Abstract
At present, the protection of nature and landscape in the high mountains of the Western Carpathians, protected as national parks, is becoming increasingly at the forefront of society’s interests in connection with the development of their economic use and the development of mass tourism. Our research was focused on analyzing the extent and character of land cover changes in the Low Tatras National Park in Slovakia over the last 30 years (1990–2018) using CORINE land cover (CLC) data. The period captures almost the entire existence of the Slovak Republic. Therefore, it was possible to evaluate the landscape changes in the protected area and to identify barriers and possibilities of its long-term sustainable development. Based on computer modeling, the main areas of the land cover changes were identified, and on the basis of historical-geographical and field research, land cover flows were determined and justified in the studied landscape of the national park. Changes were monitored using three methods: by comparing CLC maps over the years, by analyzing land cover flows, and by comparing landscape metrics obtained through the PatchAnalyst. Land cover changes occurred on up to 20% of the national park area in the given period. The most significant change was observed in the CLC class coniferous forests, with almost a 12% decrease. Conversely, there was an increase of more than 11% in the CLC class transitional woodland-shrub.
Highlights
Land cover changes are a continuous process worldwide [1,2,3,4,5], especially in developing countries of Asia and SouthAmerica, and in the (“post-socialist”) countries of Central and Eastern Europe, including Slovakia.Socio-political reforms occurred after 1989, and subsequent transformations that began after 2004, when Slovakia joined the European Union, can be considered as the leading causes of land cover changes in this region
We have focused on the main class of land cover flows (e.g., LCF7), which consist of several subclasses of land cover flows
A sample of the class was formed by islands of trees of the abovementioned species, alternating individually or in groups, represented by several types of conifers
Summary
Land cover changes (whether natural or occurring by anthropogenically affected development) are a continuous process worldwide [1,2,3,4,5], especially in developing countries of Asia and South. Socio-political reforms occurred after 1989, and subsequent transformations that began after 2004, when Slovakia joined the European Union, can be considered as the leading causes of land cover changes in this region. On Nature and Landscape Protection was adopted. This act strengthened the protection of natural balance, the protection of the diversity of natural conditions and life forms, natural values and creates the preconditions for the sustainable use of natural resources and ecosystem services, taking into account the economic, social and cultural needs as well as regional and local circumstances. The act defines five zones of protection, the fifth being the highest.
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