Recreation and Radial Growth of Pine Forests of the Natural Monument “Lake Turgoyak”, Southern Urals

The study presents results of the influence of recreational impact on the radial growth of Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.) in old-growth stands at the sites with the V stage of recreational degradation on the territory of organized and unorganized recreation and undisturbed areas. Over the 100 years, no negative recreation-driven changes in the radial growth were found. There is a significant increase in the tree-ring width and the number of absent rings in the chronologies from active recreation sites. A linear relationship was found between the number of absent rings and Palmer’s drought severity index. Under summer drought conditions, lake proximity may mitigate the negative effects of recreation on stands even at sites with V stage of recreational degradation.