Trypodendron laeve Eggers, 1939 is a species of ambrosia beetle much less known than the other three Trypodendron species occurring in Europe. Its status (native or alien) in Central Europe has been a subject of debate over the past two decades. In R...
Catastrophic precipitation is an inherent feature of temperate climates. Its occurrence is a manifestation of climate change, but also of the variability of atmospheric circulation. Mountainous areas may be particularly vulnerable as they receive mor...
Prediction of spatial and temporal variability of air temperature in areas with complex topography is still a challenge for numerical weather prediction models. Simulation of atmosphere over complex terrain requires dense and accurate horizontal and...
In this paper, uneven-aged stands from two important Romanian mountain areas—the Southern Carpathians and Banat Mountains—are compared with the purpose of studying the stationary conditions of uneven-aged forest stands in order to determi...
The typologies of landscapes of individual states that have ratified the European Landscape Convention do not include mountain pasture landscapes. Pasture landscapes in the Carpathians are preserved in a relatively good condition, although their spat...
The article aims to identify the degree to which tourism managers who work in Romania in the area of the Carpathian Mountains have implemented sustainable development practices. It also assesses the quantification of their availability to be informed...
This study analysed the history of anthropogenically created alpine pastures from the 15th century to the present, as landscape resources for the chamois reintroduction in the second half of the 20th century in the Western Carpathians mountain arc (S...
The main driver of the Carpathian landscape is the process of natural forest succession on the semi-natural meadows unique to the region. Moreover, these semi-natural mountain meadows contribute to ecosystem services, although increasing forest areas...
Silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) is one of the most valuable and productive tree species across European mountains, that accomplish multiple economic, protective and ecologic functions. Alongside spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) and beech (Fagus sylvatic...
Pinus cembra L. is a key species of high elevation forest ecosystems in Europe. However, in most mountain ranges, its importance has declined considerably. Remnant populations are often isolated and their dynamics and functioning are not well underst...
Forest ecosystems significantly contribute to the global organic carbon (OC) pool, exhibiting high spatial heterogeneity in this respect. Some of the components of the OC pool in a forest (woody aboveground biomass (wAGB), coarse root biomass (CRB))...
Tourism and recreation development in naturally valuable mountain areas is a complex issue. On the one hand, it has a positive impact on the physical and mental health of modern society, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. It also contributes to...
Managed broadleaf deciduous forests are an important type of forest vegetation in Central Europe, also in the Western Carpathians. These forests are both economically and environmentally valuable. However, little is known about ecological species gro...
The climate–growth relationship of larch (Larix decidua Mill.) in the Polish Carpathian Mountains was studied. We explored the spatial variability of the common signal observed in larch tree-ring growth, distinguished regions with uniform tree-ring g...
Potentilla erecta (L.) Raeusch. is a widely used medicinal species valued for its astringent, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial effects. This study examined the variation in hydrolysable tannin and flavonoid content in rhizomes of wild-growing pop...
This study discusses the issue of determining the direction and strength of changes taking place in the structure of agricultural land in the mountain and foothill areas of the Carpathians in Poland in comparison with Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine. T...
Springs, as unique ecotonal habitats between surface and hypogean areas, are considered endangered aquatic ecosystems due to direct and indirect human impacts and climate change issues. They are distinctive water habitats that are often inhabited by...
River water temperature (TW) is a key environmental factor that determines the quality of the fluvial environment and its suitability for aquatic organisms. Atmospheric warming, accompanied by more frequent extreme weather phenomena, especially heat...
High nature value (HNV) grasslands in mountain areas are important ecosystems for biodiversity maintenance and offer a multitude of ecosystem services, but they are constantly threatened by abandonment or intensive fertilization. The aim of this stud...
Wilderness areas are declining worldwide. A major reason is large-scale forestry activities like logging. At the same time, wilderness offers unique opportunities for recreation in natural and remote environments, enabling communities to gather econo...
Understanding the potential of forest ecosystems as global carbon sinks requires a thorough knowledge of forest carbon dynamics, including both sequestration and fluxes among multiple pools. The accurate quantification of biomass is important to bett...
Mountain hiking trails are vital components of tourist infrastructure and provide recreational opportunities for a large number of tourists. Exposed roots along the tourist trails in the forested mountains are impacted by tourist trampling and variou...
The agricultural mountain landscape in the Romanian Carpathians follows the same change trend in other European mountains, from variety and individuality to simplification and uniformization. Our paper proposes two complementary case studies from the...
This Special Issue, published 15 years after the monumental volume “The Carpathians and their foreland: Geology and hydrocarbon resources” [...]
Noninvasive methods, which do not require direct access to or harassment of animals, are essential for biodiversity monitoring. For mammals, analyses of scats and hair samples, tracking and recording by remote cameras are among the most commonly used...
The Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos (hereafter GE) is one of Europe’s largest avian top predators. The present study recognizes the habitat characteristics and food composition of the GE in Poland. The research was carried out in the Polish part...
Mountain wetland habitats are of particular importance because of their biodiversity, their aesthetic and recreational functions, and for providing services to humans (e.g., water for domestic use and livestock). At the same time, these practices can...
Carpathian mountain grasslands are increasingly affected by management intensification and climatic variability, with consequences for species composition and ecosystem functioning. This study assessed the long-term effects of a mineral fertilization...
Through analyzing the concentrations of selected heavy metals (Ba, Mn, Pb, Sr, Zn) in the bones and teeth of wild living and ecologically equivalent ruminants from the Tian-Shan (Capra sibirica and Ovis ammon polii) and the West Carpathians (Rupicapr...
The prediction and calculation of the volume of gravel and/or sand transported down streams and rivers—called bed-load transport is one of the most difficult things for river engineers and designers because, in addition to field measurements, p...
This study investigates the internal structure and lithologic variability of slope deposits in a small catchment in the Polish Outer Carpathians using pedological methods supported by geochemical analyses and Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT)....
This paper questions the evaluation of innovation systems and innovation measurements and the effectiveness of innovation policies applied at the territorial level by assessing whether the existing European regional scoreboard is effective in providi...
The aim of this study was to identify the form of the dependence describing the relationship between rainfall (P) and the curve number (CN) parameter using the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS-CN) method in the mountain catchments of the...
Trail erosion is a global issue, particularly in mountainous regions, that is largely driven by increased tourist flows and uncontrolled trampling. Our study was conducted in the Bucegi Mountains, Southern Carpathians, Romania, along three of the mos...
This paper presents the diversification of fluvial sediments caused by the occurrence of coarse woody debris (CWD), boulder steps (BSs), and mixed structures (MSs), understood as a combination of CWD and BSs in a stream channel in a small forested ca...
The socio-economic transformations that occurred across Central Europe in the 1990s profoundly influenced spatial development, as reflected in changes in population density and land cover, particularly in mountainous regions. This study investigates...
Monitoring vegetation biomass dynamics is essential for assessing ecosystem functioning and biodiversity pressures in protected mountain areas, where reduced accessibility limits in situ data collection. This study investigates the multitemporal vari...
The roots are a key functional component of belowground systems and one of the main factors influencing the quality and quantity of soil organic matter. Our research aimed to determine the fractional composition of the soil organic matter (SOM) in so...
The Miocene volcanic-intrusive complex in the Slovenský Raj Mountains, middle Slovakia, comprises a swarm of subalkaline basalts and basaltic andesites with alkaline basalts, trachybasalts and basaltic trachyandesites. Basaltic to doleritic fe...
At present, the protection of nature and landscape in the high mountains of the Western Carpathians, protected as national parks, is becoming increasingly at the forefront of society’s interests in connection with the development of their econo...
In mountainous regions, diverse ecosystems provide a habitat for numerous species of organisms. In this study, we focused on ixodid ticks and their presence in the Western Carpathians, Poland. Our objectives were to investigate the impact of environm...
The eastern part of Europe is very poorly represented in the Global Network for Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) database, mainly because the monitoring of the stable isotopes in precipitation started only recently compared with other regions. In thi...
Windthrow is a phenomenon that causes major changes to tree stand evolution by blowing down or breaking either isolated trees or entire tree stands, with a strong ecological, social and economic impact. Both scattered and large-scale windthrow occurr...
We analysed a 24 cm long sediment sequence (past ~200 years) from an alpine lake (Tatra Mts., Slovakia) for chironomids, cladocerans, and diatoms to reconstruct the effects of a historically documented fish introduction. Our results indicate that fis...
The systematic regulation of Polish gravel-bed watercourses, notably intensified in the latter half of the 20th century, coupled with extensive gravel extraction, have become one of the main factors leading to severe channel incision and degradation...
Advective heat fluxes (chimney effect) in porous debris facilitate ground cooling on scree slopes, even at low altitudes, and promote the occurrence of sporadic permafrost. The spatial distribution of ground surface temperature on an overcooled, low-...
So far, published geochronological data poorly constrain the Late Pleistocene glacial fluctuations in the Făgăraş Mts (Southern Carpathians, Romania). The deglaciation chronology in the central Făgăraş Mts is supported b...
The global atmospheric transport of microplastics (MPs) plays a crucial role in the contamination of remote, especially higher-elevation, environments. Precipitation is considered the main source of MP pollution. Meanwhile, plastic waste generated fr...
This study presents the PM10 concentration, respiratory and cardiovascular disease hospital admissions evolution in the Ciuc basin for a period of 9 years (2008–2016), taking into consideration different meteorological conditions: boundary layer, lif...
This article presents results of research carried out in 2018 that aimed to determine the opinions of Bieszczady mountain guides on the scope of development of tourism and recreational infrastructure in the Bieszczady forests, Poland. The online surv...
of 4