Abstract:In order to understand the ecological effect of of tourism development, sample investigation was conducted on the basis of the data obtained from the plant communities and soil properties along the main routes in Huangshan Mountain scenic areas. The impacts of tourist disturbance on plant communities and soil properties were analyzed by comparing the condition of vegetation and soil among the different distances of 0, 5, 10, 15m away from the tourist trail where the intensities of tourist disturbance are distinct. The results are as follows: The impact of tourist disturbance on trees wasn′t obvious, but significant on the seedlings. There was a marked effect on the cover of shrub layer with a decrease tendency towards the main tourist trails. On the herb layer the impact was relatively evident. The height of herb layer near the trail where the intensity of tourist disturbance was the greatest decreased obviously. However, the cover of herb layer has not shown a regular change with increasing intensity of tourist disturbance. Tourist disturbance raised, on the one hand, species diversity in herb layer, and affected the composition of species on the other hand. The impacted spatial area could reach the surrounding area of 10m in diameter near the trail. The most significant ecological stress placed by tourist was on leaf litter layer. With the increase in the intensity of tourist disturbance, the height of leaf litter layer decreased distinctly. The impacted area could range 15m in diameter away from the trail. Soil properties was also influenced obviously by tourist disturbance. The content of organic matter, the total N and the total P in soil decreased with the increasing intensity of tourist disturbance, but the value of pH and the content of total K increased. The impacted range of soil covered an area of about 15m in diameter away from the trail, but the most obviously affected areas were in 5m.