Informal camping on the margin of wild country: Early indicators of degradation and potential for some positive nature conservation outcomes

Wild areas provide a wide array of recreational opportunities in nature, including informal camping. We examined the potential for land degradation associated with informal campsites accessible by vehicle on the margins of the wild country on the Central Plateau of Tasmania, where alpine and sub-alpine ecosystems with numerous glacial and periglacial wetlands sit within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. There were no integrated analyses of the biotic and abiotic effects of informal camping on the distinctive ecosystems of Tasmania's high mountains and no work looking specifically at flyfishers campsites from anywhere in the world. We hypothesised that the impacts of informal camping on the vegetation communities, soil properties and native animals would be deleterious. We assessed impacts by comparing trampled areas and fire pits in ten campsites with geomorphologically similar adjacent controls. We found that informal camping resulted in colonisation by different plant species, greater soil compaction, more acid soils and decreased volumetric water content than control areas. Soils in 16 illegal firepits had higher pH, electrical conductivity and lower water content than the adjacent unburned ground. Visual amenity was also reduced by litter. More positively, campsite vegetation had a higher coverage of native herbs and grasses than the controls and attracted native animals, including a threatened iconic carnivore, the Tasmania devil (Sarcophilus harrisii). Informal camping may offset soil damage by helping endangered animals and plants at the current visitor rate. However, more informal campers may degrade world heritage values.