Water ecosystems affected by human impact within the protected area of the Tatra National Park (Poland)

Kurzyca, Iwona; Choiński, Adam; Kaniecki, Alfred; Siepak, J.

doi:10.2478/v10009-009-0034-4

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The direct consequences of tourism on alpine lakes, including the lakes in the TNP, have not been thoroughly investigated and require in-depth research [11,20].…”

Section: Entrance In Palenicamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The lakes are situated in an area with one of the highest annual precipitation rates in Poland. Their unique features contribute to high water transparency, which is determined at 23.0 m in Czarny Staw pod Rysami and 15 m in Morskie Oko [11]. In summer, the temperature of the lake surface fluctuates from 9.4 • C to 21.5 • C in Morskie Oko and from 7 • C to 11.5 • C in Czarny Staw pod Rysami [9].…”

Section: Description Of the Studied Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In summer, the temperature of the lake surface fluctuates from 9.4 • C to 21.5 • C in Morskie Oko and from 7 • C to 11.5 • C in Czarny Staw pod Rysami [9]. Morskie Oko and Czarny Staw pod Rysami are characterized by low levels of organic life, strong mineralization and deficiency of organic compounds, in particular nitrogen compounds, in the bottom deposits [9, 11,20]. They are classified as ultra-oligotrophic lakes where even small inflows of biogenic substances can lead to irreversible changes in the ecological balance [56].…”

Section: Description Of the Studied Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Impact of Recreational Activities on Aquatic Vegetation in Alpine Lakes

Dynowski

Senetra

Źróbek-Sokolnik

et al. 2019

Water

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Tourism pressure on protected areas with attractive landscapes leads to environmental modifications. Eutrophication poses the main threat to the quality of water in alpine lakes. Even small inflows of biogenic elements can disrupt the ecological balance of these ecosystems. The aim of this study was to verify the hypothesis that recreational activities and easy access to alpine lakes contribute to changes in their ecological status. This hypothesis was verified by analyzing the presence of hydromacrophytes in two lakes of the Tatra National Park (Poland). The analysis was carried out along segments of hiking trails which were evaluated for accessibility to the studied lakes. Underwater surveys were carried out during scuba diving expeditions in 2012–2016. Submerged vegetation was evaluated in both lakes. This is the first study in Poland and one of the few projects in the world to have relied on such extensive support from scuba divers to generate highly accurate measurements. The study demonstrated that lake bottoms were extensively covered by Potamogeton friesii in the vicinity of trail segments with easy access to lakes. Our results show that tourism pressure contributes to the growth of aquatic vegetation in some areas of alpine lakes. We relied on our findings to propose several modifications to the routes of the evaluated tourist trails to minimize the impact of anthropogenic pressure on the studied lakes.

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“…The direct consequences of tourism on alpine lakes, including the lakes in the TNP, have not been thoroughly investigated and require in-depth research [11,20].…”

Section: Entrance In Palenicamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Description Of the Studied Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Description Of the Studied Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Impact of Recreational Activities on Aquatic Vegetation in Alpine Lakes

Dynowski

Senetra

Źróbek-Sokolnik

et al. 2019

Water

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“…These researchers did not deal with determining the impact of the presence of tourists on changes in the trophy of mountain lakes, but the topic of their research was assessment of the composition of lake water for many years [67], or investigation of the composition of sediment cores to examine the recent environmental history of high mountain lakes in the Polish Tatra Mountains [11,68]. The published data suggest that the content of biogenic elements (with a predominance of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds) in the studied water bodies has increased over the years [11,[67][68][69][70]. However, the correlations between tourism pressure, including easy lake access, and changes in the ecological status of alpine lakes, remain insufficiently researched.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Evaluation of the Impact of Hiking Tourism on the Ecological Status of Alpine Lakes—A Case Study of the Valley of Dolina Pięciu Stawów Polskich in the Tatra Mountains

et al. 2020

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Eutrophication is one of the major threats to the quality of water in high mountain lakes. The inflow of elements having biological origin may significantly aggravate the ecological status of those ecosystems. For this reason, the aim of this study was to map and assess the impact of anthropogenic pressure on alpine lakes in the valley of Dolina Pięciu Stawów Polskich (known in English as the Valley of Five Polish Lakes) in the Tatra National Park in Poland. The effects of tourism and easy access to alpine lakes on changes in their ecological status were determined. Tourist trails were evaluated based on the difficulty of access to the water surface of analyzed alpine lakes, with a method developed for assessing anthropogenic pressure on aquatic ecosystems. The method, deployed for the first time in 2019, was modified and adapted to the local environmental conditions in the research area. The results of this study indicate that tourism pressure contributes to the growth of submerged vegetation in alpine lakes. The presence of aquatic plants (including vascular plants) shows ecosystem response to water enrichment with biogenic substances. The present findings were used to formulate practical recommendations and propose modifications to the evaluated hiking trails. The research method developed in the study can support analysis and control of tourist traffic, thus reducing anthropogenic pressure on alpine lakes in national parks located in mountain areas.

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“…This trend was not observed for any lake, which suggests that the activity associated with mountain huts in the Tatra Mountains may not have impacted significantly the lake environment. Human waste waters, if introduced into the lakes, had no influence on the water chemistry (Kurzyca et al 2009) nor on the isotopic composition of sediments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sources of Carbon and Nitrogen in Mountain Lakes and the Role of Human Activity in Their Modification Determined by Tracking Stable Isotope Composition

Gąsiorowski

Sienkiewicz

2013

Water Air Soil Pollut

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We studied the isotopic composition of organic matter in the sediments of eight mountain lakes located in the Tatra Mountains (Western Carpathians, Poland). The sediments of the lakes were fine and course detritus gyttja, mud, and sand. The total organic carbon content varied from 0.5 to 53 %. The C/N ratio indicated that in-lake primary production is the major source of the organic matter in the lakes located above the treeline, whereas terrestrial plant fragments are the major organic compounds in the sediments of dystrophic forest lakes. We also found that a clear trend of isotopic curves toward lower values of δ13C and δ15N (both ~3 ‰) began in the 1960s. This trend is a sign of the deposition of greater amounts of NOx from the combustion of fossil fuels, mainly by vehicle engines. The combustion of fossil fuels in electric plants and other factories had a smaller influence on the isotopic composition. This trend has been weaker since the 1990s. Animal and human wastes from pastures and tourism had a surprisingly minor effect on lake environments. These data are contrary to previous data regarding lake biota and suggest the high sensitivity of living organisms to organic pollution.

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Water ecosystems affected by human impact within the protected area of the Tatra National Park (Poland)

Cited by 9 publications

References 9 publications

The Impact of Recreational Activities on Aquatic Vegetation in Alpine Lakes

The Impact of Recreational Activities on Aquatic Vegetation in Alpine Lakes

An Evaluation of the Impact of Hiking Tourism on the Ecological Status of Alpine Lakes—A Case Study of the Valley of Dolina Pięciu Stawów Polskich in the Tatra Mountains

The Sources of Carbon and Nitrogen in Mountain Lakes and the Role of Human Activity in Their Modification Determined by Tracking Stable Isotope Composition

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