GetDiv – a call for a global coordinated study on plant diversity changes on nature trails

Abstract

Despite the growing popularity of nature tourism, we have limited systemic knowledge of how it a ff ects nature, from both an abiotic and biotic perspective, and what these e ff ects are in di ff erent regions, habitats or trail types. Here we propose a coordinated global experiment framework – GetDiv – for a comprehensive understanding of the e ff ects of visitor ’ s load on the vegetation of nature trails. For preliminary analysis we selected 20 trails in Estonia, and we show that plant diversity along the trails is negatively a ff ected by visito ŕ s load in both forest and open habitat. We present here the rationale for the methodological approach, and call for a coordinated global e ff ort to collect comparable and comprehensive data of diverse aspects of nature trails, with a focus on plant diversity. All the necessary guidelines and protocols to fi ll out for participating in GetDiv are included in the GetDiv webpage: https://getdiv.wordpress. com/. For participation in the fi rst GetDiv study, the deadline for contribution is December 2024.