The distribution of climbing chalk on climbed boulders and its impact on rock-dwelling fern and moss species.

ABSTRACT: Rock climbing is popular, and the number of climbers rises worldwide. Numerous studies on the impact of climbing on rock-dwelling plants have reported negative effects, which were mainly attributed to mechanical disturbances such as trampling and removal of soil and vegetation. However, climbers also use climbing chalk (magnesium carbonate hydroxide) whose potential chemical effects on rock-dwelling species have not been assessed so far. Climbing chalk is expected to alter the pH and nutrient conditions on rocks, which may affect rock-dwelling organisms. We elucidated two fundamental aspects of climbing chalk. (a) Its distribution along nonoverhanging climbing routes was measured on regularly spaced raster points on gneiss boulders used for bouldering (ropeless climbing at low height). The

SUBMITTER: Hepenstrick D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7593172 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature