Karst features and related social processes in the region of the Vikos Gorge and Tymphi Mountain (Northern Pindos National Park, Greece)

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3986/ac.v48i1.6806

Keywords:

gorge morphometry, glaciokarst, spherical concretions, rural depopulation, geotourism, national park

Abstract

Due to unfavourable natural conditions (poor soils, lack of water, special relief conditions), karst terrains have always been relatively sparsely populated, and they have been seriously affected by recent depopulation processes. However, the creation of national parks on karst terrains and the recent increase of (geo)tourism may influence and even turn these population trends. Our study examines the validity of this statement in the context of Vikos Gorge and Tymphi Mountain (NW Greece). Geological and geomorphological values are presented first, including Vikos Gorge, the glaciokarst landscape of Tymphi and the particular spherical rock concretions. Digital terrain analysis is used to obtain scientifically based, reliable morphometric parameters about Vikos Gorge, and it is found that the maximum gorge depth is 1144 m, the maximum width is 2420 m, and the maximum of depth/width ratio is 0.76. Thereafter, rural depopulation trends are examined and it is found that this region (Zagori) is seriously affected by depopulation. It is observed that there are differences among settlements, and a relative stabilization of population is sensible in only few settlements around Vikos Gorge, which are linked to tourism. As for nature protection, while at the beginning conflicts were perceptible among management and local people, now new conflicts are emerging between growing tourism and nature protection goals.

Key words: gorge morphometry, glaciokarst, spherical concretions, rural depopulation, geotourism, national park.

Kraške oblike in s krasom povezane družbene spremembe na območju soteske Vikos ter v gorovju Timfi (narodni park Severni Pindi, Grčija)


Zaradi neugodnih naravnih razmer, kot so manj rodovitna prst, pomanjkanje vode in svojstvena oblikovanost površja, je kraško površje od nekdaj relativno redko poseljeno, v zadnjem obdobju pa je podvrženo tudi procesom odseljevanja. V zadnjem času je vse več tudi geoturizma in z njim povezanega ustanavljanja geoparkov, ki trend depopulacije lahko tudi obrnejo. Pričujoča študija se nanaša na vrednotenje omenjenih procesov na primeru doline Vikos in gorovja Timfi (SZ Grčija). Najprej so predstavljene geomorfološke in geološke značilnosti območja, kjer so izpostavljene značilnosti soteske Vikos, glaciokras gorovja Timfi in za to območje značilne okrogle skalne konkrecije. Digitalni model višin je bil namenjen morfometrični analizi soteske Vikos. Ta je pokazala, da je njena največja globina 1144 m, največja širina 2420 m, največje razmerje med globino in širino pa 0,76. V nadaljevanju so analizirane značilnosti odseljevanja s podeželja, katerim je najbolj podvrženo območje Zagori. Demografski vzorci kažejo na razlike med posameznimi naselji, kjer je število prebivalcev stabilno le v nekaterih naseljih v bližini turistično zanimive soteske Vikos. Z ustanovitvijo parka so se pojavili tudi konflikti. V začetku so se navzkrižja interesov pojavila med lokalnim prebivalstvom in upravljavci, sedaj pa se konflikt pojavlja ob istočasnem naraščanju turizma in želji po varovanju narave.


Kjučne besede: morfometrija soteske, glaciokras, okrogle konkrecije, depopulacija podeželja, geoturizem, narodni park.

 

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Author Biographies

Tamás Telbisz, Eötvös Loránd University

Department of Physical Geography

associate professor

Christos L. Stergiou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Department of Mineralogy, Petrology, Economic Geology, Faculty of Geology

PhD student

Andrea Mindszenty, Eötvös University, Budapest

Department of Physical and Applied Geology

professor emerita

Alexandros Chatzipetros, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Department of Geology, Faculty of Geology

Assistant professor

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Published

2019-03-06

How to Cite

Telbisz, T., Stergiou, C. L., Mindszenty, A., & Chatzipetros, A. (2019). Karst features and related social processes in the region of the Vikos Gorge and Tymphi Mountain (Northern Pindos National Park, Greece). Acta Carsologica, 48(1). https://doi.org/10.3986/ac.v48i1.6806

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Section

Original papers