Wpływ turystyki pieszej na przekształcanie rzeźby Tatr

The impact of pedestrian tourism on land form development in the Tatra Mts.

Summary: The high-mountain massif of the Tatra Mts. has a unique tourist appeal. During recent years the numbers of tourists visiting the Tatrzański National Park was bordering on three millions (fig. 1). Pedestrian tourism at this scale has been contributing to the deterioration of the area (fig. 2). The research project behind this paper aimed to understand the extent of the impact of pedestrian tourism on land relief development along tourist paths in the Tatras. The research involved geomorphologic mapping of roads and paths open to tourist traffic and their immediate vicinity. The total of 225 kilometres of paths was divided into 589 geomorphologically uniform stretches (fig. 2). A special standard form was used to gather data about each of the stretches. The data included several qualitative and quantitative parameters, such as morphological location, morphometry and morphology of tourist paths and roads, as well as the geology and plant assemblages, and the surface type and type of use of the tourist paths. Geomorphologic processes in the Tatra Mts. are progressing at various rates (fig. 2-4). The highest rates are recorded on slopes with deteriorated vegetation. An extensive transformation of tourist roads and paths is a result of a combination of anthropogenic and natural morphologic processes (phot. 1-4). The degrading impact of tourism is limited to the vegetation and the rock rubble protecting the paths from intense processes. On the other hand, the natural processes lead to a dissection of paths through accompanied by a displacement of large volumes of waste-mantle material transported away. As a result the slopes and valley beds in the vicinity of the paths and roads are subject to transformation, especially during extreme events. The efficiency of natural processes is greater than that of anthropogenic processes. It is, however, difficult to distinguish between the two types of processes that occur at varying rates depending on the resistance of the local geology, slope gradient, the respective morphological zone, type of surface, vegetation cover, season of the year and the intensity of the tourist traffic (fig. 2). Compared to other European high-mountain ranges the impact pedestrian tourism in the Tatras is relatively low. This is a result of the restriction of the tourist traffic to the marked paths. Additionally, the relatively resistant geology of the Tatras and the large-grain slope covers also prevent high rates of slope deterioration in the vicinity of the tourist paths.

Domański B., Skiba S. (red.), 2005, Geografia i Sacrum, tom 2, IGiGP UJ, Kraków, s. 77-86.

Instytut Geografii i Gospodarki Przestrzennej UJ

ISBN 83-88424-43-2

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