Changing human-environment interactions in medium mountains: the Apuseni Mts (Romania) as a case study

Abstract

The study of human-environment relationships in mountain areas is important for both theoretical and practical reasons, because many mountain areas suffer similar problems, namely depopulation, unemployment and natural hazards. Medium mountains constitute a special case within mountains because they are more populated but less attractive as tourist targets than high mountains. In this context, Apuseni Mts (Romania) is considered as a case study. In the present paper, we applied GIS-based, quantitative methods to characterize the strength and dynamics of human-environment interactions taking into consideration some environmental factors (elevation, relative height, slope, river distance, lithology, land cover, natural attractions) as well as historical population and recent tourism data. We found that population density has strong (r 2 >0.8) relationships with all relief factors (elevation, relative height, slope, river distance), and that best-fit functions are nonlinear. We outlined the varying demographic scenarios by elevation zones and interpreted the historically switching sign of population change versus elevation relationship. We proved that lithology, too, has an impact on the spatial distribution of population, though it is not independent from the relief effect. The land cover of that mainly cultural landscape is very strongly correlated with relief parameters (especially slope) that suggests a good adaptation. We pointed out the dominance of karst objects in the natural tourist potential of Apuseni Mts and explored further components (spas, heritage, towns) of real tourism as well. Finally, we concluded that the studied environmental settings in fact constrain the spatial framework of society, but socio-economic changes in history can be explained from the side of society, which conforms the theory of cultural possibilism.

The Demogeographic Crisis in Racha, Georgia: Depopulation in the Central Caucasus Mountains

“…A similar picture appears in Romania, judging from the situation in the mountains of Apuseni, where population peaked in 1941 but has declined ever since, with depopulation rates accelerating after the change of the political regime in 1990. This decline was accompanied by a downward movement of population from higher to lower altitudes and by increasing outmigration (Plaias et al 2016;Telbisz et al 2016). Similar dynamics exist in the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine, Slovakia, and Poland.…”

Geological and Geomorphological Characteristics of Vikos Gorge and Tymphi Mountain (Northern Pindos National Park, Greece) and Karst-Related Social Processes of the Region

“…The present study, in turn, examines the effect of karst on social processes, based on the following thesis: due to the unfavourable natural conditions (poor soils, lack of water, special relief conditions), karst terrains have always been relatively sparsely populated, and they have been severely affected by recent depopulation processes. Naturally, there are exceptions, but the validity of the above statement has been demonstrated for several karst areas in the Carpathian Basin (Telbisz et al 2015(Telbisz et al , 2016, or in the Balkan (Pejnović & Husanović-Pejnović 2008;Milošević et al 2010;Telbisz et al 2014), and this trend is generally valid for a large part of the Mediterranean region (McNeill 1992;Vogiatzakis 2012). It is noted that the effects of karst and of the mountainous environment are often intermingled and in most cases it is not possible to discriminate them.…”

Geological Heritage, Geotourism and Local Development in Aggtelek National Park (NE Hungary)

“…Recently, geoparks have become the flagships of geoconservation, and sustainable development is one of the main aims of geoparks (Zouros and McKeever 2004;McKeever and Zouros 2005;Farsani et al 2011;Lazzari and Aloia 2014;Han et al 2018). In many cases, karst terrains are economically underdeveloped areas (Telbisz et al 2014(Telbisz et al , 2015(Telbisz et al , 2016a(Telbisz et al , 2019, but they have varied attractions from the perspective of geotourism (Dowling and Newsome 2006). As Cigna and Forti (2013) stated, caves are the most important geotouristic features in the world.…”