Europes ecological backbone.pdf

Protected areas
Box 9.3 Land use development and nature conservation problems in Slovak biosphere reserves
The aim of biosphere reserves (BRs) within UNESCO's Man and Biosphere programme is to reconcile
biodiversity conservation, economic and social development and local cultural values through the
sustainable use of landscapes and their resources (UNESCO, 2008). There are four BRs in Slovakia, all in
mountain areas: Poľana; Tatry and Slovak Karst (both bilateral BRs, with Poland and Hungary respectively);
and East Carpathians (a trilateral BR with Poland and Ukraine). The Slovak Karst and Tatry BRs extend from
basin slopes up to karst plateaus (Slovak Karst) or periglacial high mountain landscapes (Tatry). Though
their natural assets are different, their land-use development has been quite similar. The adjacent basins,
settled in prehistoric and medieval times, were used mainly for crop production and grazing that strongly
affected nearby forests. The areas of the Poľana and the East Carpathians BRs were colonised in the late
16th to 17th centuries, influencing the traditional land use, with smaller villages in narrow valleys with
numerous forest pastures and subsistence based mainly on sheep and cattle grazing.
Until the first half of the 20th century, land use in all four BRs was quite stable and similar, based mainly
on agriculture and forestry. Subsequently, urbanisation, agricultural collectivisation, and the development
of industry and transport were predominantly in more suitable lowlands or basins where land use
intensification prevailed. In higher and remote locations, extensification took place (Olah et al., 2006). The
few exceptions were in areas where land use was affected by new socioeconomic phenomena, such as the
development of tourism centres in the Tatry BR, and the construction of dams and forced emigration in
the East Carpathians BR (Map 9.2). The end of the 20th century and the first decade of this century were
characterised by the rapid acceleration of land-use changes mainly because of socioeconomic changes, but
also because of more frequent climate events.
Land use extensification, or even total abandonment, of these agricultural landscapes results from
unprofitable management and changing social preferences. Most mountain grasslands are secondary
vegetation formations whose continuity demands a certain amount of subsidiary energy through human
activities. The economic regression of the 1990s, combined with negative demographic trends — emigration
to larger towns and the rupture of peasants' links to their land due to 40 years of collectivised property
— has led to land abandonment and secondary succession. Between 1949 and 2003, two-thirds of the
grasslands in Poľana BR were overgrown (Gallayová, 2008). This natural process can lead to the loss of
specialised species whose existence depends on specific management practices, as in the East Carpathians
(Ružičková et al., 2001). Decreases in biodiversity not only mean that the objectives of Natura 2000 are not
achieved, but also cause significant loss of cultural landscapes, their scenery and traditional character (Olah
and Boltižiar, 2009), especially in such extensively used sub-mountain and mountain cultural landscapes
with HNV farmland. Land use intensification — either more intense management (forest monocultures
or clearcutting) or urbanisation — also significantly alters or even completely destroys natural assets in
protected areas. While forestry intensification affects almost all Slovak mountain BRs, the development of
tourism centres and sport infrastructure mainly affects Tatry BR.
Relatively new phenomena affecting land use in the mountains of Slovakia are natural disasters: strong
winds and heavy rain. These have caused wind destruction in forests, resulting in significant economic loss.
While many consider these disasters to be a serious
recent problem, analysis of historical maps shows
that they have occurred several times in the same
areas (Olah et al., 2009). About 12 500 ha of forests
were destroyed in Tatry BR after a wind storm in
2004, and are now a site of conflict between nature
conservation (leaving part of the area to natural
afforestation), forestry (fast clearing of the area and
artificial reforestation), and tourism interests (using
open space for new tourism infrastructure).
Source:
Branislav Olah (EEA).
Photo:
© Martin Boltižiar
Wind destruction area in the Tatry Biosphere
Reserve, Slovakia.
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