Wounded Landscape: Environmental and Social Consequences of (Illegal) Motor Tourism in Forests on the Example of Worek Okrzeszyna (The Central Sudetes on The Polish-Czech Borderland)

Motor tourism (also known as motorised tourism or drive tourism) is based on using motor vehicles for tourist purposes going beyond the sole purpose of transport. What is equally important is the pleasure of driving or riding a vehicle, a sense of authenticity, freedom and adventure, pursuing one’s interests (Zawadka 2015; Cater 2017; Frash, Blose 2019). In motor tourism, at least in some of its forms, the benefit and driving force for those who engage in it is the possibility to experience the flow state (Csikszentmihalyi 2005; Frash et al. 2018; Frash, Blose 2022), a temporary elimination of problems and worries, resulting from a total focus on the activity being done.

Motor tourism can be done on and off road, wherever it is possible, in the form of short trips as well as long journeys. The phenomenon has wide and varied meaning, including family travels in comfortable camper vans as well as lonely motorcycle journeys to the so-called world’s end. In English-language literature, the term drive tourism is very popular (e.g. Prideaux, Carson 2011; Fjelstul, Fyall 2015; Sykes, Kelly 2016; Hanrahan et al. 2017; Qiu et al. 2018), and it usually describes journeys by car or motorcycle on paved roads standing out for their unique values (winding, scenic landscape; cf. Eby, Molnar 2002; Akbar et al. 2003; Denstadli, Jacobsen 2011). Drive tourism might be perceived as a form of an escape from the everyday routine (Frash et al. 2018), or at least as an important source of experiences (Hallo, Manning 2009; Qiu et al. 2018; Scuttari 2019).

When using sport motorcycles, quads or other ORVs, the quasi-sport aspect of this tourist or, more widely, leisure activity seems to be important. It is connected with testing oneself as a driver and testing the equipment in technically difficult natural conditions, away from a regular trail. Dorocki (2021) notes that considering the benefits from the undertaken activity, motorcycle tourism is more similar to mountain biking, kayaking or climbing rather than other forms of motor tourism (e.g. using cars or camper vans), in which the final destination is key (cf. Carson, Taylor 2008; Pinch, Reimer 2012; Rickly 2016). Ramoa et al. (2021: 13) describe it vividly by saying that “(…) for motorcycle tourists, the journey could be seen as a destination on the move.” Such an attitude towards a motor hobby enters also the category of adventure tourism (Price-Davies 2011; Cater 2017). In Europe, motorcycle tourism has been growing for several years and has been noticed by some researchers (Gronau, Große Hokamp 2022), but it is rather analysed from the perspective of motivations and experiences (Ertaş et al. 2022; Heide, Scuttari 2022; Scherhag et al. 2022; Wragg 2022), and to a lesser extent – at least for now – in the context of its negative effects (Chylińska, Kołodziejczyk 2022). This is due to the fact that researchers focus on motorcycling on paved roads, not in natural terrain (the work by Wragg (2022) is an exception here, although also focuses on motorcyclists’ experiences). As a result, connections are indicated not only with adventure tourism but also with ecotourism (Ramoa et al. 2021; Scherhag et al. 2022). Given the observations made by the authors of this article, the latter connection may not always be true.

Motor tourism is practised in a specific area of law as riding vehicles requires not only adequate skills but also a license. Furthermore, the limits of driving/riding motor vehicles apply to defined spaces or technical infrastructure. In Poland, entering forests or protected areas using a motor vehicle is illegal, as stated by the Forest Act of 28 September 1991 (Art. 29(1)) and by preservation law (the Nature Preservation Act of 16 April 2014 (Art. 15(1)(18) and Art. 17(1)(1)).

Motor tourism using ORVs, an activity practised away from the network of paved roads and from tourist trails, appears in the scientific literature both in the context of the motivation of its participants (Joy, Antony 2019) and – increasingly often – with respect to the environmental and social consequences caused (Knight, Gutzwiller 1995; Liddle 1997; Joslin, Youmans 1999; Havlick 2002; Gaines et al. 2003; Davenport, Switalski 2006; Ouren et al. 2008). Previous analyses focus on areas where ORV tourism is popular or at least to some extent legal (e.g. the USA, Australia and Saudi Arabia). There are a number of policies and planning documents for ORV routes (WildEarth Guardians n.d.).

The consequences of the presented phenomenon were subject to analysis in various natural environments, drawing attention to those where ORV tourism is done most frequently: dry lands (Webb, Wilshire 1983; Assaeed et al. 2019), grasslands (Nortjé et al. 2012; Bhandari 2018), seaside (Lucrezi, Schlacher 2010) and forests (Switalski, Jones 2012). Even though each of the mentioned environments has its own specificity and resistance to the negative impact of motor tourism, there are some common environmental consequences which most often include:

Reduction of the surface plant layer (undergrowth, undercoat) in places frequently ridden on by ORVs; creating conditions for ecologically unfavourable succession of foreign species, or species different than those dominating in a given environment (Bhandari 2018); uncovering root systems of the high vegetation, their weakening, mechanical damage to the roots and, consequently, over-exposure of plants to pathogenic factors (Ouren et al. 2007: xii);

Decay processes of the surface on which ORV travel may eventually lead to the total destruction of the land, which, in some cases, may disable its further use for off-road journeys. It leads to the widening of the areas ‘ridden away’ by the researched vehicles and to a kind of migration of the negative effects of this human activity to other places. Furthermore, OVR tourism causes destruction of the technical and transport infrastructure in the natural areas, first and foremost dirt roads, through their overexploitation or using them not in the designated way. The authorities responsible for the natural environment occasionally report events of the purposeful destruction of the devices aimed at limiting entries of mechanical vehicles to the forest, such as barriers and road signs. Social consequences of ORVs entering natural areas are, first of all, conflicts about recreational space between different users. Such consequences include a decrease in the comfort of relaxation and a lowered sense of safety experienced by people using the environment in a different way than motor tourists do (Ouren et al. 2007: xiii). Finally, it means lowering legal culture of citizens in a situation of not respecting the law and, at the same time, ineffective execution of the existing legal norms.

Worek Okrzeszyna is located in the south-western part of Lower Silesia (Poland), constituting a small (about 10 km²) elongated area surrounded by the border with Czechia from three sides. From the west, it is surrounded by the hills of the southern end of the Krucze Mountains and from the east the Zawory Mountain range. To the south, the valley-like lowering is limited by the forested ranges of Jański Wierch (697 m a.s.l.) and Węglarz (567 m a.s.l.), divided by the valley of the Szkło (glass) brook (Fig. 1). An inventory research study focused on motorcycle tourism was concentrated in the latter two ranges and concerned the landscape forms created as a result of off-road rides. According to the physical-geographical division by Solon et al. (2008), in the area of Worek Okrzeszyna the borders of three micro-regions meet: the Krucze Mountains, the Jestřebí hory (majority on the Czech side, with the border range of Jański Wierch) and the Zawory Mountains.

Fig. 1.

Geologically, Worek Okrzeszyna is part of the Mid-Sudetic basin. The majority of Worek Okrzeszyna is occupied by rock series belonging to the lower layer of Perm – red Rotliegend: to the north, these are porphyry, melaphyre, porphyry tuff, arkosic sandstone and various shales, sandstones and conglomerates. The eastern borders of Worek Okrzeszyna (within Zawory cuesta) are mostly built by variegated sandstone (Triassic) and Upper Cretaceous sandstones. Upper Carboniferous formations only occupy the south-western part of Worek Okrzeszyna. These include variegated slates, clay arkosic sandstones with thin inserts of coal, and arkosic sandstones (Traczyk 2021). Upper Carboniferous rocks creating the Jański Wierch range are mainly polymictic conglomerates, sandstones and multi-coloured mudstones in the roof part. The nature of the pebbles found within the conglomerates makes it possible to claim that these sediments were created as a result of deposition of the rock material coming mainly from denuded and eroded old crystal massifs surrounding the Mid-Sudetic basin (Traczyk 2021).

Worek Okrzeszyna is an example of structural relief characteristic of this part of the Central Sudetes, whose most typical elements are four cuestas. According to Traczyk (2021: 207), “the relief of the surroundings of Jański Wierch […] is conditioned by the structure of geological substratum: vastness and direction of the layers as well as varying resistance of the rocks against the processes of weathering and denudation.” The massif constitutes a cuesta of clearly marked asymmetry of the slopes shaped in Upper Carboniferous arkosic sandstones. The slopes exposed towards the SW, that is towards the Czech Petřikovice village, are steeper (up to 72°) than the less inclined area on the Polish side. The central part of the cuesta, which is the most varied, is made of niches and denudation spurs, numerous rocks and rock cliffs (10–20 m high), below which rock material accumulates (scree cones and dump heaps). According to Traczyk (2021: 220), block covers deposited below the rock walls of the Jański Wierch cuesta and fine-fraction slope formation of the less inclined area on the Polish side were created in the periglacial environment in Pleistocene.

The majority of the hills surrounding Worek Okrzeszowski are covered with mountainous mixed forests, typical of the whole forest district Kamienna Góra with the dominating spruce (84%), beech, larch, alder, sycamore and small addition of other trees (Nadleśnictwo Kamienna Góra, 2021). Beech or mixed forests, however, clearly dominate in the ridge parts of the Jański Wierch range and its eastern part towards the bottom of the Szklo valley. Some of them were qualified as HCVF3.2. ecosystems, namely, ‘rare ecosystems, threatened in Europe (hornbeam, beech forests, fir forests, riparian forests, lower level fir-spruce trees)’ and as HCVF4.1 water-protecting forests.

The settlement network of Worek Okrzeszyna is constituted by only two chain-like villages: Uniemyśl in the north and Okrzeszyn more to the south, inhabited by about 300 people in total (according to the last 2011 census). Interestingly, before Second World War, coal mining used to be developed in this area, which is evidenced by overgrown heaps (Staffa et al. 1996). At the time, the level of population and investment was significantly higher. In 1899–1959, trains reached Okrzeszyn, but the line was disassembled because of two main factors: the depopulation of the borderland areas after the Second World War and limitation of raw material extraction. In the 1950s, a uranium mine operated briefly in Okrzeszyn. Nowadays, the peripheral nature, small population and agricultural-forest character make Worek Okrzeszyna an area that is attractive for various forms of outdoor leisure. The relatively closest major settlements motor tourists or day visitors may originate from are towns Lubawka, Kamienna Góra, Mieroszów and village Chelmsko Śląskie (around 15 km, 22 km, 18 km and 7 km from Okrzeszyn, respectively) on the Polish side of the border. On the Czech side, it could be towns Trutnov, Žacléř and village-tourist centre Adršpach (10 km, 24 km and 12 km).

Illegal motor tourism done with cross motorcycles, quads or other ORVs in forested areas in Poland has been a serious problem in recent years (Chylińska, Kołodziejczyk 2022). At the end of 2019, there were 9,259,000 ha of forests in Poland, equalling 29.6% of the country’s area. Their ownership structure is dominated by public forests (80.7%), including forest managed by the State Forests – National Forest Holding (76.9%) (Lasy Państwowe 2020). These forests are administered by 17 Regional Directorates of State Forests, within which there are 430 forest districts. Chylińska and Kołodziejczyk (2022) report that out of 332 forest districts participating in the survey aimed at estimating the scale of the phenomenon (77.2% of the total number of the forest districts), as many as 86.45% noted the presence of illegal motor tourism (Fig. 2). A great majority of the forest districts in this group described the problem as growing or staying at the same level (90.59%). The significance of the phenomenon is stressed by the fact that illegal motor tourism was indicated as the main problem by 53 forest districts, namely, 18.47% of the forest districts reporting the existence of the researched phenomenon in forests and 15.96% of all the forest districts which participated in the survey. In over half of the forest districts (53.66%), the forests are destroyed by all kinds of motor vehicles (motorcycles, quads, off-road cars), and in one third (37.98%) by both motorcycles and quads (Chylińska, Kołodziejczyk 2022). Illegal motor tourism takes place also in Poland’s most precious environments which are national parks. Out of 23 areas protected with this highest form of preservation, 16 face this problem (including seven affected by all the aforementioned kinds of vehicles), one reports no such phenomenon, six did not complete the survey (Fig. 3). As in the case of the forest districts, the phenomenon affects national parks countrywide, representing all types of natural landscapes in Poland. The described problem exists in at least three out of four national parks almost entirely covered by forest (>95% of the surface), namely, Magurski, Roztoczański and Świętokrzyski (Białowieski National Park did not participate in the survey).

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

In the Jański Wierch and Węglarz ranges motor tourism manifests itself as cross motorcycle rides, which were already reported in 2013. Rides using other ORVs or their traces were not observed. On the basis of the observations carried out by the authors and interviews with tourists using the researched area and the local residents, it can be estimated that on summer weekends this area is used by several dozen motorcyclists a day. On working days, the phenomenon also occurs, although its intensity is clearly lower. Motorcyclists ride in the researched area also in colder seasons – the intensity in this case varies and is difficult to determine. The entire network of roads used by motor tourists was catalogued for this territory, with a total length of at least 14.59 km, out of which 10.03 km in the Jański Wierch range (western side of Szkło) and 4.56 km in the Węglarz range (Figs 4–7). The routes include: (1) forest roads of different categories (paved or not), (2) hiking trails, and (3) paths created by the motorcyclists themselves.

Fig. 4.

Fig. 5.

Fig. 6.

Fig. 7.

The first group is characterised by the smallest inclinations, as they are adapted for transport using forest equipment, hence the erosion consequences of motorcycle tourism are the least developed. Nevertheless, in many places, surface damage by motorcycle vehicles is noticeable (loosening of the material, furrows), especially on more inclined stretches or areas more frequently visited by motorcyclists. The destruction of roadside vegetation is also visible. The last group (paths created by the motorcyclists) exhibits the largest denivelations, as the steepness of the slopes decides on the attractiveness of the routes for the motorcycle tourists. All these stretches are inclined >20°, and in some places even >50° (Fig. 7C, D). Together with the lack of previously prepared surface, it creates a significant potential for erosion. Oftentimes, such roads are created on slopes covered with deciduous forests (beech) and mixed forests, where the motorcyclists create a slalom among the trees. Such features and the inclination make the route even more attractive. In this category, there are also groups of approximately parallel paths, distant a few up to a dozen metres from each other (a maximum of four such parallel roads were catalogued – mark A in Fig. 5; apart from that, usually two or three – e.g. mark B in Fig. 4, and marks C, D and E in Fig. 5; Fig. 7A), as well as entire sections of the slope destroyed by motorcyclists’ rides. The widest such area is located on a steep part of the slope, west of the Szkło valley, below rock outcrops. The eroded area widens down the slope from 5 m up to 15 m width on a 50-m stretch (mark F in Fig. 4). East of the Szkło valley, the largest such zones are about 100 m long with the width of 2.0–2.4 m, and 20 m long with the width of 3–8 m. The middle group (motorcycle routes coinciding with hiking trails; Fig. 6A, B) is the most varied – from the paths of low inclination to very steep stretches. It is the latter type where the most advanced changes were catalogued. A great durability of the routes used by motorcyclists in a given area is characteristic, which can be demonstrated thanks to the preliminary research from May 2021 and visits in years prior to that.

Motorcycle tourist routes in the Jański Wierch and Węglarz ranges traverse the slopes, and run perpendicular to contour lines and along the ridges. As mentioned before, the steeper the route, the greater its difficulty, hence also attractiveness. As a consequence, many of them cross the steepest slopes, with inclination exceeding 40° (Figs 8 and 9). It is especially visible in the Jański Wierch range with routes on the steep slope of the cuesta, more or less perpendicular to contour lines, and on the slopes of the Szkło valley (Fig. 7A). Another characteristic feature is designating the routes to connect as many technically difficult places as possible (structural thresholds - Fig. 7C, D, rock outcrops, dump material at the foot of cuestas).

Fig. 8.

Fig. 9.

There are 16 points within the research area where the motorcycle routes cross the state border, including three times crossing the border Szklo brook. The phenomenon is thus an international problem affecting both sides of the border. Regarding their length, most routes run on the Czech side, but the places most damaged by erosion initiated by the motorcycle tourism are located along the state border or on the Polish side.

The main consequence of the motorcycle tourism in the Jański Wierch and Węglarz ranges is the intensification of erosion, depending on the inclination of the slope and on the intensity of the tourist use of the trail (erosion is also caused by hiking but to a significantly lower degree than motorcycle tourism, which is evidenced by the intensification of the processes in time when motorcyclists appeared in the area). While braking on descends or while going upwards, the motorcycles’ wheels move the mineral material on the path, which might then be blown away or removed by concentrated flow of precipitation waters. Multiple repetitions of the process lead to the development of significant microforms of relief (furrows and erosion cuts) reaching 1 m in depth. The longest, and at the same time the deepest erosion cut was catalogued on the western side of the Szklo valley, at the eastern edge of the rock cliff, stretching along the ridge area of the Jański Wierch range (mark G in Fig. 4). It is 45 m long, the greatest width of the furrow is 3.1 m and the greatest depth is 95 cm (Figs 10 and 11).

Fig. 10.

Fig. 11.

The shape of the cut is adjusted to the terrain relief, coinciding with the course of the tourist trail (nowadays also used by motorcyclists), which is approximately parallel to the rock cliff. In many places, the soil and rock rubble have already been removed, reaching the bedrock, which is evidenced by similar depths of cuts of the axial parts of the furrow (around 40–50 cm deep in the upper part, 80–90 cm in the middle part and 50–60 cm in the lower part of the furrow). As a result, on certain stretches, instead of a V-profile, the cut reaches a box profile, with steep walls and a relatively flat bottom (Figs 10 and 11). Great advancement of erosion processes in this place results from the gradient of the slope (mostly 30–50°, sometimes >60°), general great dynamics of the relief due to the neighbouring rock cliff (Figs 8 and 10B) and coinciding two types of tourist use of the area (hiking and motorcycle tourism). Additionally, because of the view, tourists want to move possibly close to the cliff’s edge, choosing the most damaged route (there are paths further from the cliff but are clearly less exploited, which does not mean that there are no deformations of relief). The lower part of the cut leads to the duct traversing the slope. Here, water loses the ability to move material; thus, an inlet-dump cone was created (Fig. 10C). Because of the terrain relief, the cone is asymmetrical: To the south, its diameter is 4 m, and to the east, it is as large as 7 m (Fig. 10). Larger blocks occur there probably as a result of sliding down the slope, which might be initiated by hikers and motorcycle tourists. Based on the measurements of the length and the depth of the cut set every 1 m along the furrow, it is possible to estimate the possible volume of eroded material at 22.5 m³ (0.5 m³ ∙ m^-1 of the path).

Apart from the cut described above, larger erosion cuts were catalogued within the Jański Wierch range. They were found on chosen stretches of the ridge route, which were more inclined (>20°) and on short stretches joining the ridge route with the parallel route at the foot of the rock cliff (in some parts, the inclination there exceeds 50°, Fig. 6C). Moreover, more impressive cuts occur near the Szklo riverbed (the deepest cut is 67 cm) and on the northern slopes, along the state border, which leads here towards the Beczkowski brook. The amount of material removed from the short connecting routes that cut the rock edge can be evidenced by an example located between the viewpoint Krausova vyhlídka and the peak of Jański Wierch (mark H in Fig. 4), where on a slope with a mature beech forest, the soil developed fairly well (the routes farther to the east are more rocky). At the foot of the slope, there is an irregular inflow cone 12 m × 6 m (the irregularity results mostly from being destroyed by motorcyclists). It is clearly visible that the mineral material brought by precipitation water covers the plants previously growing there. Apart from that, in the Jański Wierch range, several rocks with cuts/scratches made by hard parts of motorcycles were catalogued. Most of them are located in the upper part of the connecting stretches between the ridge route and the route at the foot of the rock edge, in places where the motorcyclists must squeeze through the gaps in rocks. They are also visible on the route at the foot of the eastern part of the rock cliff (mark I in Fig. 4), which was probably designated to test the skills in a rocky terrain. In one of the cuts near the ridge (mark J in Fig. 4), part of the rock was removed mechanically (visible traces of drilling) to ensure an appropriate width for the motorcycles to pass.

On the eastern side of the Szkło valley, in the Węglarz range, the relief is generally less dynamic (Fig. 7); hence, the potential for erosion is smaller. Nevertheless, erosion cuts were catalogued here, too. The deepest cut was 45 cm deep and 1.3 m wide (mark K in Fig. 5). Greater changes are typical of the immediate vicinity of the Szkło brook, where the slopes are steeper (Fig. 7A) and the motorcycle traffic is channelled; crossing the river takes place in three locations only. The influence of the described process is also expressed in modelling of the riverbed, where big rocks were removed to ensure a safer pass. In the Węglarz range, there are many wetlands, especially along the border. This constitutes an obstacle for both motorcyclists and hikers, resulting in widening the ‘official’ path or in creating alternative paths that allow for omitting the muddy stretch. As a result, the area used for hiking-motorcycle tourist traffic might be of even 5 m width, within which there are 2–3 paths and a significant area of destroyed (trampled) vegetation.

On the routes used by motorcyclists, vegetation is destroyed in several ways. There is a lot of damage to the tree roots – not only on the stretches where erosion cuts are formed but also in many other places where the motorcycle wheels cause loosening of the topsoil, simultaneously damaging the roots. This problem is especially strong on the route from the Szklo valley to Jański Wierch peak (mark L in Fig. 4) and from the same valley to the east (mark K in Fig. 5). Destroyed undercoat vegetation is visible, as well as plants crushed by the wheels and broken branches along the routes.

As the described process is illegal in both countries, motorcyclists use the peripheral location of the Jański Wierch and Węglarz ranges. It is especially visible on the Polish side, where the settlement network is sparse, stretching only along the Szklo valley which is, at the same time, the main road. The forest complexes here are compact, and in former fields, a secondary plant succession occurred, which results in the area being difficult to explore. Moreover, the peripheral nature of the Polish side is decided by the shape of the state border – villages Okrzeszyn and Uniemyśl are surrounded from three sides by the territory of Czechia, and reaching them is only possible using one road from the north. The accessibility from the Czech side is better because along the valley of the Petřikovický brook (the Czech name of the Szklo) and its inflow, the Chvalečský brook, there is a regional road and a local train line. However, the great steepness of the slopes and the lack of decent forest roads are the reasons why the ridge parts of Jański Wierch remain difficult to reach.

The social effects of motorcycle tourism in the research area are more difficult to determine as they are not of a physical nature. They were defined on the basis of the authors’ own experiences, conversations with tourists and local residents they met. First of all, the reduced quality of rest (recreation) should be noted. This results from (1) the noise of engines, which spreads very easily in the valley of the Petřikovický brook, and (2) changes in the landscape (significant degraded areas, devoid of vegetation and with active erosion reduce aesthetic impressions and lower the assessment of the landscape among its users). In the context of the noise spreading, it must be taken into account that on the Czech side, a great part of the buildings are second homes (cf. Kubeš 2010; Vágner 2001), which are supposed to be a place to escape from the city with all its disadvantages, including noise. Not without significance is also the deterioration of hiking conditions due to the unfavourably shaped surface of paths (erosion gutter, which is difficult to hike, thresholds, loose rock material).

While it is true that for the motorcycle tourists, the attractiveness of a route is determined largely by its level of difficulty (inclination, winding, stretches on the rocks), landscape values are also of importance. It is evidenced in the fact that the routes lead to viewpoints and rock formations. The axis of the motorcycle route network within the Jański Wierch range goes along the ridge, without major technical difficulties but rich in views. However, other groups of tourists also want to benefit from the landscape values, tourists for whom legal trails have been designated, especially hikers. Legal hiking trails and illegal motorcycle routes coincide on long stretches because they lead to the same places. This may result in potential conflicts. Because of attractive views and rock formations, hiking traffic in the area of Jański Wierch is heavy. It has become even more intense as a result of investments in the tourist infrastructure in recent years. Only the eastern part of the research area is devoid of official tourist trails, i.e. in the Czech territory on the eastern side of Szkło. The exception is the state border, along which there is a Polish hiking trail. Hence, in this area, conflicts between hiking and motorcycle tourism are potentially smaller.