The Effect of Heavy Trampling on an Amenity Grassland During a Festive Event

Abstract

An annual festive event was held at Ooizumi-Ryokuchi Park during May 1985. The turf vegetation was investigated by belt transect method three times: before, just after, and one month after the event.
Just after the event, some areas of the grassland were almost entirely denuded of vegetation due to trampling. One month after, many perennial plants such as Trifolium repens, Paspalum dilatutum, and Hybrid Bermuda grass had regrown to pre-event status. Annual winter grass had not regrown due to the seasonal conditions.
The number of days which were necessary to regain the pre-event coverage, were simulated using a growth model and measured growth rate. The result differed from four to fifty days, depending on the pre-event coverage (Cb) and the pre-event (Cb) to worn coverage (Ca) ratio Ca/Cb. When trampled by the same intensity, it was found that pre-event, lower grassland could more rapidly recover to its pre-event coverage, as compared to pre-event higher coverage grassland.
When a festive event is planned in such a place the positionning of facilities should consider this finding, i.e. that lower-coverage grassland recovers more rapidly than higher-coverage grassland.