Systematic review of methods for the assessing the impact of mass tourism on the natural-territorial complexes of the Subarctic and the Arctic

Abstract

For the first time, the article presents a systematic review of foreign practical-oriented scientific works describing methods of studying the impact of tourism activities on the natural-territorial complexes of the Sub-arctic and the Arctic with a general analysis of their effectiveness for planning tourist and recreational space. The results of most applied studies indicate that Subarctic and Arctic natural complexes are less tolerant and most susceptible to negative effects from mass tourism. For example, the most resistant ones to tourism and recreation factor are pink-moss and grass-moss tundra, and lichen, fluff-sedge tundra are the most vulnerable. The degree of stability of natural complexes to tourist and recreational effects is determined not by the value of the total reserve of above-ground biomass, but by its structure. At the initial stage of the designof tourist and recreational space, in the natural environment of the Arctic and the Subarctic, first of all, it is necessary to conduct studies to assess the linear and area recreational load in order to avoid the negative consequences of mass tourism.