- Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
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Despite that there are no specific policies intended to preserve or manage the cultural value of agricultural landscapes in Slovakia, several national policy and legal documents are at least partially focused on historical agricultural... more
Despite that there are no specific policies intended to preserve or manage the cultural value of agricultural landscapes in Slovakia, several national policy and legal documents are at least partially focused on historical agricultural landscapes, their conservation, management, and landscape planning. Some criteria for the evaluation of historical agricultural landscapes that are defined by legislative documentation include their cultural heritage value and significant landscape elements. Other criteria, such as characteristic landscape, architectural-technical elements, and agricultural land use elements are defined from a scientific point of view. However, many of the terms are unclear and undefined, and they can be treated differently by different stakeholders or groups of users. Therefore, other evaluation criteria and characteristics of historical agricultural landscapes, such as land value and cultural and natural value, should be clearly defined and incorporated in legislative documents. The first step to evaluation is knowledge about the current distribution of historical agricultural landscapes in Slovakia. A methodology for mapping historical structures of agricultural landscapes was developed in this study. The primary characteristics of historical agricultural landscapes were also studied, including the composition of land use elements, the definition of degree of land use, and the forms of anthropogenic relief and their features.
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This article presents an innovative approach to the concept of facilitating greenways into sustainable landscape planning. The greenways can be planned by application of a landscape-ecological concept, including analysis and synthesis of... more
This article presents an innovative approach to the concept of facilitating greenways into sustainable landscape planning. The greenways can be planned by application of a landscape-ecological concept, including analysis and synthesis of selected abiotic, biotic, and socio-economic landscape-ecological factors and recreation conditions, and by reviewing the current landscape structure and condition of linear components of green infrastructure. Determining the landscape ecological stability, visual impact of agricultural lands, potential erosion risks and real erosion processes, and identifying the natural, cultural, and historical values in the landscape, contributes to the design of ideal greenways placement and other linear components of green infrastructure. Applying these proposals to the agricultural landscape would increase the ecological stability and connectivity, decrease soil and water erosion risks, eliminate visual impact, and develop recreational infrastructure. In this...
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This article presents an innovative approach to the concept of facilitating greenways into sustainable landscape planning. The greenways can be planned by application of a landscape-ecological concept, including analysis and synthesis of... more
This article presents an innovative approach to the concept of facilitating greenways into sustainable landscape planning. The greenways can be planned by application of a landscape-ecological concept, including analysis and synthesis of selected abiotic, biotic, and socio-economic landscape-ecological factors and recreation conditions, and by reviewing the current landscape structure and condition of linear components of green infrastructure. Determining the landscape ecological stability, visual impact of agricultural lands, potential erosion risks and real erosion processes, and identifying the natural, cultural, and historical values in the landscape, contributes to the design of ideal greenways placement and other linear components of green infrastructure. Applying these proposals to the agricultural landscape would increase the ecological stability and connectivity, decrease soil and water erosion risks, eliminate visual impact, and develop recreational infrastructure. In this...
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Hay-making structures are part of the agricultural landscape of meadows and pastures. Hay meadows are still used and found all over Europe, but their distribution patterns as well as their characteristics and regional features depend on... more
Hay-making structures are part of the agricultural landscape of meadows and pastures. Hay meadows are still used and found all over Europe, but their distribution patterns as well as their characteristics and regional features depend on geographical area, climate, culture, and intensity of agriculture. Intensively used hay meadows are the most dominant, using heavy machinery to store hay mostly as rounded or square bales. Traditional hay-making structures represent structures or constructions, used to quickly dry freshly cut fodder and to protect it from humidity. The ‘ancient’ forms of traditional hay-making structures are becoming a relic, due to mechanisation and the use of new technologies. Both the need for drying hay and the traditional methods for doing so were similar across Europe. Our study of hay-making structures focuses on their current state, their development and history, current use and cultural values in various European countries. Regarding the construction and use...
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The European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has not halted farmland biodiversity loss. The CAP post‐2023 has a new ‘‘Green Architecture,’’ including the new ‘‘Eco‐scheme’’ instrument. How can this new Green Architecture help... more
The European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has not halted farmland biodiversity loss. The CAP post‐2023 has a new ‘‘Green Architecture,’’ including the new ‘‘Eco‐scheme’’ instrument. How can this new Green Architecture help tackle the biodiversity crisis? Through 13 workshops and an online survey, over 300 experts from 23 European Member States addressed this question.From experts’ contributions, key principles for success include preserving and restoring (semi)natural elements and extensive grasslands; improving spatial planning and landscape‐scale implementation, including through collective actions; implementing result‐based approaches; and improved knowledge exchange. To maximize the effectiveness of Eco‐scheme for biodiversity, experts highlighted the need to prioritize evidence‐based actions, allocate a sufficient budget for biodiversity, and incentivize management improvements through higher payment levels. Additionally, stronger coherence is needed among CAP i...
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The paper is aimed at the presentation of the integrative approach assessment of environmental land use conflicts. It presents basic principles of sustainable land use management. The changes in land use are reflected not only in changes... more
The paper is aimed at the presentation of the integrative approach assessment of environmental land use conflicts. It presents basic principles of sustainable land use management. The changes in land use are reflected not only in changes of land cover. They are also the cause of changes in landscape structure and are the main initiation of many environmental problems. From this aspect, it is important to engage the land structure studies not only in the studies of land use forms and land cover, but also in the studies of position and relation in landscape (cause–consequence). To find the cause and casualties of these changes is very important for implementation of rationale landscape utilization. The basic tool for suitable landscape utilization is integrated landscape management as a major instrument of sustainable development. It must be based on understanding landscape systematically as geosystem. The every point of the landscape is representing the integrating scope, scene in which all natural resources are occurring as layers (geological sources, water and soil sources, climate, biotic sources and morphometric parameters) which are mixing together. It is seen as understanding the space as integration of particular natural sources in given area of landscape. Using one source can negatively affect the quality of other sources. For example, intensive use of soil resources can threaten water resources—negative impacts of chemistry, mechanization, and so on. Therefore, land use needs to be assessed on an integrated basis. From aspect of ‘sustainability’, the target is to define such landscape management, which would regulate socio-economic development in landscape with its natural, human, cultural and historical potential. It is based on matching the supply that is represented by landscape resources and demand that is represented by community needs and community requirements. The discrepancy between supply and demand (not respecting the properties of landscape resources) is the determining factor of formation of the environmental problems. The paper presents evaluation of environmental problems resulting from conflict of interests in the land use and methodology for sustainable land use that is based on the integrative approach to the landscape.
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Zmeny turistických chodníkov v centrálnej časti Nízkych Tatier a ich vplyv na vysokohorské ekosystémy Zmeny turistických chodníkov v centrálnej časti Nízkych Tatier a ich vplyv na vysokohorské ekosystémy/Hiking Trails Changes in the Central Part of the Nízke Tatry Mts. and their Impact on Alpine ...more
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Research Interests: Landscape Ecology, Geography, Biology, Agroforestry, Ecology, and 3 moreGrassland, Woodland, and Arable Land
The traditional agricultural landscape in Slovakia reflects the history and long-term mutual relationship between the landscape and generations of farmers, resulting in the occurrence of specific agricultural features. The ecological and... more
The traditional agricultural landscape in Slovakia reflects the history and long-term mutual relationship between the landscape and generations of farmers, resulting in the occurrence of specific agricultural features. The ecological and cultural diversity of traditional agricultural landscape is evaluated using the example of the area around Liptovska Teplicka. This area constitutes a Carpathian montane landscape of steep slopes with small-scale arable fields, grasslands and unproductive elements of plots: balks such as terrace slopes, step bounds, heaps or mounds. Due to heterogeneous natural conditions on the one hand, and specific cultural-historic conditions on the other, there has arisen an agrarian landscape of high landscape diversity and biodiversity. It represents mosaics of unique islands of species-rich plant and animal communities, originated by continuous succession over centuries and dependent on traditional cultivation. We have studied the connections between development of cultural-historic conditions (settlement, land law, social and political environment, methods of agricultural cultivation) and the biodiversity of individual historical landscape elements (plots of arable land, grassland, balks). Our ecological assessment was centred on evaluation of species richness, habitat diversity and vulnerability of species based on vegetation and zoological surveys and existing ecological conditions. The cultural and historical value was determined by the extent of preservation of traditional cultivation techniques and original land terracing with preserved forms of anthropogenic relief, as well as by the presence of small architecture elements.
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Context. The European Landscape Convention is international strategy that aims to promote landscape protection, management and planning. This must be done on the basis of identification and knowledge of basic landscape types, which were... more
Context. The European Landscape Convention is international strategy that aims to promote landscape protection, management and planning. This must be done on the basis of identification and knowledge of basic landscape types, which were created by the interaction of man and nature during historical development. Objectives. This paper presents a methodological approach for creation and evaluation of representative biocultural landscape classification types in order to elaborate an effective strategy of landscape protection, and proposes a management strategy of sustainable use of representative biocultural landscape types of Slovakia that will ensure the regular maintenance of the landscape in view current global trends and factors affecting the landscape.Method. Our interdisciplinary approach is based on previous classifications of cultural landscape and interaction of natural elements and valuation of the biotic and biocultural value of the landscape. The classification of the bioc...
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Abstract Faced with the disappearance and ongoing abandonment of traditional agricultural landscapes (TAL) in Europe, our primary aim is to provide scientific evidence of the importance of TAL in terms of biodiversity, cultural and social... more
Abstract Faced with the disappearance and ongoing abandonment of traditional agricultural landscapes (TAL) in Europe, our primary aim is to provide scientific evidence of the importance of TAL in terms of biodiversity, cultural and social values, and to stimulate action for their preservation in the Slovakian context. Surveys at both the national and local levels have acknowledged that TAL are generally associated with a relatively high species richness of plants and animals, including the presence of rare and threatened species. They have a high cultural-historical value due to the preserved small-scale structure and the presence of typical agrarian landforms and small architectural elements. A questionnaire survey showed that a major constraint for local inhabitants in maintaining TAL arises from insufficient governmental support. We argue that governmental financial instruments should recognise the concept of TAL in the context of measures concerning High Nature Value farmland.
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In the past, historical rural Europe possessed a broad range of biological and cultural values due to landscape diversity and the use of low-impact agricultural practices. It’s typical feature was the presence of varied semi-natural... more
In the past, historical rural Europe possessed a broad range of biological and cultural values due to landscape diversity and the use of low-impact agricultural practices. It’s typical feature was the presence of varied semi-natural habitats. The massive socioeconomic changes of the 20th caused significant loss of these habitats. The term traditional agricultural landscape (TAL) denotes the surviving remnants of this landscape heritage. Despite its exceptional value, conservation practice for TAL is very poor. The concept of “biocultural diversity” provides linkages between cultural and biological diversity and opens up new possibilities for practical conservation of TAL. In our work we have tried to develop and apply this concept. The main goal was to design an approach for assessment of biocultural value at plot level and apply it to the three different traditional rural landscapes in Slovakia—Liptovská Teplička village, Hriňová town and Svätý Jur town, representing the most typical TAL in Slovakia. The approach was based on determination of a measurable link between ecological and cultural–historical significance. The concept of ecological significance, assessed by comparing the results of the monitoring and evaluation of taxonomic diversity and nature conservation value of vascular plant communities and selected ground-dwelling invertebrate groups (Araneae, Diplopoda, Orthoptera), was complemented by evaluation of cultural–historical significance, leading to the identification of biocultural values in TAL. These evaluations were performed on productive plots of arable lands, grasslands, vineyards, and orchards, and unproductive agrarian landforms (mostly field margins) such as terraced slopes, terraced steps, heaps, mounds and unconsolidated walls.
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This study investigates the distribution of terraced landscapes in Slovakia and analyzes their structural characteristics and land use. We found that traditional farming and terrace building as a part of agricultural intensification... more
This study investigates the distribution of terraced landscapes in Slovakia and analyzes their structural characteristics and land use. We found that traditional farming and terrace building as a part of agricultural intensification resulted in two types of terraced landscapes: historical terraced landscapes and new terraced landscapes. The two types differ in size, structure of various elements, their management intensity, and the impact of these spatial structures on biodiversity. Historical terraced landscapes in Slovakia have been partially preserved in vineyard regions, but they are mainly found in mountainous areas. New terraced landscapes are mainly linked to vineyard landscapes. The plant species composition on the mapped terraced landscapes shows a high diversity of habitats and terraces as agrarian relief forms create islands of species diversity in extensively managed agricultural landscapes.
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The growing interest of researchers in the topic of biocultural diversity has resulted in the research field expanding from its initial focus on places inhabited by indigenous communities to rural and then to urban landscapes. The aims of... more
The growing interest of researchers in the topic of biocultural diversity has resulted in the research field expanding from its initial focus on places inhabited by indigenous communities to rural and then to urban landscapes. The aims of this study are to summarize and review the current state of knowledge on biocultural landscape (BCL), present a spectrum of human activities leading to their formation, and based on that, focus on typology of these landscapes. Moreover, the connections between cultural ecosystem services (CES) and BCLs were examined, and the research on these unique landscapes in individual countries and the proportion of studied landscape types were graphically displayed. BCLs are threatened all over the world; therefore, there is a need to identify and recognize them, and provide them with effective legislative protection.
This article provides an overview and results of the pilot national ecosystem services assessment in Slovakia. It follows the MAES process and past ecosystem services (ES) research in Slovakia and is based on original research methodology... more
This article provides an overview and results of the pilot national ecosystem services assessment in Slovakia. It follows the MAES process and past ecosystem services (ES) research in Slovakia and is based on original research methodology using spatial and statistical data. The initial step of national ES assessment resulted in the selection of significant ES for the evaluation process, where 18 ES in three groups were selected (five provisioning, 10 regulatory/maintenance and three cultural ES). An original assessment model provided the theoretical and methodological framework for national ES evaluation. The principal result is an assessment of the national landscape’s capacity for ES provision, based on evaluation of the landscape units and selected properties and indicators at the ecosystem level. These inputs included habitat types and watersheds, administrative units, natural topology, geology, soils, climate, water and biota. The ES capacity models were created and evaluated f...
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Traditional agricultural landscapes (TAL) represent ecosystems that consist of a mosaic of small-scale arable fields and permanent agricultural cultivations such as grasslands, vineyards and high-trunk orchards. Diversity of TAL was... more
Traditional agricultural landscapes (TAL) represent ecosystems that consist of a mosaic of small-scale arable fields and permanent agricultural cultivations such as grasslands, vineyards and high-trunk orchards. Diversity of TAL was studied on two levels: as the ecosystem diversity based on the type and intensity of land use of these biocultural landscapes, focusing on habitats related to forms of anthropogenic relief (FAR), which are significant as unique islands of species-rich communities in the agricultural landscape. To classify the identified TAL we considered the presence of specific land use elements and we distinguished four classes of TAL: (I) TAL with Dispersed Settlements, (II) TAL of Vineyards, (III) TAL of Arable-Land, Grasslands and Orchards (IV) TAL of Arable-Land and Grasslands. Plant species composition on mapped FAR shows high diversity of habitats, from open secondary screens and rocky habitats through rural communities and semi-natural grasslands to shrubby habitats, lines of trees or other small woody patches.
Traditional agricultural landscapes (TALs) in Slovakia are mosaics of small-scale arable fields and permanent agricultural cultivations resulting from continuous succession over centuries. The objective in this paper is to develop a... more
Traditional agricultural landscapes (TALs) in Slovakia are mosaics of small-scale arable fields and permanent agricultural cultivations resulting from continuous succession over centuries. The objective in this paper is to develop a strategy for the protection and management of TAL in the Liptovská Teplička cadastral area, which has mountainous arable land and grassland TALs. Driving forces, threats and other trends related to these TALs were identified, based on the valuation of land-use changes, socioeconomic and demographic phenomena and on biodiversity and sociological research. The strategy was oriented towards optimal multi-functional utilization and management of the investigated landscapes
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Marginal and less-favored regions are characterized by negative migration balance, lower living standards, aging of the population, a lower number of employment opportunities, lower educational level, and lower investments in the... more
Marginal and less-favored regions are characterized by negative migration balance, lower living standards, aging of the population, a lower number of employment opportunities, lower educational level, and lower investments in the territory. Gemer is one of these regions in Slovakia. On the other hand, the Gemer region has a very interesting history and many cultural monuments, nature protection areas, and UNESCO World Heritage sites that create options for tourism development. The monuments of the Gothic Road have the potential for religious tourism. Karst relief and the sites and monuments related to mining present on the Iron Road provide suitable conditions for geotourism and mining tourism. Local villages contain traditional agricultural landscapes, which create suitable conditions for active rural tourism associated with creative tourism or agrotourism. There is also the promising possibility of cross-border cooperation with Hungary. However, the revenues from tourism do not re...
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ABSTRACT Based on current experiences, recommendations to support countries' efforts to implement TEEB processes highlight the need to 1) establish an efficient science-policy interface, 2) integrate TEEB processes and their... more
ABSTRACT Based on current experiences, recommendations to support countries' efforts to implement TEEB processes highlight the need to 1) establish an efficient science-policy interface, 2) integrate TEEB processes and their results into policy and implementation at an early stage, and thereby 3) apply and develop adapted market and non-market based instruments as well as appropriate tools for information and data generation, communication, coordination and cooperation.
Business as usual plus four perspectives until 2050, each examining the potential future state of nature, but also the socio-economic factors that may lead to them. These scenarios include multiple possibilities of how our nature could... more
Business as usual plus four perspectives until 2050, each examining the potential future state of nature, but also the socio-economic factors that may lead to them. These scenarios include multiple possibilities of how our nature could develop in the future: Scenario 1: Traditions. Nature as a source of cultural identity; Scenario 2: Biodiversity. Return to wild nature; Scenario 3: Economy.Nature within a free-market environment; Scenario 4: Innovations. Smart utilization of ecosystem services. These multiple scenarios should serve as a base for the preparation of arguments and as a source of inspiration. However, they should not be perceived as plans, nor as a fully-fledged spectrum, that captures a representative range of possible and desired futures. Rather, the challenge for the future will be to go beyond and combine these approaches so that interest and care for nature can be linked to other societal goals. Nature conservation policies will need societal support, which will help to achieve the 2030 to 2050 goals (not only in this area).