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- - Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology
- - - Physical and Chemical Properties of Watercourses
The habitats of the Tatra National Park (TANAP) undergo especially in the last decade to the significant environmental impacts. Storm in 2004 year caused the great forest decline. Changes in vegetation cover and deforestration usually result to disruption of biochemical cycles, hydrology and ecology in terrestric and aquatic environment. Surface waters are very important component of mountain environment. Their properties reflect both natural and antropogenic processes.
Climate, geology, topography as well as soil, vegetation cover are ones of the main factors affecting the water quality. In the contrary with lowlands, where the vertical flow of substances in the soil-plant-atmosphere system are dominated, in the mountains, the system more depends on different phenomena mutually interconnected to altitude. Changes in the retention potentional of subalpine areas have an indirect impact on other physico-chemical parameters of the mountain streams. In recent years, especially in the summer months at some locations there is a significant loss of run-off volume water. This situation has a direct impact on the climate of the locations. Globally, we can expect an increasing trend of gradual increase in ambient temperature in mountainous areas. High mountains ecosystems represent unique areas for the detection of climate change and the assessment of climate-related impacts.
Climate change associated with global warming at higher elevations is more pronounced than at low elevations. The main ecological driving force is climate with temperature and the duration of the snow cover as key factors. Changes in air temperature can extend the length of the average annual growing season and can also cause a shift in phenology. The characteristic features of well-functioning landscapes are effectively operating substances cycles, balanced drainage conditions and minimize transport losses substances. The basic parameters by which they can evaluate the function and its surface temperature oscillations are the quality of surface water run-off and its dynamics. These parameters can be considered as integral values, where the values of spatial distribution and temporal variability is reflected in key functional processes occurring at the biocenosis and their interaction with the environment.
Physico-chemical parameters of water quality status speak about the natural and anthropogenic changes in the conditional land use. The chemistry of surface water is very variable. Rainfall and snow have a considerable impact on stream water chemistry. Streams formed mainly by rainwater have a low content of soluble substances. Human activities (combustion, traffic, emissions from agricultural and industrial plants) have a marked influence on atmospheric pollution and they cause different types of environmental stress. They have a negative influence on the human health status, as well as forest, soil, surface and groundwater quality.
PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF WATER COURSES IN TATRA NATIONAL PARK
