Table Mountains Research Articles

Lithological and tectonic impact on the Wielkie Torfowisko Batorowskie Mire development in the Table Mountains, Poland

Lithological and tectonic impact on the Wielkie Torfowisko Batorowskie Mire development in the Table Mountains, Poland

Factors determining changes in the network of marked hiking trails in the Sudetes

Hiking trails are a basic type of tourist infrastructure, which, on the one hand, make areas available for tourist traffic, and on the other hand, can contribute to the protection of the natural environment (if they are well designed and maintained). Owing to the variety of performed functions, their designation is determined by several factors: natural, technical, economic, social. Networks of trails change constantly. The aim of this article is to determine exactly what factors influence transformations within the hiking trail networks and what is their significance. To this end, three study areas in the Sudetes were analysed: one on the Polish side of the Sudetes–the Table (Stołowe) Mountains, and two on the Czech side–the rock town near the village of Sloup v Čechách and the central part of Zlatohorská vrchovina. An analysis of changes in the shape of the networks over time was carried out, as well as surveys of institutions that were responsible for or influenced these transformations. These areas are characterised by a significant level of changes in the trail network. Among the factors influencing these changes, the tourist attractiveness of the area, the resilience of the environment, the intensity of tourism traffic, the environmental transformations associated with it, the history of tourism development and land ownership changes should be considered the most important. At each stage of forming networks, the key factor should be tourists’ needs, including the desire to escape the urbanised environment. For this reason, trails should avoid roads with artificial (hard) surfaces and heavy automobile traffic.

Hiding in the mists: molecular phylogenetic position and description of a new genus and species of snake (Dipsadidae: Xenodontinae) from the remote cloud forest of the Lost World

AbstractPantepui s.l. is a remote, biodiverse region of ~400 000 km2 containing at least five endemic reptile genera and a number of ancient vertebrate lineages. Here, we describe an additional endemic snake genus and species, Paikwaophis krukigen. nov., sp. nov. (Dipsadidae: Xenodontinae), recently collected in the Pantepui cloud forest that sits at the base of the steep cliffs of Roraima-tepui and Wei-Assipu-tepui (table mountains of the Eastern Tepui Chain) in Guyana, South America. Multilocus molecular data strongly support Paikwaophisgen. nov. to be most closely related to Xenopholis Peters, 1869, although both genera are strikingly different morphologically. Osteological and other phenotypic data suggest that Paikwaophis is semi-fossorial; its diet includes minute lizards. Paikwaophis is currently the only known Pantepui endemic snake genus. The immature female holotype is the only known specimen.

Przewodnik sudecki albo konstrukt nowej górskiej elity między dwiema tradycjami

After 1945 numerous ranges of the Sudetes, including parts of the highest Giant Mountains and the spectacular Table Mountains, found themselves within Poland’s borders. The history of the mental assimilation and touristic development of these mountains took a slightly different course than in the case of the ranges influencing the uniquely Polish tradition of perceiving mountain areas, that is above all the Tatras and the Eastern Carpathians. Some more analogies could be found in the Western Beskids, especially in their Silesian part. After the Second World War, the northern side of the Sudetes, like the rest of the so-called Recovered Territories, underwent a multifaceted process of making these “former German” territories familiar, a process which from the point of view of their (re)Polonisers was much more difficult than in the case of the Silesian Lowlands with their obvious Slavic past.
 A crucial role in this process was played by Sudetes guides, who in many respects embodied, in a very interesting manner, the changes taking place at the time in the perception of the history of the region and the role of mountain tourism. Leading the working masses of socialist towns and villages to Sněžka, a post-war Polish guide easily, though not without some risky ideological-interpretative about-turns, assimilated the legacy of the old Giant Mountains sedan chair porters, referring, on the other hand, to the Polish Tatra or, more broadly, Carpathian tradition, which was evident in, for example, the adoption of a characteristic costume or in the new design of the guide “tin” (badge).
 This bridging of two traditions — the authentic and local, very reluctantly identified as German, and the “imported” Polish-Carpathian, geographically distant — was not the only one that the new Sudetes guides had to get used to. Their basic function placed them — automatically, as it were — in a position of tension between being a leader and being a service provider; in addition, the reinterpretation of the role of the guides in line with the new ideology moved them to a completely different dimension on the wave of social advancement. Guides were no longer commoners earning some extra money by taking wealthy ladies and gentlemen — whom they had met while working as shepherds or gatherers — to the mountains, entertaining the elegant visitors by telling them legends and generating enthusiasm with their more or less authentic folklore. In accordance with the call for a “scientisation” of mountain guiding, the guides were to make the public aware of mountain nature and — what was particularly important in the so-called Recovered Territories — the history of the mountains; having at least a secondary education, trained during courses organised by the rather strongly ideological PTTK (Polish Tourism and Sightseeing Society), the guides were a new type of the “mountain men”, often with strong beliefs in their historical mission and the importance of the role entrusted to them. In the present article the author explores the themes highlighted here and demonstrates the areas of tension mentioned above, referring to the literature on the subject as well as his own experiences of working occasionally in this beautiful profession.

Comparison of the consistency of structural measurements made using the traditional method and with the use of point cloud from terrestrial laser scanning in a selected site of Radków Bluff (Table Mountains, SW-Poland)

The results from two methods of structural analysis of the morphological rock escarpment are presented – a conventional technique, based on cartographic projection and set of structural measurements, and one based on processed point cloud data obtained from terrestrial laser scanning of the site (TLS). The results refer to one of the numerous sites located at the base of the nearly 40 km long vertical rock cliff (Radków Bluff) in Table Mountains, which locally reaches height of up to 50 m. The selected site in the area of so-called Radków Rocky Towers area is characterized by a complex and multi-stage structural pattern. A method of automatic and semi-automatic determination of discontinuity surfaces in the entire exposure was tested, with particular emphasis on zones of load induced fractures located at the base of the rock wall. The authors obtained a high convergence of the results generated from the point cloud analysis and those made by the traditional method using a geological compass. The paper suggests a correct and effective methodology for surveying and using data, as well as highlighting the benefits of documenting geological sites with the use of TLS. The analysis confirms the role and importance of fractures induced by a localized load in the process of destruction and retreat of morphological slopes.

Notes on misconceptions in the application of geographical names of the tepuis on the borderlands of Guyana and Venezuela and a clarification of the location of Waukauyengtipu and Cerro Venamo

Abstract A review of recent publications concerning the South American Pantepui biogeographic region revealed recurring mistakes in the naming of several table mountains (known locally as ‘tepui’, ‘tipu’ or ‘tepuy’) located around the Guyana-Venezuela border, close to the transection of the so-called Schomburgk Line and the course of Rio Venamo. The mistakes are believed to have arisen and have been repeated as a result of a noticeable scarcity of detailed maps of the region, its short history of exploration and ongoing inaccessibility. An extensive analysis of modern satellite data and records of past research expeditions, supplemented by first-hand observations and assessment made during an expedition to Waukauyengtipu in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni Region in Guyana in January 2019, are used to clarify the nomenclatural confusion regarding the tepuis of the area. We determine that the tepuis known as Cerro Venamo and Waukauyengtipu should be treated as separate and distinct geographic formations.

Trachyandesite of Kennedy Table, its vent complex, and post–9.3 Ma uplift of the central Sierra Nevada: Comment

Hildreth et al. (2021) analyzed a set of table mountains near the San Joaquin River that are capped by a 9.3 Ma trachyandesite lava flow and concluded that, since the deposition of the volcanic rocks, the table mountains have been tilted 1.07° due to uplift of the central Sierra Nevada. While Gabet (2014) suggested that, under a limited set of conditions, the size of fluvial gravels under the table mountains would support the hypothesis of postdepositional uplift, the authors claimed that their evidence is more definitive. In addition, the authors proposed that the central Sierra Nevada tilted as a rigid block. However, their analyses rely on inferences and assumptions that are not supported by field evidence.

Evaluating the role of topographic inversion in the formation of the Stanislaus Table Mountains in the Sierra Nevada (California, USA)

Abstract The Table Mountains, a flat-topped series of ridges capped by a 10.4 Ma latite flow in the Stanislaus River watershed, are considered to be evidence for late Cenozoic uplift-driven landscape rejuvenation in the northern Sierra Nevada range (California, USA). The commonly accepted theory for the formation of these mesas posits that the latite flowed and cooled within a bedrock paleovalley and, since then, the surrounding landscape has eroded away, leaving behind the volcanic deposit as a ridge. Although this theory is accepted by many, it has not been thoroughly tested. In this study, I examine a series of geological cross-sections extracted along the length of the latite deposit to determine whether the evidence supports the existence of bedrock valley walls on both sides of the 10.4 Ma flow. I find that the presence of older Cenozoic deposits adjacent to the latite flow precludes the possibility that the flow would have been constrained within a bedrock valley. Moreover, the cross-section from an 1865 report that has been offered as evidence of topographic inversion (and subsequently reproduced in numerous publications) does not accurately represent the topography at that site. I conclude that there is no evidence that the bedrock topography has been inverted and that instead, the latite flowed within a channel cut into underlying Cenozoic deposits, which have since mostly eroded away. This study, therefore, refutes the hypothesis that the Stanislaus River watershed was rejuvenated in the late Cenozoic and challenges the claim for recent significant uplift of the region.

Из истории изучения «пещерного города» Качи-Кальон в XIX–XX вв.

The “cave towns” are located atop of table mountains built of limestone, or in rocky limestone precipices, within a small section of the Inner Range of the Crimean Mountains in the south-western Crimea. Among a very few written sources on the history of mediaeval Crimea there are mostly narratives, so thorough archaeological study of the sites is essential. Only the analysis of the data obtained by archaeology will shed light on the history of the creation, development, and decline of these enigmatic cave structures. This paper addresses the history of the study of the “cave town” of Kachi-Kal’on. This site is located in the Bakhchisarai District (Republic of the Crimea). Although the travelogues from the eighteenth to the early twentieth century regularly mentioned Kachi-Kal’on, the first archaeological studies of the site were carried out only in 1930. The excavations were conducted at a small square on the promontory in front of the fourth grotto of Kachi-Kal’on, where fortifications of the fortress were allegedly located. The excavations were carried out by the Eski-Kermen Expedition of the State Academy of the History of the Material Culture under the supervision of N. I. Repnikov. In the early autumn 1933, the archaeological researches at Kachi-Kal’on continued by the same expedition. Apart from the investigations in the territory of the ancient town where the cultural layer was disturbed, a great work was done to study and describe the whole site. This paper analyses the circumstances of the said researches of the site and examines the results of these works. The origin and functional purpose of the “cave town” is still disputable. The paper is the first to publish the photographs from the collections of the Institute of the History of the Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Trichanthecium tenerium (Poaceae: Panicoideae), a new species from Guinea-Conakry

Trichanthecium tenerium Xanthos, a new species from Guinea-Conakry, is described and illustrated. Trichanthecium tenerium is at present known only from two uninhabited sandstone table mountains in the Kounounkan Massif, Forecariah Prefecture. The species is assessed under the IUCN category Endangered. A key to the annual species of Trichanthecium is provided.

The Way to the Rocks\u2014Changes of Networks of Hiking Trails in Chosen Sandstone Landscapes in Poland and the Czech Republic in the Period of Political Transformation

The political transformation taking place in Central European countries at the turn of 1980s and 1990s influenced, among other aspects, the methods of nature protection and making it available for tourism. The changes taking place at that time have been traced in the article on the example of three sandstone landscapes, which belong to the most popular geotouristic attractions of the Czech Republic and Poland: Prachov Rocks Nature Reserve with adjacent fragments of the Bohemian Paradise Protected Landscape Area, Adršpach-Teplice Rocks National Nature Reserve and the Table Mountains National Park. These changes were analysed on the basis of transformations of the networks of hiking trails and development of other tourism facilities within the boundaries of the protected areas. Analysis covers the entire period from the end of communism (1980s) up to present days. According to the study, in the case of all analysed protected areas, the systemic transformation in Central Europe played an important role as a factor affecting the network of hiking trails. In each case, however, local factors were also important. The biggest changes occurred in the Adršpach-Teplice Rocks and the Table Mountains. In the first case, the number and distribution of visitors needed to be controlled, leading to modification of route network. The main reason of its significant reduction was to separate paid routes from those not charged. In the Table Mountains, the network was substantially developed as a consequence of the establishment of a national park there and the political changes at the turn of twentieth and twenty-first centuries which opened the border zone and forced the marking of new tourist trails. In the Prachov Rocks, the existing layout of hiking trails has been largely kept unchanged because the continuous intensive tourist traffic did not allow any reductions, even if these would help to protect the environment. On the other hand, the network was really well developed, that it did not require further growth. Today’s networks of tourist trails in the Prachov Rocks and some parts of the Table Mountains seem too developed, taking into account the protective regime of both areas. In terms of interpretation of geoheritage, the most extensive and targeted offer can be found in the Table Mountains National Park. Referring to the methods used, the graph theory cannot be applied easily to tourist trails networks, especially when a dissected landscape is analysed. A simple but very helpful indicator illustrating the development of the network is the density of tourist trails per square kilometre.

Mass tourism in protected areas – underestimated threat? Polish National Parks case study

Abstract The article considers the tourist traffic as possible to elements of inanimate nature in protected areas. The highest form of protection in Poland - national parks, has been taken into account. The main goal is to diagnose the situation based on the analysis of official documents elaborated by the national park authorities. One of the important elements is to diagnose the threat to nature and indicate ways to neutralize it. At the beginning, the geotouristic potential of these parks was presented, where this type of resources is considered important from the point of view of tourism. The tourist function of the most important attractions in Poland was indicated. In the top ten there are as many as 4 national parks, including Tatrzański which takes first place. The size of tourist traffic in all 23 parks was analyzed. As a result, it was shown that the most popular, where tourist flow is of mass character, include mountain parks with significant geotouristic potential. Next, the current protection plans for them were analyzed: Tatrzański, Karkonoski, Table Mountains and Pieniński, where the annual tourist flow varies between 0.5 million and almost 4 million visitors per year. Threats were assigned to 4 groups: existing internal threats, potential internal threats, existing external threats and potential external threats. In each of the types of threats special attention was paid to those related to inanimate nature. It also indicated the ways in which park managers want to influence the change of negative trends. The basic conclusion was indicated, which boils down to the postulate of a balanced approach to the protection of both types of nature: animate and inanimate. In the case of animate nature, threats and suggestions for improving the situation seem to be much better diagnosed than in the case of inanimate nature.

Procedural Method for Fast Table Mountains Modelling in Virtual Environments

Natural terrains created by long-term erosion processes can sometimes have spectacular forms and shapes. The visible form depends often upon internal geological structure and materials. One of the unique terrain artefacts occur in the form of table mountains and can be observed in the Monument Valley (Colorado Plateau, USA). In the following article a procedural method is considered for terrain modelling of structures, geometrically similar to the mesas and buttes hills. This method is not intended to simulate physically inspired erosion processes, but targets directly the generation of eroded forms. The results can be used as assets by artists and designers. The proposed terrain model is based on a height-field representation extended by materials and its hardness information. The starting point of the technique is the Poisson Faulting algorithm that was originally used to obtain fractional Brownian surfaces. In the modification, the step function as the fault line generator was replaced with a circular one. The obtained geometry was used for materials’ classification and the hardness part of the modelled terrain. The final model was achieved by the erosive modification of geometry according to the materials and its hardness data. The results are similar to the structures observed in nature and are achieved within an acceptable time for real-time interactions.

Gladiolus mariae (Iridaceae), a new species from fire-free shrubland in the Kounounkan Massif, Guinea

Gladiolus mariae Burgt (Iridaceae), a new species from Guinea, West Africa, is described and illustrated. The new species is placed in Gladiolus sect. Decorati Goldblatt and compared with the nine species already known from that section. Flowering plants stand 28–160 cm high with 1–6 bright orange flowers, opening one at a time. The ecology of the new species is discussed in detail, and a description of the vegetation in the region is provided. Gladiolus mariae is at present known only from two uninhabited sandstone table mountains in the Kounounkan Massif, Forecariah Prefecture. About 210 plants were found, on rocky soils at altitudes of 650–1100 m. The majority of plants, about 160, were found in fire-free shrubland, in five patches of 1–4 ha each, dominated by fire-sensitive plant species, but grasses are infrequent. Gladiolus mariae seems vulnerable to grassland fires. The area of occupancy is 28 km2. The species is assessed to the IUCN category Endangered.Citation: Burgt X. M. van der, Konomou G., Haba P. M. & Magassouba S. 2019: Gladiolus mariae (Iridaceae), a new species from fire-free shrubland in the Kounounkan Massif, Guinea. – Willdenowia 49: 117–126. doi: https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.49.49112Version of record first published online on 17 April 2019 ahead of inclusion in April 2019 issue.

Up on the table mountains in Brazil: new Bromeliaceae and Eriocaulaceae (Poales) from the Pantepui in the Guayana Shield

Background and aims – As “islands in the sky” of northern South America, the isolated ecosystems of the Pantepui province include a distinct flora with high levels of endemism and which are ancestral areas for many angiosperm lineages. About one fifth of Pantepui angiosperm species are distributed in Poales, a highly diverse angiosperm order.Methods – Recent field trips were carried out on two Brazilian tepuis, by foot and helicopter. Herbarium collections were consulted and compared with the proposed new species. Key results – Four new species of Poales, three Navia Schult. & Schult.f. (Bromeliaceae) and one Paepalanthus Mart. (Eriocaulaceae) were found. Descriptions, illustrations, and distribution maps of the new species, as well as an identification key to Brazilian Navia species, are provided.

Small-scale modelling of cementation by descending silica-bearing fluids: Explanation of the origin of arenitic caves in South American tepuis

Geoscientific research was performed on South American table mountains (tepuis) and in their sandstone cave systems. To explain speleogenesis in these poorly soluble rocks, two theories were introduced: a) arenization theory implying selective weathering of quartz along grain boundaries and releasing of sand grains, b) selective lithification theory implying cementation by descending silica-bearing fluid flow. The latter theory presumes that the descending fluid flow becomes unstable on the interface between two layers with different porosity and splits to separate flow channels (so-called “finger flow”). The arenites outside these channels remain uncemented.To verify the latter theory, small-scale modelling was performed, using layered sands and sodium-silicate solution. Fine to medium sand was used (0.08–0.5mm), along with a coarse sand fraction (0.5–1.5mm). The sands were layered and compacted in a transparent plastic boxes. Three liters of sodium-silicate solution (so-called water glass) were left to drip for several hours to the top of the sediment. The fine-grained layers were perfectly laterally impregnated, whereas the descending fluid flows split to “fingers” in the coarse-grained layers due their higher hydraulic conductivity. This small-scale laboratory simulation mimics the real diagenesis by descending silica-bearing fluids and matches the real phenomena observed on the tepuis. The resulting cemented constructions closely mimic many geomorphological features observed on tepuis and inside their caves, e.g. “finger-flow” pillars, overhangs, imperfectly formed (aborted) pillars in forms of hummocks hanging from ceilings, locally also thicker central pillars that originated by merging of smaller fluid-flow channels. The modelling showed that selective lithification theory can explain most of the geomorphological aspects related to the speleogenesis in tepuis.

The Influence of Tool Texture on Friction and Lubrication in Strip Reduction Testing

While texturing of workpiece surfaces to promote lubrication in metal forming has been applied for several decades, tool surface texturing is rather new. In the present paper, tool texturing is studied as a method to prevent galling. A strip reduction test was conducted with tools provided with shallow, longitudinal pockets oriented perpendicular to the sliding direction. The pockets had small angles to the workpiece surface and the distance between them were varied. The experiments reveal that the distance between pockets should be larger than the pocket width, thereby creating a topography similar to flat table mountains to avoid mechanical interlocking in the valleys; otherwise, an increase in drawing load and pick-up on the tools are observed. The textured tool surface lowers friction and improves lubrication performance, provided that the distance between pockets is 2–4 times larger than the pocket width. Larger drawing speed facilitates escape of the entrapped lubricant in the pockets. Testing with low-to-medium viscosity oils leads to a low sheet roughness on the plateaus, but also local workpiece material pick-up on the tool plateaus. Large lubricant viscosity results in higher sheet plateau roughness, but also prevents pick-up and galling.

Late Holocene vegetation and fire dynamics on the summits of the Guayana Highlands: The Uei-tepui palynological record

The summits of the tepuis (sandstone table mountains of the Neotropical Guayana region—Guayana Highlands, GH) have been considered valuable for palaeoecological studies due to their pristine nature, which emphasizes the role of natural (i.e. non-human) factors on ecological change. Anthropogenic fires, very frequent in the surrounding Gran Sabana (GS) uplands, have very rarely been documented in the GH, and are therefore not considered an important ecological factor in the high-tepui biome. This paper reports the palynological and charcoal results of a Late Holocene sequence from the summit of Uei-tepui (2104m elevation), where extensive signs of fire were recently observed. Since ~2000calyr BP, the landscape of the study site has been dominated by meadows with occasional shrubs and cloud forests, which underwent expansions and contractions driven by climate changes and fire. A major vegetation shift occurred in the mid-18th century, when a sustained increase in local fires favoured the expansion of the low and spreading Cyrilla racemiflora shrublands at the expense of meadows and forests. Uei-tepui fires most probably were the result of human activities and reached the summit under study from the GS uplands through the vegetated slopes that characterize this tepui. The mostly anthropogenic nature of these fires, especially the more recent ones, is supported by the initial occurrence of wetter conditions, and by its coincidence with significant social changes in the GS indigenous populations, mainly the European contact. The emergence of fire as a disturbing agent of the GH biome highlights the need for an effective management plan in the GS uplands, where the vast majority of present-day fires originate, and designed in collaboration with the indigenous communities. Proactive conservation measures are considered even more important under future warming projections in the area.

New and unusual species of cyanobacteria, diatoms and green algae, with a description of a new genus Ekerewekia gen. nov. (Chlorophyta) from the table mountain Churí-tepui, Chimantá Massif (Venezuela)

The unique character of biotas on table mountains (tepuis) is well documented for macroscopic organisms. However, much less is known about the microorganisms inhabiting these unusual and diverse biotopes. Previously, new algal and cyanobacterial taxa have been described from South American table mountains, providing evidence for the frequently disputed concept of microorganismal endemism. The present study adds additional support for this concept. A number of unusual microalgae were found during a 2012 expedition on the top of Churí-tepui (Chimantá Massif, Venezuela). These organisms were thoroughly examined and we herein propose the establishment of two new species of cyanobacteria—Schizothrix venezuelana sp. nov., Porphyrosiphon latissimus sp. nov., two diatoms—Eunotia churiensis sp. nov. and E. multirimoportulata sp. nov.; and one filamentous green alga, for which we also present molecular phylogenetic support, Ekerewekia churiensis gen. et sp. nov. (Chlorophyta). These novel species are morphologically unique and because no such forms have been reported elsewhere in the world, they are potentially endemic to tepuis.

A new species of Parakari (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae) from Guiana Highlands.

The genus Parakari was described from Guiana Highlands in southeastern Venezuela by Nieto & Derka in 2011 for two species inhabiting streams draining isolated, flat-topped table mountains called tepuis. A description of a third representative, Parakari roraimensis sp. n., is given here based on material collected from a coldwater stream at the foothills of Roraima-tepui (SE Venezuela). Detailed morphological descriptions of mature nymph and female adult are given. A differential diagnosis and a key to nymphs of the three Parakari species are provided.