Table Of ContentRecent Landform Evolution
Springer Geography
Volume
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Dénes Lóczy (cid:129) Miloš Stankoviansky
Adam Kotarba
Editors
Recent Landform Evolution
The Carpatho-Balkan-Dinaric Region
Editors
Dénes Lóczy Miloš Stankoviansky
Department of Environmental Department of Physical Geography
Geography and Landscape Conservation and Geoecology
Institute of Environmental Sciences Comenius University in Bratislava
University of Pécs Mlynská dolina
Ifjúság utja 6 842 15 Bratislava 4
7624 Pécs Slovakia
Hungary [email protected]
[email protected]
Adam Kotarba
Polish Academy of Sciences
Institute of Geography and Spatial
Organization
PL-31018 Kraków, ul. Sw. Jana 22
Poland
[email protected]
ISBN 978-94-007-2447-1 e-ISBN 978-94-007-2448-8
DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-2448-8
Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011942321
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Foreword
Let me share some personal observations as I introduce this important compilation
of collaborative work on the Carpatho–Balkan–Dinaric Region. As a geomorphol-
ogy student in the English-speaking world in the 1960s, I had little knowledge and
contact with the research that emanated from Eastern Europe. From basic geogra-
phy I knew a little of those vast mountain lands that wound their way like some large
serpent from Czechoslovakia, through Poland, Hungary, Romania (where it took an
extraordinary turn), and down through Bulgaria and into former Yugoslavia, but its
people and its geomorphology remained a mystery. Fortunately, my professors
knew some eminent geomorphologists from that region (largely as a result of con-
tact made through the International Geographic Union) and thus, I and my fellow
students were introduced to the very few papers that were available in English. For
example, to understand geomorphological mapping we were directed to Polish
examples, which appeared much more advanced than anything I had seen elsewhere.
Hungary was also clearly advanced in this aspect of geomorphology where geomor-
phological mapping by Márton Pécsi was used not only to highlight the distribution
of periglacial and other landforms but also in terms of applied geomorphology – the
latter approach being well ahead of its time. We were also made aware of the
advances being made in unraveling the continental glaciations as well as the pio-
neering work of Dylik on periglacial processes and forms. Of course, we knew that
the former Yugoslavia was the home of karst geomorphology but, although aware of
the work of Cvijić, much of the research was not available in English until the pub-
lications of Gams in the 1970s. More specifi cally, my own interests in slope stability
and erosion soon had me seeking out the work of Professor Starkel from Poland
while work in Czechoslovakia became known to me through the remarkable
textbook of Záruba and Mencl. But in general, our contact with the “East” was very
limited. We knew that some great geomorphology was being carried out in the
region, but tantalizingly we saw very few papers in English.
In the 1970s and 1980s, as we began to meet a trickle of geomorphologists from
the region at international conferences, we realized that we were seeing only a frac-
tion of the work of a long-standing geomorphological research tradition fi rmly
embedded in the region. We were also aware that only a few scientists were able to
v
vi Foreword
engage with the “West”and that they did so under considerable fi nancial and some-
times political restraints. In recent years I have had the privilege of meeting some of
these colleagues and their students in easier times.
Again from a personal perspective, in the last few years I have had the good for-
tune of being introduced to the region by some very knowledgeable local geomor-
phologists. My fi rst experience in the region was associated with the fi rst European
Conference on Landslides held in Prague in 2002. As a result of fi eld trips associ-
ated with this meeting, I was able to view many of the slope stability issues associ-
ated with the region, from the Czech Republic through into the Tatra Mountain
areas of Slovakia. Until then I had not realized the extent of research into landslides
that existed in this region and the advances that had been made to our understanding
of slope stability.
So with my curiosity heightened, it was not surprising that I accepted Professor
Dan Balteanu’s invitation to attend the regional IAG meeting in the Transylvanian
mountains. Again I came away from that visit thinking that there is much innovative
research being carried out that has not been completely shared with the international
community.
More recently, I was invited by my Polish colleagues to visit and provide a num-
ber of lectures. My principal hosts were Professor Piotr Migoń (Wroclaw), and
Professor Zbigniew Zwoliński (Poznań). On a short visit to Kraków I was wel-
comed by Professor Zofi a Rączkowska, Head of the Department of Geomorphology
and Hydrology, Institute of Geography, Polish Academy of Sciences and a number
of her colleagues including Professor Kotarba, and Professor Starkel. In Poznań, I
was welcomed by Professor Kostrzewski, Head of the Institute of Geoecology and
Geoinformation, Adam Mickiewicz University. I saw much of the region including
the Polish Carpathians. Again my eyes were opened, not only to the strength of the
geomorphological community but the vast array of research that has and is going on
and is increasingly being directed to issues of social concern. You may therefore
understand why I consider it a great personal privilege to write the foreword to this
multinational contribution to geomorphology.
As the President of the International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG) I
am delighted that one of our long-standing working groups has been instrumental in
producing this monograph. Indeed, the Carpatho–Balkan–Dinaric Regional Working
Group of IAG has up until recently has been the only working group with a regional
rather than systematic focus. Some have argued that as an international association
we should not favor specifi c regions but rather focus on process and forms from a
generic perspective. However, the long history of successful collaborative research,
the multicultural and multinational nature of this region, and indeed the publication
of this monograph has demonstrated the unique value of this group.
The publication of this monograph represents a signifi cant milestone for inter-
national geomorphology. It is a work that refl ects the common dedication of many
earth scientists to their discipline and their willingness to pass on and share their
knowledge with the wider scientifi c community. But his has not come easily
because the Carpatho–Balkan–Dinaric region is one that has been characterized by
cultural, linguistic, and political differences. The twentieth century, when many of
Foreword vii
the contributors to this volume received their academic training and embarked on
their research careers, has been one of hardship, deprivation, and international
isolation for many of those involved. This publication is a testament to the perse-
verance of authors and their institutions and the belief that the curiosity of mankind
has universality that overrides political considerations and should be pursued with-
out prejudice.
I congratulate the editors and all the contributors for their research efforts and
their willingness to contribute to this volume, which I am sure will represent a major
benchmark in our understanding of the geomorphology of this diverse and fascinat-
ing region.
Michael Crozier
President of the International Association
of Geomorphologists
Wellington, New Zealand
Contents
Part I General
1 Geological and Tectonic Setting ............................................................. 3
János Haas
2 Climate ..................................................................................................... 19
Tadeusz Niedźwiedź
3 Rivers........................................................................................................ 31
Pavol Miklánek
4 Land Cover and Land Use ..................................................................... 39
Ján Feranec and Tomáš Soukup
Part II Recent Geomorphic Evolution: National Chapters
5 Recent Landform Evolution in the Polish Carpathians ...................... 47
Zofi a Rączkowska, Adam Łajczak, Włodzimierz Margielewski,
and Jolanta Święchowicz
6 Recent Landform Evolution in the Moravian–Silesian
Carpathians (Czech Republic) ............................................................... 103
Jaromir Demek, Jan Hradecký, Karel Kirchner, Tomáš Pánek,
Aleš Létal, and Irena Smolová
7 Recent Landform Evolution in Slovakia ............................................... 141
Miloš Stankoviansky, Ivan Barka, Pavel Bella, Martin Boltižiar,
Anna Grešková (†), Jozef Hók, Pavol Ištok, Milan Lehotský,
Monika Michalková, Jozef Minár, Martin Ondrášik, Rudolf Ondrášik,
Jozef Pecho, Peter Pišút, Milan Trizna, and Ján Urbánek
8 Recent Landform Evolution in the Ukrainian Carpathians ............... 177
Ivan Kovalchuk, Yaroslav Kravchuk, Andriy Mykhnovych,
and Olha Pylypovych
ix
