The article examines the potential of military landscapes for promoting environmentally sustainable forms of active tourism (aimed at both natural sightseeing and military history of the area) in the Ukrainian Carpathians region focusing on the case of military landscapes of the mountain Chorna Klyva (the Bratkivskyi Ridge of the Pryvododilni Gorgany). The line of fortifications, which constitute their basis, used to belong to the so called “St. Laslo Line” built in 1939-1943 on the remains of the World War I fortifications. These fortifications (the system of trenches) were built in the upper parts of the mountain slopes allowing ideal observation of the lower areas and ensuring fire superiority along the border (at the time it was a border between Czechoslovakia and Poland. These trenches were designed in a way to organically use natural landscape features for both engineering and tactical purposes. Absence of intensive fighting as well as slow speed of natural recovery in that particular area contributed to a good state of their preservation often noted by occasional trail hikers. The goal of this article is to analyze both historical and natural conditions in which those landscapes have evolved as well as assess their current state. We discuss the prospects of promoting those landscapes as tourist attractions combining elements of natural scenery and sites of historical interest. The analysis is based upon historical geographic approach coupled with the original field observations. The article examines the most important features of those military landscapes, which can be used for tourism promotion in the area. An overview of comparable international experience in promoting military landscapes as tourist attractions is given to emphasize the potential of the area in question, which so far has been neglected by local communities and tourism businesses alike. We point out the factors limiting tourist flows, yet, at the same time, we argue that promotion of military landscapes will boost the number of visitors in the area generating demand for tourist services, hence promoting small business development. We argue that boosting such forms of tourism can bring positive effect to local communities and promote the area between Svydovets and Pryvododilni Gorgany ranges in the Chorna Tysa river basin for better preservation of the unique natural and historical sights. For the first time, a comprehensive study of historical events and natural landscapes in a specific area at the Chorna Klyva mountain has been performed with the focus on how human activities have conjoined with the natural landscape processes resulting in what we now call military landscapes. The obtained results prove that these military landscapes are of significant natural and historical value and can be successfully promoted as tourist attractions.
Living in an urban environment poses additional risks to human health and psychological comfort. Green and blue zones of the city, providing ecosystem services, in particular cultural services (CES), reduce such risks. In our opinion, the consumption of CES to the maximum extent requires, among other things, that green areas are perceived as attractive to humans. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to find out the factors of perception and identify the reasons that underlie the choice of green areas for visiting, as well as limit the possibilities of their usage. The empirical material of the study was the data collected in the framework of the project Transnational partnership towards academic integration in Europe: Urban blue-green infrastructure in Europe’s East and West (LINC). To collect the data, an unlimited online survey and a direct survey of Kyiv residents in the form of individual interviews were used. The survey revealed the main factors of residents’ positive perceptions of green spaces. Kyiv inhabitants consider the spaces with woody vegetation and water bodies to be the most attractive. The nature of the green areas usage indicated that the most popular are the CEPs for recreation (87%), maintenance of moral and psychological (64%) as well as physical (52%) health. Thus, the areas that are able to provide them are chosen by Kyiv citizens as attractive for visiting. Also, the study identified problems that limit visiting green areas. Most of them are related to poor maintenance and lack of time for visiting. Littering was identified as the main problem (83.5%). However, the overall level of satisfaction of residents with the condition, quantity, and accessibility of green areas, which had above average and high scores, indicate that the problems related to individual areas, and not to the blue-green infrastructure of the city in general.
The purpose of the work is to determine indicators of recreational importance and suitability, as well as to develop a system of indicators of the recreational potential of green areas for their further use in the assessment of CES: aesthetic, recreational, and social exchange services and relationships. The method of work involves the application of previous experience of domestic and foreign research in the areas of resource assessment of territories for the purposes of organization and development of recreation. Evaluation and categorization of green zones according to the recreational opportunities defined in the system of values is carried out according to 5-point scales with clearly defined criteria of recreational qualities. The overall recreational importance and suitability of green zones for the provision of cultural ecosystem services is objectively determined as the total score of their recreational evaluation based on a set of indicators. Recreational value and suitability, characterized by parameters of medical and biological favorability, aesthetics and landscaping, form the overall recreational potential of urban green areas. The first group of parameters reflects the recreational usefulness of the green zone, and includes values of: phytoncide, dust and gas resistance, air ionization. The second group of parameters includes the value of the diversity of the dendrological composition of the plantations, visibility and uniqueness of the landscape, which generally determine its aesthetics. The third group of parameters reflects the general improvement of urban green zones and includes the value of infrastructure development, the presence of water bodies, historical-cultural/architectural/natural monuments, points of landscape discovery, etc. Recreational potential directly affects the overall capacity of green areas to provide cultural ecosystem services (CES). Scientific novelty. The work analyzed approaches to the assessment of recreational resources, based on the results of the analysis of previous experience, 10 values of the recreational potential of urban green areas were determined, which are important in the formation of the CES proposal. The offer of CES in urban ecosystems is formed not only thanks to the subjective perception of city residents, but also depends to an equal extent on a set of objectively existing conditions and factors of the territory, which is capable of providing cultural ecosystem services. Practical meaning. The determined values of the recreational potential of urban green zones will allow more objective consideration during the evaluation of all the recreational properties of the green zone, which determine its potential in providing CES. It is advisable to use such indicators in CES evaluation to reduce subjectivity in determining their offer.
Manifestations of the environment to provide human needs with benefits arising from the healthy functioning of ecosystems are called ecosystem services (ES). Taking into account the large number of population – consumers of ES, which is concentrated in cities, green areas as the main providers of ES require significant attention. Accordingly to this, the objects of our study are the urban green areas (on the example of Kyiv). Despite the existing attempts to estimate ecosystem services in monetary terms, the cost of providing some of them (primarily regulating and cultural services) is almost impossible to estimate. In this case, attention should be focused on the condition and functions of ecosystems, and as a consequence – ES, which are different in each system, but provided in maximum volumes only in its sustainable functioning. After all, in a normal (stable) state, the ecosystem gives all its functions, and therefore provides its maximum benefits – ES. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to determine the urban green areas condition, as a prerequisite for their sustainable functioning as the potential possibility of providing ES by them. The study is based on the comparison of natural and actual vegetation cover of Kyiv. The parameters by which this correspondence is determined are the type of vegetation and the proportion of the green zone covered with typical (natural) vegetation. As a result of the work, based on remote sensing data, indicators of the state of individual green areas of the city were obtained, as well as averaged indicators for the city, individual administrative districts, etc. It is determined that the actual vegetation of green areas in Kyiv corresponds to the natural on 63.1 % of the green spaces area. Such condition is “close to natural”, according to Harrington’s desirability scale. However, such indicators differ significantly with administrative districts. They range from 34 % in Pecherskyi to 74 % in Sviatoshynskyi district. The example given in the paper demonstrates that even two neighboring green spaces can differ significantly in their condition, which, in particular, determines their opportunities to providing ES. These indicators will be very useful in further research on the overall assessment of ES, because, according to the general algorithm, it consists in determining 1. the condition of the green zone – potential opportunities in the provision of ES; 2. the efficiency of its functioning – the real volumes of ES provision; 3. the risks of ES loss. The results of this work are the implementation of the first component of the general algorithm and can be used in further research on the assessment of the real volumes of ecosystem services and the risks of their loss.
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