DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7701-087-0-0320

RECREATION IN CZECH NATIONAL PARKS: TOURISM INTENSITY VS. VULNERABILITY OF PRIORITY AREAS

Tomáš Janík^1,2, Vladimír Zýka², Martin Erlebach³, Dana Fialová⁴, Tereza Kůsová⁴, Jiří Vágner⁴, Jan Pergl⁵, Jiří Sádlo⁵, Josef Kutlvašr^5,6, Klára Kušková^5,7, Michaela Vítková⁵, Barbora Mrkvová², Dušan Romportl^1,2

¹ Department of Physical Geography and Geoecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 00 Praha, Czechia

² Department of Spatial Ecology, Landscape Research Institute, Květnové náměstí 391, 252 43 Průhonice, Czechia

³ Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, Palacký University in Olomouc, 17. listopadu 12, 771 46 Olomouc, Czechia

⁴ Department of Social Geography and Regional Development, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 00 Praha, Czechia

⁵ Department of Invasion Ecology, Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS), Zámek 1, 252 43 Průhonice, Czechia

⁶ Department of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha – Suchdol, 165 00, Czechia

⁷ Department of Ecology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha – Suchdol, 165 00, Czechia

This study demonstrates how high-value protected areas are increasingly exposed to anthropogenic pressures, particularly landscape fragmentation and intensive tourism. Using Krkonoše National Park (KRNAP) as a case study, we integrated biological and environmental data describing natural values and invasive plant occurrence with spatial indicators of tourism intensity and recreational use. These datasets were synthesized to develop a typology capturing the relationships between ecological sensitivity and potentially harmful human activities. Our results indicate that the most valuable and vulnerable sites are concentrated in the core zones of the national park and, with the exception of built-up areas and their surroundings, significantly overlap with the most frequently visited locations. The approach presented here will be extended to all national parks in Czechia in the coming years. In the context of steadily increasing visitor numbers, understanding these interactions represents a critical prerequisite for the effective management of protected areas.

Klíčová slova: anthropogenic pressure, Krkonoše, landscape fragmentation, protected areas

stránky: 320-324, Publikováno: 2026, online: 2026