greater in the unprotected area than in the protected area; (2) the number of area cells (the areas between the tracks) increased geometrically in the unprotected area, while the increase in the protected area was linear; and (3) most area cells (50%-70%) in the protected area in each of the years analyzed (except 1944) were smaller than 10 ha in size. However, an area cell greater than 100 ha has always been observed. In contrast, in the unprotected site the number of area cells increased with time while their area size decreased. Twenty-seven percent of the unprotected area is composed at present of area cells smaller in size than 1 ha. The development of a track system in the protected site changed moderately with a few peaks during the past 50 years. This trend is a result of land management policies that actively promote sustainable ecotourism. However, in the unprotected open area, the track system has changed continuously and drastically due to a lack of land conservation management. KEY WORDS: Track development; Protected open areas; Unprotected open areas