Biophysical impacts of recreational horse riding in multi-use National Parks and Reserves

Horse riding is one of many recreational uses of national parks and forest reserves that provides participants with varied experiences of the environment. Concerns have been raised by a range of stakeholders that impacts imposed by horse riding are increasingly unacceptable, and consequently, access is being reduced in some areas through new plans of management. Studies in recreational ecology that could support decision-making on this issue generally relate to northern hemisphere conditions, which may have limited relevance and application to Australian conditions. Little research has been undertaken in Australia, most of which refers to specific environments or to small scale experimental studies that cannot be meaningfully extrapolated to other areas. In this paper, the available literature is reviewed and key knowledge gaps are identified to provide a supportive framework for decisionmakers and future research.