Impacts of Human Activities on the High Mountain Landscape of the Tatras (Example of the Border Area of the High and Belianske Tatras, Slovakia)

Abstract

We summarize impacts of human activities on the alpine landscape at the border of the High and Belianske Tatras (Slovakia). The High Tatras, especially due to the glacial relief on the crystalline rocks and specific climatic conditions, represent the most attractive area of year-round tourism. The Belianske Tatras represent the limestone part of the mountain range, with rare communities, many endemics and glacial relics, and are among the rarest and most endangered mountains in Slovakia. In the past, this area was mainly affected by grazing, forest cutting and mining. Currently, the area is protected as the Tatra National Park, the Tatras Biosphere Reserve, by the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, tourism is the only human activity in the area. Due to tourism, the ridge trail of the Belianske Tatras has been closed since 1978 and one of the trails has been open since 1993. The current hiking, as the only activity in the area, is bearable, which was confirmed by experimental research. But hiking trails are threatened by many morphodynamic processes.