Assessment and resilience of Merapoh Trail, Gunung Tahan, Malaysia
Gunung Tahan (2,187 metres above sea level) in Taman Negara National Park is one of Malaysia's ultimate trekking trails into the country's wilderness. The mountain top can be reached via two main trails: The Kuala Tahan Trail and the Merapoh Trail, with the latter receiving more than 70...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/113106/1/113106.pdf |
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| Summary: | Gunung Tahan (2,187 metres above sea level) in Taman Negara National Park is one
of Malaysia's ultimate trekking trails into the country's wilderness. The mountain
top can be reached via two main trails: The Kuala Tahan Trail and the Merapoh Trail,
with the latter receiving more than 70% of the hikers since its establishment. Since
it was opened in 1995, the Merapoh Trail has been severely trampled, which poses
a challenge to the resource integrity and the quality of recreational experiences. The
purpose of this study was to assess the resilience of the Merapoh Trail by (i)
assessing trail width, trail depth, and composition of vegetation communities in
different altitudinal forest zones, (ii) comparing the 1998’s trail width and depth with
2019 based on different altitudinal forest zones, and (iii) examining the relationship
between the selected inventory parameters and the degradation of the trail. A total
of 321 study stations were established using systematic sampling, and 11 were
retrieved from the 1998 and 2000 studies. Based on the result, the trail was widened
and deepened as ascending from different attitudinal forest zones with the upper
montane forest was recorded with the highest trail width (M=155.11 cm) and trail
depth (M=30.18 cm). Vegetation species composition of disturbed and undisturbed
areas indicated that the upper montane forest zone had a greater similarity index
(CC=0.56) than other attitudinal forest zones and while at the lower montane forest
and lowland dipterocarp forest had the lowest vegetation similarity index. The trail
width and vegetation similarity index findings suggested that the montane forests
had minor vegetation recovery due to the excessive trail widening. Lastly, trail width
and depth were significantly associated with the tree canopy cover, slope gradient,
and elevation. The results indicated that tree canopy cover, slope gradient, and
elevation contributed to the widening and deepening of the Merapoh Trail. These
findings provided vital information for managers and park authorities in designing
targeted trail monitoring and maintenance programs to minimize the impacts. |
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