Lesn. Cas. For. J. 62 (2016) 105–109
DOI: 10.1515/forj-2016-0011
OrigiNAl PAPer
http://www.nlcsk.sk/fj/
Perceptions of natural disturbance in Tatra National Park, Poland
Juraj Švajda1, Samuel Koróny1, Antoni Zięba2, Paweł Adamski3
Matej Bel University, Tajovského 40, SK – 974 01 Banská Bystrica, Slovak Republic
Tatra National Park, ul. Kuźnice 1, 34-500 Zakopane, Poland
3
Polish Academy of Sciences, al. A. Mickiewicza 33, 31-120 Kraków, Poland
1
2
Abstract
Since the last decades, natural disturbances in forests including protected areas have intensiied. They have the potential to impact visual
quality and safety of visitors as well as spread beyond protected area boundaries. While economic and ecological impacts are well studied, there is still a lack of work focused on human dimensions and social aspects. This study examines visitor perceptions towards bark
beetle infestation in Tatra National Park, Poland. The indings, based on visitor surveys collected during the summer of 2014, indicate
the signiicance of different factors inluencing visitor attitudes towards the bark beetle. Age of visitors and importance of the bark beetle
issue for them (based on subjective ratings of importance of bark beetle issue for respondents) are the most prominent variables. Also
place of origin and environmental worldview were recognized as signiicantly important variables in accordance with similar studies.
Results suggest management implications for park authorities including public relations and environmental education in order to increase knowledge and support for natural disturbance and ecological integrity policies in the national park.
Key words: visitor perception; protected areas; human dimensions; bark beetle; forest
Editor: Jiří Foit
1. Introduction
The shift to an ecosystem management framework during
the last decades has also brought a paradigm shift in perception of the role of ecological disturbance in natural resources
management, so that they are now seen not as negative
events but as more value-neutral from an ecological point of
view (being part of healthy and dynamic ecosystems). On the
other hand, from a human dimensions standpoint, they are
rarely seen as value-neutral events (conlicts on political and
societal levels). While ecological and biophysical parameters
of forest disturbances by insects are relatively well studied,
human dimensions (societal impacts and implications) are
still neglected (Flint et al. 2009).
Natural disturbances (abiotic or biotic) are fundamental
to the development of structure and function of forest ecosystems (Attiwill 1994). However, forest disturbance regimes
may heavily affect forest functions as well as forest management (Seidl et al. 2008). Damage from natural disturbances
in European forests seems to be increasing in the future
(Schelhaas et al. 2003). Windstorms are among the most
severe disturbances that affect mountain forests in central
Europe, including the High Tatras Mountains (Zielonka &
Malcher 2009, Mezei et al. 2014). Many authors have analyzed the frequency and severity of disturbances and their
effects on tree recruitment (Szewczyk et al. 2011) including different management strategies. Forest insect infestations, usually followed by windstorms, are considered one
of the most pervasive and important agents of disturbances
in forests. All aspects of insect outbreak behavior will intensify as the climate warms (Logan et al. 2003). Some studies
are focused on particular agents; Wermelinger (2004), for
example, summarizes the ecology and management of the
spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus (Linnaeus, 1758)) in
forests. Ecological disturbances of forests by insects have
a complex array of associated human dimensions presenting complications for natural resource decision-making. As
examples we can mention visual-quality impacts at the landscape level (Sheppard & Picard 2006), increased ire hazard
and potential ire behavior (Jenkins et al. 2008) or relationships between stakeholders and managers (Flint et al. 2009).
Visitors represent an important stakeholder in the management of natural disturbances in protected areas (Müller
& Job 2009). A primary objective of category II protected
areas (national parks) is to protect natural biodiversity and
to promote education and recreation. Extractive use is not
considered consistent with this objective (Dudley 2008).
This means that they are mandated to protect ecosystems
from human interference and make them accessible for recreational activities (Müller et al. 2008). Areas designated as
core zones prohibit any management intervention in natural
forest dynamics. The goal of the present study is to identify
what visitor attitudes towards bark beetle infestation and
management are. Park administration can use the obtained
results as contribution for development of management
strategies which might be applied in Tatra National Park.
2. Study area and methodology
Tatra National Park, founded in 1955, is located in the
southern part of Poland along the Slovakia border (Fig. 1).
*Corresponding author. Juraj Švajda, e-mail: juraj.svajda@umb.sk, phone: +421 484 467 106
J. Švajda et al. / Lesn. Cas. For. J. 62 (2016) 105–109
The area is also designated as a UNESCO biosphere reserve
and, along with the Slovak side, an EU Natura 2000 site. The
national park comprises an area of 21 197 hectares of which
82% is publicly owned land. Forest ecosystems account for
72% of the area of which about 58% is natural or semi-natural
forests. The core zone of the park makes up about 60% of the
total land area, the other parts include a buffer and a transition zone. While 92% of the forest area now consists of spruce
(Picea abies L.), silver ir (Abies alba Mill.) and European
beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) are expected to increase to 20%
and 13%, respectively, resulting in a decrease in spruce areas,
according to forest management plans (this will be a result of
forestry; natural processes would take a much longer time to
change tree composition). The national park is an important
tourist attraction for the region; current annual ticket purchases by accessing the park number about 3 million. The
national park administration implements and monitors visitor management policy – e.g. restriction of access to certain
areas (Getzner 2010).
An intensive bark beetle (mainly Ips typographus, rarely
also Ips cembrae (Heer, 1836)) outbreak occurred between
1993 and 1998 and again between 2009 and 2013 in the Tatra
Mountains of Slovakia and Poland. In Poland, the outbreak
was primarily located in reserve areas where pest management or other activities were prohibited. The size of affected
areas with dead stands increased from 180 ha in 2009 to
590 ha in 2012. Glades (clearings covered by deadwood or
without trees) increased in same time from 50 ha to 70 ha
and new growth (regrowth or young generation) from 10 to
30 ha. The biggest augmentation in above mentioned categories of affected areas in forest were registered in 2013 in
Gąsienicowa Valley.
Fig. 1. Location of the park in central Europe and position of study
area in the network of national parks in Poland © Tatra National
Park, Poland.
http://www.surveysystem.com/sscalc.htm
1
106
To understand visitor perceptions, face to face on-site
interviews were carried out by park volunteers during
two weeks in the summer of 2014 (25.08.–07.09.2014).
Respondents were enquired on Morskie Oko road which is
the highest visited area in the park with 12 500 visitors per
day during vacation. The research design chosen replicated
a similar survey conducted in Germany (Bavarian Forest
National Park). Independent variables were hypothesized
as predictors for tourist attitude towards the bark beetle (see
Müller & Job 2009) and 511 valid questionnaires were collected (79 refused). With recent visitation obtained sample
size was suficient to reach a conidence level with interval of
95±5%1. Data were collected in software IBM SPSS 19 and
analyzed with multivariate linear regression model.
3. results
Demographic characteristics of visitors are ranked by frequency of cases – 51.8% of respondents were male, the average age was 34.48 years and 49% of the individuals sampled
had a university degree. Respondents visited the study area
an average 5.67 times, and they were predominantly from
Poland (98.8%) and most (47.8%) live in a major city – see
Table 1.
Table 1. Demographics of respondents and characteristics of
visit used in survey.
Gender
Female
Male
Age (mean)
Highest level of education
Primary / Elementary school
Secondary school
University degree
Other
Number of visits in TPN (mean)
Country of visitors
Poland
Others (A, D, GB, SK)
Origin of visitors
Major city
Provincial town
Countryside
48.2%
51.8%
34.48 years
1.6%
46.1%
49.0%
3.3%
5.67
98.8%
1.2%
47.8%
30.5%
21.7%
Participants stayed an average of 3.23 nights in the region
of the national park. Visitors could choose multiple options
and named taking walks and hiking (79%), relaxation and
spending time with family (25%), and enjoying nature (20%)
as their primary motivations for their field trips to Tatra
National Park. 62.7% of respondents stated that their expectations were fulilled completely. A majority of respondents
(87%) were impressed the most by landscape and nature,
only a negligible percentage (9%) demonstrated an awareness of forest dieback and dead standing trees. 91.6% of visitors expressed their intention to spend their holidays in the
park again.
J. Švajda et al. / Lesn. Cas. For. J. 62 (2016) 105–109
We also tested the environmental worldview of visitors based on New Ecological Paradigm statements which
describe the relationship between man and nature (as one of
the predictors of later visitor attitudes towards bark beetle
– see Müller & Job 2009). Respondents were asked to agree
or disagree on a 5-point scale (5 = “fully agree” to 1 = “completely reject”). Generally we can see quite pro-ecological /
positive attitudes – especially with the statement that ecological balance is very delicate and can be easily disrupted
(4.40 points) – see Table 2. For most visitors, the existence
of a national park inluenced their decision to visit this region
(very much – 28.3% and much – 24.9%).
Table 2. Descriptive statistics of statements describing relationship between man and nature based on New Ecological Paradigm
statements (for comparison see Müller & Job 2009). “Respondents were asked to agree or disagree on a 5-point scale (5 = “fully
agree” to 1 = “completely reject”)”.
Evaluative items
earth has enough natural resources, use
them wisely
environment for satisfying demands of
mankind
ecological balance is delicate and can be
disrupted
human talent will make earth to be
inhabitable
mankind overuses currently natural
resources
Min.
Max.
1
5
4.20
0.880
1
5
3.02
1.063
1
5
4.40
0.741
1
5
3.41
1.056
1
5
4.09
0.960
5 (very important) to 1 (completely insigniicant), 41% of
them selected option 4 (important).
In the inal part of the survey, visitors were asked again
to agree or disagree along a 5-point scale (1 = “strongly disagree” to 5 = “strongly agree”) on their statements about
the bark beetle in a national park. The irst four statements
(Table 3) described positive roles of the bark beetle for the
forest. Generally we can see medium (neutral) preferences
in the case of the statement that bark beetle should have a
right to exist in a national park, positive preference was stated
(3.64 points). The other four statements (Table 3) describing
negative roles of the bark beetle for the forest were inverted
(1 = “strongly agree” to 5 = “strongly disagree”). Again, we
can see medium preferences but they mostly conirmed the
statement that the bark beetle is a threat to biodiversity (2.50
points). 74.3% of respondents trust that areas of dead standing trees will develop in the future as young-growth forest
after regeneration and natural rejuvenation.
Mean Std. Deviation
Table 3. Descriptive statistics of statements describing positive
(attd 1, 3, 5, 8) and negative (attd 2, 4, 6, 7) roles of bark beetle for
forest along a 5-point scale (1=”strongly disagree” to 5=”strongly
agree” resp. inverted for negative roles) (for comparison see Müller & Job 2009).
The next part of the survey focused on natural disturbance in the forests. Nearly one third of respondents (30.3%)
recognized dead trees during their walks and hikes in the
national park. Further, 85.7% of visitors know that there are
dead trees on a large scale in the national park area. As a
source of information about dead trees, visitors responded
that they saw them in the area for themselves (73%) and only
a small part chose another option (e.g. TV – 9%). Respondents stated the reason for the large scale forest decline as
bark beetle (26.2%), air or environmental pollution (20.2%),
or natural reasons (18%). However, only a very limited
number of respondents in the next question assessed their
personal knowledge about bark beetles and their impact on
the national park as good (5.2%) or very good (1.6%). When
visitors were asked how important the bark beetle issue is in
a national park for them personally according to a scale from
The bark beetle…
…helps ensure that forests are healthy (attd 1)
…is important in rejuvenating the forest (attd 3)
…should have a right to exist in the park (attd 5)
...is more beneicial than harmful for the forest in the
park (attd 8)
…is a threat to biodiversity in the park (attd 2)
…has a negative impact on tourism (attd 4)
…is an ecological disaster for the park (attd 6)
…should be controlled in the park (attd 7)
Min.
1
1
1
Max. Mean SD
5
2.49 1.045
5
2.95 1.082
5
3.64 1.004
1
5
2.63
0.958
1
1
1
1
5
5
5
5
2.50 0.997
3.45 1.177
3.06 1.054
2.90 1.069
The arithmetic mean of eight attitudinal items was calculated using a Likert scale (Fig. 2) to evaluate the attitudes
towards the bark beetle. For further analyses we used only
322 cases, those without any missing information, to analyze which predictors signiicantly inluence visitor attitudes
towards the bark beetle as dependent variable. Results
demonstrate that younger respondents had better attitudes
towards the bark beetle (Table 4). The importance of the
bark beetle issue (based on subjective rating for respondent),
place of origin (urban vs. urban rural areas) and environmental worldview are also signiicantly important.
Table 4. Multivariate linear regression model of mean bark beetle statements as a function of signiicant predictors (Adjusted R square
= 0.189, n = 322).
Mean of bark beetle statements
Predictors
(Constant)
Age (years)
Importance of bark beetle issue
Major city
Statements describing man and nature (earth and natural resources)
Activity...quietude, relaxation, winding down, spending time with family
Filling of expectations
Statements describing man and nature (overuses of natural resources)
Unstandardized Coeficients
B
Std. Error
3.631
0.363
−0.014
0.003
−0.192
0.042
0.190
0.072
0.093
0.040
−0.193
0.082
0.099
0.046
−0.077
0.037
Standardized Coeficients
Beta
−0.249
−0.238
0.135
0.116
−0.120
0.110
−0.105
t
P
10.002
−4.835
−4.577
2.651
2.302
−2.345
2.162
−2.064
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.008
0.022
0.020
0.031
0.040
107
J. Švajda et al. / Lesn. Cas. For. J. 62 (2016) 105–109
important for forest
health (attd 1)
5,00
should be controlled (attd
7)
4,00
important for forest
rejuvenation (attd 3)
3,00
2,00
ecological disaster (attd 6)
1,00
right to exist in NP (attd 5)
more beneficial than
harmful for the forest
(attd 8)
negative impact on
tourism (attd 4)
threat to biodiversity (attd
2)
Fig. 2. The arithmetic mean of 4 positive and 4 negative attitudinal statements describing visitor attitudes towards the bark beetle in Tatra National Park on 5-point Likert scale (higher number
means better attitude – see also Table 3).
4. Discussion
Existing literature (e.g. Flint et al. 2009) is underlying
and focuses on agents, host trees, overall setting, and size
of affected area. It is also important to understand different aspects or sectors of human dimensions of forest disturbances by insects. Economic impacts can especially be
connected with commercial forestry: short-term increased
forestry vs. long-term decreased timber supply. In regions
oriented on tourism and recreation, effects on visitation can
also be a concern (aesthetic and safety issues – e.g. falling
trees). Social impact is connected mainly with aesthetic
impacts (e.g. perception of dead wood – lying dead trees
covered by visible green-up vs. standing dead trees), emotional response, high risk perceptions of ire, and temporal
dynamic to public reaction. Management responses vary
from salvage logging on commercial forest lands, preventative and fuel treatments in urban areas to no intervention in
protected areas. The reaction of different stakeholders can
also be very different – private landowners, local residents,
tourists, and communities. The above mentioned examples
of impacts and implications only underline the requirement
of different strategies and good knowledge of local settings
and conditions (including historical, regional and political
context).
Comparing our indings with the results from the Bavarian Forest National Park (Müller et al. 2008), in general visitors in Germany exhibited a better attitude towards the bark
beetle; several predictors (e.g. afinity of visitors towards
the national park) were signiicant. On the other hand, our
study conirmed the importance of age and urban residence
towards attitude. Experiences from Canada (McFarlane et
al. 2006) showed that proactive approaches in uninfested
forests were generally not supported. Attitudes were the best
predictors of support for no intervention in beetle infesta-
108
tions in Canada’s national parks. McFarlane & Witson
(2008) discovered that knowledge and residency were the
most consistent predictors of risk judgments. Survey data
were collected by both mail and onsite with park visitors.
Visitors rated the ecological and visitor experience impacts
as negative and unacceptable. Participants of the survey in
Canada largely supported controlling future outbreaks with
biological control (Chang et al. 2009). They generally agreed
that ecologically sensitive areas and wildlife habitat were the
top priorities that should be protected. Socio-demographic
factors found to positively inluence preferred control extent
included level of knowledge, age, education, income, and
work in the forest industry. Findings from Colorado (USA)
suggest that respondents from lower amenity communities
with more recent emphasis on resource extraction and higher
tree mortality had signiicantly higher risk perceptions of
mountain pine beetle impacts (Flint et al. 2012). Some studies from North America (Sheppard & Picard 2006) showed
that informed respondents consider visual quality of affected
scenes to be lower than do uninformed respondents, but this
may relect the way in which the information was delivered.
Public stakeholder attitudes to pest and disease management
can inluence the decisions of forest managers and NGOs
involved in responding (Fuller et al. 2016). Acceptance of
management can also differ according to location and local
context (e.g. management is less supported when it may
impact wildlife).
Similar studies and methods used for investigation are
often connected with the potential problems of the selfselection bias and of the representativeness of on-site survey.
Social science research is used to support the formulation
of natural resource management decisions with accurate
and timely information (Czaja & Cottrell 2014). Managing
protected areas requires information about the proportion
of visitors attracted by the national park label and visitor attitudes towards protected area management (Arnberger et al.
2012). Changes in bio-physical and social systems due to
large-scale forest disturbances have the potential to dramatically alter public participation in decision making processes
(Smith 2013).
5. Conclusion
Results of this study can be used for further discussions of
different economic and non-economic implications, strategies, community responses and capacities, and comparisons
with similar case studies. Resource managers and decision
makers should be able to respond to questions on the role
of disturbances in ecosystems, how well they are accepted
by visitors, what is the role of protected area settings, and
how to manage natural disturbances in protected areas. We
conirmed that some factors driving visitor attitudes could
be inluenced directly by the park management. For future
research it would be advisable to test more predictors (e.g.
income of visitors), develop different models to increase
validity and test it for different stakeholder groups.
J. Švajda et al. / Lesn. Cas. For. J. 62 (2016) 105–109
Acknowledgement
Authors would like to thank Tatra National Park for their
support and technical assistance with research designing
and collecting data in the ield. We also gratefully acknowledge valuable help, support and recommendations of Martin
Müller related to research design and interpretation of results.
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