Anthropogenic degradation of the tourist trawl in the Samaria Gorge (Western Crete)

The aim of this research was to estimate the scale and rate of tourist degradation in the surroundings of the trail in the Samaria Gorge. The extent of erosion was estimated based on field measurements. The biggest tourist degradation marks the section between the 2nd and the 7th km of the trail The traces of treading are marked by: uncovered tree roots, showing the indentation of the trail at over 20cm, stones protruding from the path, trampled roadsides and additional paths trodden along the trail. In the extreme case, the width of the trodden area exceeds 5 m. Below the Samaria village the trail leads mainly on the stony stream bed and there are no permanent traces of trampling. The research has proven that hiking can be a serious threat to relief of Crete due to the high human congestion on a small area. However, it is not the amount of the tourist movement that decides about the rate and scale of degradation, but the relation of the path to the forms of relief, the character of the ground, and the dynamics of the meteorological phenomena in the tourist season.