Abstract:Trails used in tourism are essential for sustainable recreation practices, but they also have impacts on trailside vegetation and soil. There is limited recreation ecology research on the impact of trails in China, and especially on Jade Dragon Mountain, a globally recognized biodiversity site with high scenic value. To quantify the changing pattern of vegetation and soil alongside trails and their variation between different trail types, field investigations have been carried out in the subalpine meadows of Jade Dragon Mountain. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and regression analysis have been applied to the data collected. The results showed that: 1) With increasing distance to the edge of trail (DIST), vegetation cover, height, species richness, soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN) and soil moisture content tended to increase, while soil pH decreased. 2) With increased DIST, the percentage of herbs decreased and grass increased. 3) Vegetation cover, height, SOM, TN and soil moisture content alongside formal trails (created with wooden building materials) were generally higher than those alongside informal trails (unpaved paths), while soil pH alongside formal trails was lower than informal trails. The difference in vegetation characteristics between the two types of trail was obvious to the range of 7 m DIST. 4) The vegetation aggregative index (VAI) within a range of 3 m to the trails was significantly different compared to background sites (P<0.05). The changing pattern of VAI and the soil aggregative index (SAI) indicated that soil changes lag behind vegetation changes. 5) The study indicates that a 7 m range to the edge of formal trails and 12 m to the edge of informal trails are the key spatial areas requiring management for ecological restoration.