Trail degradation caused by mountain biking and hiking: A multi-dimensional analysis.

Growing demands for on-trail activities have aroused challenges of how to balance outdoor recreation and protected area conservation. Unfortunately, most previous studies have focused on only one or two degradation features, so inconsistent views (i.e., no consensus on impacts induced by hiking and mountain biking) were obtained. This study investigated a mountain biking trail, a hiking trail, and an unmanaged trail in a Hong Kong country park for 1.5 years. Five dimensions of trail degradation, namely Trail Morphometry, Soil Texture, Soil Compaction, Erosion Feature, and Recovery Feature, were identified by Explanatory Factor Analysis. Significant correlations were found between hiking and all five dimensions, while mountain biking was significantly associated only with Trail Morphometry, Erosion Feature, and Recovery Feature. Trail grade and landform grade significantly affected Trail Morphometry, Soil Texture, and Erosion Feature, but trail slope alignment was a null predictor. Hiking caused more severe trail degradation than mountain biking, even after controlling for topography. These findings supplement the existing literature by providing a comprehensive understanding of the multitude of adverse impacts caused by hiking and mountain biking. This study provides a valuable reference for sustainable trail management in protected areas that receive both hikers and mountain bikers.

Who will survive in the next disaster? The associations between sociodemographics and typhoon protective behaviors.

Personal protective behaviors play an important role in disaster management because they can effectively reduce the damage caused by disasters. Understanding the relations and differences in protective behaviors among different social classes can help improve disaster management. This study conducted a street questionnaire survey in a typhoon-prone district of Hong Kong. Data were analyzed to understand how sociodemographic parameters (i.e., gender, age, education level, and income) influenced typhoon protective behaviors (i.e., preparedness before typhoons and emergency response during typhoons) of Hong Kong residents. The results showed that the level of preparedness of the respondents was low before the arrival of the typhoon. When the typhoon is approaching Hong Kong, they become more responsive. The higher the intensity of the typhoon, the higher the level of the adoption of emergency response. Among four sociodemographic parameters, only age and income significantly affected protective behaviors. This study supplements the existing literature on typhoon disaster management and provides a reference for improving typhoon disaster management in Hong Kong and other coastal cities affected by typhoons.

Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust: Is scattering garden the sustainable destination for cremated ashes?

Cremation is commonly practiced around the world because it requires small space for the disposal of ashes. Among various options for ash disposal, many people choose to scatter the ashes of their loved ones in a scattering garden. What are the impacts of ash scattering on the vegetation of the garden? Is scattering garden a sustainable solution to the disposal of cremated ashes? This study aimed at answering these questions by characterizing and assessing the vegetation performance of a scattering garden using remote sensing techniques and field measurements. The results indicated that, overall, approximately half of vegetation was degraded to either unhealthy or bare soil. The area of bare soil in the lawns of high scattering level was larger than that of low scattering level. Furthermore, the belowground biomass of vegetation in the lawns of high scattering level was significantly lower than that of low scattering level. It is concluded that the current practice of ash scattering in Hong Kong was not sustainable and the intensity of impacts was dependent upon the level of ash scattering. The findings of this study may provide a reference for the policy and management of ash scattering in Hong Kong and other cities around the world.

Pokémon GO and Physical Activity in Asia: Multilevel Study.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity has long been considered as an important component of a healthy lifestyle. Although many efforts have been made to promote physical activity, there is no effective global intervention for physical activity promotion. Some researchers have suggested that Pokémon GO, a location-based augmented reality game, was associated with a short-term increase in players' physical activity on a global scale, but the details are far from clear. OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to study the relationship between Pokémon GO use and players' physical activity and how the relationship varies across players with different physical activity levels. METHODS: We conducted a field study in Hong Kong to investigate if Pokémon GO use was associated with physical activity. Pokémon GO players were asked to report their demographics through a survey; data on their Pokémon GO behaviors and daily walking and running distances were collected from their mobile phones. Participants (n=210) were Hong Kong residents, aged 13 to 65 years, who played Pokémon GO using iPhone 5 or 6 series in 5 selected types of built environment. We measured the participants' average daily walking and running distances over a period of 35 days, from 14 days before to 21 days after game installation. Multilevel modeling was used to identify and examine the predictors (including Pokémon GO behaviors, weather, demographics, and built environment) of the relationship between Pokémon GO use and daily walking and running distances. RESULTS: The average daily walking and running distances increased by 18.1% (0.96 km, approximately 1200 steps) in the 21 days after the participants installed Pokémon GO compared with the average distances over the 14 days before installation (P<.001). However, this association attenuated over time and was estimated to disappear 24 days after game installation. Multilevel models indicated that Pokémon GO had a stronger and more lasting association among the less physically active players compared with the physically active ones (P<.001). Playing Pokémon GO in green space had a significant positive relationship with daily walking and running distances (P=.03). Moreover, our results showed that whether Pokémon GO was played, the number of days played, weather (total rainfall, bright sunshine, mean air temperature, and mean wind speed), and demographics (age, gender, income, education, and body mass index) were associated with daily walking and running distances. CONCLUSIONS: Pokémon GO was associated with a short-term increase in the players' daily walking and running distances; this association was especially strong among less physically active participants. Pokémon GO can build new links between humans and green space and encourage people to engage in physical activity. Our results show that location-based augmented reality games, such as Pokémon GO, have the potential to be a global public health intervention tool.

[Strategies for sustainable development of Hong Kong Global Geopark].

Hong Kong has a limited area of 1108 km2 but remarkably rich geodiversity and diversified geology, landforms, and assemblages of associated features and processes. Some of the geological features can even be considered as world-class, which deserves more attention. Over the years, Hong Kong has allocated a lot of resources in biodiversity conservation, but the geodiversity conservation has been a missing piece in the initiatives of biocentric conversation for decades. The National Geopark in Hong Kong was eventually established in 2009, and listed as a Global Geopark by UNESCO in September 2011. This Geopark not only aims at the protection of natural environment, but also provides the public with opportunities of recreation and education. While these objectives seem to be conflicting, the conflicts can be solved by balancing the orientation first, and then, according to the real situation, implementing proper design, planning, and management.

Environmental quality of urban parks and open spaces in Hong Kong.

It is widely purported that urban parks and open spaces can improve the urban environment by cleansing the air and reducing the noise. However, such environmental functions can be constrained by the size and the location of urban parks in very dense cities. This study examines the air and acoustic environment and heavy metal contamination in Hong Kong urban parks and open spaces. Using a hybrid field measurement and computer simulation approach, the study has found that while the air quality in urban parks is better than that of the roadside, it is not significantly different from that of the ambient conditions. Noise levels in the urban parks are not significantly lower than those at the typical home environment in Hong Kong. Heavy metals in urban park dust are slightly lower than that found at the roadside and are broadly comparable to those found at typical homes and nursery schools. These findings lend support to the postulation that the capability of urban parks and open spaces in dense cities to improve the urban environment is rather limited and call for a re-examination of the role of urban parks in enhancing urban livability. The findings also have implications on how urban parks in dense cities should be designed and managed.

Heavy metal contents and magnetic properties of playground dust in Hong Kong.

This study examined the levels of seven heavy metals (namely zinc, copper, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese and iron) and their associations with magnetic properties in playground dust of Hong Kong. Results showed that the playground dust contained high concentrations of Zn (mean = 1883 microg g(-1)), Cu (mean = 143 microg g(-1)) and Cr (mean = 263 microg g(-1)). Qualitative examination of dust samples under microscope indicated local traffic as one of the important pollutant sources. Magnetic measurements indicated that these anthropogenic pollutants mainly consisted of coarse-grained multidomain (MD) ferrimagnetic minerals. Superparamagnetic (SP), stable single domain (SSD) ferrimagnetic grains and non-ferrimagnetic minerals were present in relatively small amounts. Significant correlations between heavy metals and various magnetic parameters indicated a strong affinity of heavy metals to magnetic minerals hence pointed out the potential of magnetic properties for simple and rapid proxy indications of heavy metal pollution in playground dust.

Behavioral response of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) to vessel traffic.

A series of land-based surveys were conducted at two vantage points of known dolphin abundance in Hong Kong. The purpose of this study was to determine the behavioral response of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) to vessel traffic. Results indicated that dolphins dove for a longer duration in areas of heavy vessel traffic or when there was the presence of an oncoming vessel. Dependent upon the type of vessel and the relative distance, dolphins might flee, continue their ongoing activity, perform a new activity, or approach the vessel. Whilst slow-moving vessels appeared not to cause immediate stress on the dolphin community, fast-moving vessels often cause disruption of behavior and social life. In order to ensure a better environment for the animals, we suggest that proactive conservation measures such as the creation of a marine park, rules and regulations for dolphin watching activities, and regional control of vessel speed should be implemented.