We examine how geoconservation and geotourism can help the local development of an economically underdeveloped karst area. First, we briefly present the geoheritage of Aggtelek National Park, which largely overlaps the area of the Aggtelek Karst. The area is built up predominantly of Triassic limestones and dolomites. It is a typical temperate zone, medium mountain karst area with doline-dotted karst plateaus and tectonic-fluvial valleys. Besides caves, the past history of iron mining also enriches its geoheritage. Aggtelek National Park was set aside in 1985. The caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst became part of the UNESCO World Heritage in 1995 due to the high diversity of cave types and morphology. Socially, the area of the national park is a disadvantaged border region in NE Hungary. Baradla Cave has always been a popular tourist destination, but visitor numbers fell significantly after 1985. Tourism is largely focused on Baradla Cave, and thus it can be considered “sensu lato” geotourism. Reasons for the changes in visitor numbers are discussed in this paper. Tourist motivations, the significance of geotourism and other tourism-related issues were explored in our study by questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews. Furthermore, the balance of geoconservation versus bioconservation is also examined. Finally, the relationship of geotourism, nature protection and local development is discussed. We conclude that the socio-economic situation of the Aggtelek Karst microregion is relatively better than that of the neighbouring regions, and this relative welfare is due to the existence of the national park and Baradla Cave.

Doline morphometry has always been in the focus of karst geomorphological research. Recently, digital terrain model (DTM) based methods became widespread in the study of dolines. Today, LiDAR datasets provide high resolution DTMs, and automated doline recognition algorithms have been developed. In this paper, we test different datasets and a doline recognition algorithm using Aggtelek Karst (NE-Hungary) dolines as a case example. Three datasets are compared: “TOPO” dolines delineated by the classical outermost closed contour method using 1:10,000 scale topographic maps, “KRIG” dolines derived automatically from the DTM created by kriging interpolation from the digitized contours of the same topographic maps, and finally “LiDAR” dolines derived automatically from a DTM created from LiDAR data. First, we analyzed the sensitivity of the automatic method to the “depth limit” parameter, which is the threshold, below which closed depressions are considered as “errors” and are filled. In the actual case, given the typical doline size of the area and the resolution of the DTMs, we found that ca. 0.5 m is the optimal depth limit for the LiDAR dataset and 1 m for the KRIG dataset. The statistical distributions of the morphometrical properties were similar for all datasets (lognormal distribution for area and gamma distribution for depth), but the DTM-based methodology resulted larger dolines with respect to the classical method. The planform area (and related characteristics) showed very high correlations between the datasets. Depth values were less correlated and the lowest (moderately strong) correlations were observed between circularity values of the different datasets. Slope histograms calculated from the LiDAR data were used to cluster dolines, and these clusters differentiated dolines similarly to the classical depth-diameter ratio. Finally, we conclude that in the actual case, dolines can be morphometrically well characterized even by the classical topographic method, though finer results can be achieved for the depth and shape related parameters by using LiDAR data.Key words: doline morphometry, LiDAR, interpolation, slope histogram, sink point. Prednost lidarskega digitalnega modela reliefa za raziskavo morfometrije vrtač v primerjavi s podatkovno bazo topografskih kart − primer Agteleškega krasa (Madžarska)Morfometrija vrtač je bila vedno v središču kraških geomorfoloških raziskav. V zadnjem času so pri raziskavah vrtač postale zelo razširjene metode, ki temeljijo na digitalnem modelu reliefa (DMR). Lidarski podatki zagotavljajo visoko ločljivostne DMR-je, razviti so bili avtomatski algoritmi za prepoznavanje vrtač. V tem prispevku smo na primeru Agteleškega krasa v severovzhodni Madžarski preizkusili različne podatkovne baze in algoritme za prepoznavanje vrtač. Primerjali smo tri podatkovne baze: "TOPO" vrtače so razmejene na klasičen način z zunanjo zaprto plastnico na topografski karti v merilu 1: 10.000, "KRIG" vrtače so v istem merilu s pomočjo kriginga samodejno pridobljene iz digitaliziranih plastnic DMR, in "LiDAR" vrtače so samodejno pridobljene iz DMR, ki je ustvarjen iz lidarskih podatkov. Najprej smo analizirali občutljivost avtomatske metode parametra "mejne globine", ki predstavlja prag, pod katerim se depresijske oblike štejejo kot "napake" in so zapolnjene. V konkretnem primeru smo glede na običajno velikost vrtače in ločljivosti DMR ugotovili, da je optimalna globinska meja za LiDAR ca. 0,5 m in 1 m za KRIG. Pri vseh podatkovnih bazah so bile statistične porazdelitve morfometrijskih lastnosti (logaritemska normalna porazdelitev za prostor in gama porazdelitev za globino) podobne, vendar metodologija, ki temelji na DMR privede do rezultatov, ki kažejo na večje vrtače v primerjavi s klasično metodo. Rezultati območij vrtač (in njihovih značilnosti) so pokazali zelo visoke korelacije med podatkovnimi nizi. Pri globinah so bile korelacije manjše in najnižje zabeležene korelacije (srednje močne) so bile med podatki različnih podatkovnih bazah. Histogrami naklona, izračunani iz lidarskih podatkov, so bili uporabljeni za združevanje vrtač, in ti grozdi razlikujejo vrtače glede na klasično razmerje med globino in premerom. Na koncu smo ugotovili, da lahko v konkretnem primeru dobro določimo morfometrične lastnosti vrtač s klasičnimi topografskimi metodami. Podrobnejše rezultate o globinah in oblikah lahko dosežemo na podlagi lidarskih podatkov.Ključne besede: morfometrija vrtač, LiDAR, interpolacija, histogram naklona, ponor.

Karst terrains have varied abiotic and biotic values. However, due to their unfavourable conditions for human settling, they are relatively sparsely populated areas. Thus, karst terrains merit and are suitable for nature protection. In this paper, partly or mostly karstic European national parks (NP) and geoparks (GP) are studied. We compiled a dataset based on official information and internet sources, and analysed NPs and GPs by location, morphology and timeline. Nowadays, there are 106 partly or mostly karstic NPs in Europe, that means 23% of all NPs. Many of the karst terrains became protected before the terms of geotourism and geopark came into being. 49% of all GPs contain karst terrains, which means that karsts are key issues in the study of geoheritage and geotourism. Tourism into karstic NPs and GPs can be considered sensu lato geotourism, since tourists travelling to these locations generally visit caves, gorges, travertine lakes and other karst features. Adventure tourism is also significant in karstic NPs and GPs. The most popular NPs host several millions of visitors a year, that implies economic benefits, but also poses environmental problems, thus certain parks already reached their carrying capacity, while other parks plan to increase their visitor numbers.

Biokovo Mt is part of the Outer Dinarides, in a coastal position with a NW-SE main tectonic orientation. The highest peak called Sveti [Sv.] Jure (1762 m) towers above a karst plateau of 1300-1400 m mean elevation. Both of the long...

As part of an international project, national parks and nature parks established in karst regions are examined, with a primary focus on how local residents, visitors and influential figures (i.e., park managers, mayors) perceive the advantages and disadvantages of a specific park. The study area in this paper is the Apuseni Nature Park (Romania). The main natural resources of this park are: the karst (morphology and hydrology), the forests and the landscape. In order to explore the perception and motivation of tourists visiting the park, a field survey using a convenience sampling strategy was conducted in 2019 and 2021 at eleven sites in the park. The results show that among the motivations, the “search for relaxation” option is the most frequently selected (43%), but “interest in caves” (34%) and “interest in karst terrains” (29%) were also relatively popular. In terms of public support for potential developments, one positive result of the questionnaire is that developments involving sustainability and nature conservation (visitor centre, education trails and viewpoints) enjoy significantly more support than developments that put a strain on the environment (adventure parks and expansion of entertainment facilities). The awareness of geotourism should be improved, but even at the current level it can be said that geotourists are an important segment of the park’s visitors. A careful development of tourism can be recommended for the park, but it must ensure that the principles of sustainability are taken into account during the developments. Given the environmental and economic challenges, strengthening the organization of the park is suggested in order to better protect the threatened natural resources.

Mountain depopulation is a worldwide phenomenon observed in all continents. It has varied socio-economic reasons; among others, the low profitability of traditional agriculture, the better job possibilities and the higher level of services in urban settlements. However, it is often recognized that depopulation is related to natural factors such as elevation, slope or lithology. It is also observed that protected areas are frequently established in depopulated mountain regions. Their primary aim is the conservation of nature, but they may help tourism development as well. Tourism, in turn, may slow down or even reverse the process of depopulation. In this study, we investigate the impact of topographic and lithologic factors, namely of karst settings, on mountain demographic processes and the relationship of protected areas and tourism through the example of the northern part of Zlatibor District (Western Serbia). The study area is characterized by mountains and hills at elevations from 200 to 1600 m a.s.l. Our aim is to find GIS-based statistical relationships between topographic, lithologic factors and demographic characteristics. In this area, mountain depopulation started after WWII, and we proved that this process was strongly controlled by topographic factors. The higher and more dissected the area, the more significant is the decrease of the population and the more advanced is the ageing. As a result, population density contrasts are much more pronounced now than 70 years ago. After WWII, depopulation and ageing became gradually more serious on karstic terrains than on non-karst. However, by using compound topographic and lithologic types, we proved that it is not the effect of karst, but the effect of topography. The flow of population from hills and mountains to valleys and basins are closely related to the restructuring of the economic sectors. At present, for the study area, the development of tourism is unequivocally nature-based and connected to protected areas, namely to Tara National Park, Zlatibor Nature Park and Šargan-Mokra Gora Nature Park. In this paper, we also demonstrate how lithology influences tourism possibilities. The leading role of Zlatibor in tourism development is largely thanks to its favourable position on a main transit route.