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Project

Institute of Geography

International Projects

Geotouristic potential of Podtatrze area and the possibilities of its development

Geoturistický potenciál územia v okolí Tatier a možnosti jeho rozvoja

Duration: 3. 10. 2022 - 29. 3. 2024
Evidence number:22220059
Program: International Visegrad Fund (IVF)
Project leader: Mgr. Novotný Ján PhD.
Annotation:Podtatrze is a bordering area surrounding the Tatra Mountains, which includes four historical and cultural regions: Podhale, Orava, Liptov and Spiš. This area is also characterized by a long tradition associated with tourism and exploration of the highest mountain range of the Carpathians, which are the Tatra Mountains. However, tourism in this area is primarily based on visiting the most famous and most promoted places, such as Morskie Oko lake, Kasprowy Wierch peak, Kościeliska Valley, Giewont peak, Štrbské pleso lake, Mengusovská Valley, Studenovodské vodopády in the Tatras, Dunajec Gorge, Trzy Korony peak, Sokolica peak in the Pieniny Mountains, Demänovská Valley, Chopok Mountain in the Low Tatras, Suchá Belá Valley, Prielom Hornádu Valley in the Slovak Paradise, therefore the phenomenon of overtourism is observed there. To prevent this from happening, it was decided to present this region as geotouristically attractive and indicate the possibilities of developing this form of tourism as an alternative to the most crowded places. The main goal of the project is to inventory and assess the unique forms of abiotic nature in the area as well as to assess the tourist potential of this area and conduct pilot studies on a purposefully selected group of people deciding about the condition and development of the studied region (representatives of local governments, managers of national parks located in the vicinity of the analyzed area, entrepreneurs providing tourist services) over the possibility of tourist use of previously selected geosites. The added value of this project will be to raise the awareness of tourists and the local community about the responsible use of natural resources and activities for sustainable tourism by involving many social and professional groups, as well as promoting a healthy/sustainable style of tourism based on contact with nature, staying in silence, and not on crowded paths in noise and rubbish. As part of the project, various projects of tourist products (trails, educational paths, guides and applications) will be prepared and tailored to the needs of various age groups (children, adolescents, adults) based on carefully selected geosites depending on the condition and physical capabilities of the recipients, as well as their perception of the transmitted knowledge. According to the concept of UNESCO geoparks, Podtatrze is an area with strictly defined borders, where individual abiotic natural objects and landscapes are of international geological importance, which has already been proven many times in various scientific articles. Therefore, if this area is skilfully managed in accordance with the holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development, it may be included in the UNESCO World Geoparks List, which will undoubtedly be the most significant added value of this project in the future.
Project web page:http://projects.geography.sav.sk/international-projects/podtatrzegeosites/

LAPIA - Land cover change monitoring for identification of potential illegal activities in Slovakia

Monitorovanie zmien krajinnej pokrývky na identifikáciu potenciálne ilegálnych aktivít na Slovensku

Duration: 15. 2. 2023 - 14. 8. 2024
Program: European Space Agency (ESA)
Project leader: Ing. Szatmári Daniel PhD.
Annotation:The number of satellite-based remotely sensed datasets available for land cover (LC) change identification has increased markedly since the launch of the first Landsat satellite. Many change detection techniques have been developed and applied during this period to assess LC changes. Human impact on landscape causes categorical changes in its use: change of one type of landscape to another, e. g. arable land to built-up area. As such changes may influence the condition of the landscape, it is important to determine where and to what extent they take place. Legal changes in landscape involve planning and recording in the Land Register, agricultural, forestry or water economic plans. However, the landscape is ever more frequently attacked by illegal human interventions, and their tracking may be difficult because of remoteness, difficult access, etc. Nowadays, various methods of LC change identification are applied. The most progressive ones combine remotely sensed data (optical and radar) with data from environmental databases, thematic maps and field survey. This approach is also suitable for the identification of LC changes caused by illegal human activities in the landscape: (i) illegal dumps; (ii) illegally ploughed protected meadows; (iii) illegal clear-cuts of non-forest tree vegetation in the agricultural landscape.
Project web page:http://projects.geography.sav.sk/international-projects/lapia/

G4B - Grasslands for biodiversity: supporting the protection of the biodiversity-rich grasslands and related management practices in the Alps and Carpathians

Trávne porasty pre biodiverzitu: podpora ochrany trávnych porastov bohatých na biodiverzitu a súvisiacich postupov hospodárenia v Alpách a Karpatoch

Duration: 1. 4. 2023 - 31. 3. 2026
Evidence number:Biodiversa2021-532
Program: Multilaterálne - iné
Project leader: Mgr. Pazúr Róbert PhD.
Annotation:The objectives of the proposed project are (1) to identify diversity-rich grasslands and their distribution in the Alps and Carpathians; (2) to identify diversity-enhancing grassland management practices and their changes and persistence; (3) to identify areas suitable for the expansion of the protected grassland network; and (4) to propose new protected areas and their management in the Alps and Carpathians. In addressing these objectives, we will work with stakeholders to (i) identify effective methods for extrapolating vegetation patterns across mountain ranges; (ii) identify drivers of grassland management and historical influences on grassland diversity; (iii) identify constraints and motivations for biodiversity-supportive management practices; and (iv) provide a scientific basis for expanding the network of protected areas in the Alps and Carpathians.
Project web page:https://www.biodiversa.eu/2023/04/19/g4b/

3DForEcoTech - Three-dimensional forest ecosystem monitoring and better understanding by terrestrial-based technologies

Trojrozmerné monitorovanie lesných ekosystémov a ich lepšie porozumenie prostredníctvom pozemných technológií

Duration: 13. 10. 2021 - 12. 10. 2025
Evidence number:COST Action CA20118
Program: COST
Project leader: Mgr. Rusnák Miloš PhD.
Annotation:Forest ecosystems across the world are facing high pressures due to climate changes. In many areas, they are in a transition to adopt the changes. However, many are damaged in this process. It is crucial to make forest ecosystems more resistant to face these challenges, through resilience strengthening and close-to-nature forestry. Implementing such approaches and monitoring their progress requires accurate knowledge about forest ecosystems that rely on a forest in situ data at high spatial and temporal resolution. Novel terrestrial-based technologies will play an important part to face these challenges. Such technologies have experienced a fast development in recent years. The forests can now be observed and monitored in a very high spatial and temporal resolution that was not possible even a few years ago. Researchers and practitioners are facing a unique opportunity to deepen the understanding of forest ecosystems and to change the forestry to adopt the climate, environment and industrial changes. Various research groups across EU and beyond are testing such technologies or developing processing algorithms for precision forestry and forest ecology. But further cooperation is strongly required. 3DForEcoTech project aims to establish a strong network of scientists and stakeholders (i.e. practitioners) and sensor manufacturers to synchronise the knowledge, to develop general protocols and algorithms for forest ecosystem state survey and forest functioning, and to make these novel technologies available to a broad audience. Specifically, 3DForEcoTech will develop protocols for data acquisition, processing, fusion for forest inventory and ecological applications, and will establish open-data and open-source algorithm databases.
Project web page:www.cost.eu/actions/CA20118

TMP4LAPIA - The Third-Party Missions Datasets for Identification of Potential Illegal Activities in Slovakia

Údaje z misií tretích strán na identifikáciu potenciálnych nelegálnych aktivít na Slovensku

Duration: 1. 8. 2023 - 31. 7. 2024
Evidence number:PP0091672
Program: European Space Agency (ESA)
Project leader: Mgr. Goga Tomáš PhD.

Increasing the capacity of freight transportation infrastructure on EU-Ukraine borders

Zvýšenie kapacity infraštruktúry nákladnej dopravy na hraniciach EÚ s Ukrajinou

Duration: 1. 10. 2022 - 31. 3. 2024
Evidence number:22220189
Program: International Visegrad Fund (IVF)
Project leader: Mgr. Michniak Daniel PhD.
Annotation:Increasing the capacity of freight transportation infrastructure will strengthen the EU-Ukraine connectivity. The project provides for a study ofprospects for capacity building of existing border crossing points and opening new ones. It also focuses on the investigation of the potential of existingand planned network of transshipment and multimodal terminals in Ukraine and neighboring EU member states (three of which are countries of the V4region), and on the assessment of prospects for adaptation of the European and Ukrainian freight markets to the requirements of the European GreenDeal.
Project web page:http://projects.geography.sav.sk/international-projects/freight-eu-ua/

National Projects

ALTERCONSUM - Alternative food networks: a shift from consumerism to sustainable consumption

Alternatívne potravinové siete: od konzumnej k udržateľnej spotrebe

Duration: 1. 7. 2021 - 30. 6. 2024
Evidence number:APVV-20-0302
Program: APVV
Project leader: Mgr. Bilková Kristína PhD.
Annotation:Consumption and consumer behavior are the subject of studies in various scientific disciplines, including geography. Consumption can prove to be conventional or alternative. Conventional consumption is currently more dominant and can lead to consumerism. The opposite is alternative consumption. It is consumption in the intentions of sustainable development. Alternative food networks can be characterized as a food system that is opposite to the conventional, mainstream. However, consumption cannot be considered as a simple expression of consumer demand for goods, but can be understood as an expression of consumer identity. The project will focus on consumption and consumer behavior research as a result of a changing society (shift from consumerism to sustainable consumption). An example is the discovery of a possible transformation from a utilitarian to a hedonistic consumer and vice versa. Or consumer reactions to the current pandemic situation. The authors will look for answers to the questions: How, where and why have consumers' shopping behavior changed in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic? The concepts of sustainable consumption will be explored: responsible and conscious consumption and anti-consumption in Slovakia. The contribution of the project will be new knowledge in understanding consumer behavior in Slovakia. From the point of view of producers (retailers), the added value will be recommendations for the use of academic knowledge in planning practice (eg the definition of the Farmers' Market Code). Despite the relevance of these research topics in geography, only marginal attention is paid to these topics in the Slovak academic community. We believe that the acquired knowledge will contribute to the development of issues in this research area. A relatively young research team is involved in the project, and the benefits of their cooperation are several research and publication activities focused on consumption, which will be followed by this project.

Detection of landscape diversity and its changes in Slovakia based on remote sensing data in the context of the European Green Deal

Detekcia diverzity krajiny Slovenska a jej zmien na báze údajov diaľkového prieskumu v kontexte Zelenej dohody EÚ

Duration: 1. 1. 2023 - 31. 12. 2026
Evidence number:2/0043/23
Program: VEGA
Project leader: Ing. Szatmári Daniel PhD.
Annotation:The Project is focused on the development of innovative approaches to the processing and visualisation of satellite data in the research of landscape diversity. The output of the Project will be the proposal of methodology for automated classification of landscape diversity by a set of indicators of the agricultural landscape composition, indicators of the agricultural landscape configuration, and indicators of changes in the landscape mosaic. The methodical procedure will be verified in selected experimental sites with various landscape types. Results of the Project will be applicable to monitoring the implementation of measures stipulated by the European Green Deal and other EU Strategy Documents.

MEADOW - Species-rich Carpathian grasslands: mapping, history, drivers of change and conservation

Druhovo bohaté lúky a pasienky Karpát: mapovanie, história, príčiny zmien a ochrana

Duration: 1. 7. 2022 - 30. 6. 2026
Evidence number:APVV-21-0226
Program: APVV
Project leader: Mgr. Pazúr Róbert PhD.
Annotation:European agriculture is at a crossroads. Continuing the industrial intensification of agricultural production and the associated abandonment of marginal land equals continuing the direct negative environmental impacts on landscape quality and further loss of biodiversity. The second available option is adopting the quality of the landscape and its sustainability as essential criteria for optimization and management of agricultural production. The main aim of our transdisciplinary project is to support this second option with practical scientific knowledge on environmental and societal potentials regarding sustainable grassland management in the Carpathians using traditional agricultural practices, as well as on which social and institutional features might help embedding such management within the modern Slovak economy. The main objectives of the project are: 1) to identify and map biodiversity-rich grassland areas in the Carpathians and related local environmental and social factors; 2) identify and map areas with high environmental and social potential for successful grassland restoration in Slovakia; and 3) propose a national strategy for state and non-governmental support regarding ecological restoration, conservation and management of the identified grassland areas. We intend to reach such a comprehensive and practical understanding through a collaborative combination of the latest available earth observation data for the Carpathian region, analytical methods and tools, but also pioneering field research; all in parallel on behalf of the scientific fields of botany, ecology, geography, remote sensing and social anthropology. The planned outputs of the project – scientific studies and the proposal of a national strategy to support species-rich grasslands – can, in addition to direct use by contracted domestic recipient organisations (MoE SR and BROZ), also serve as a template for applied research focusing on ecological grassland restoration in Europe and beyond.

Land surface topography – a source of data on the tectonic evolution of the Western Carpathians in the Pliocene-Quaternary period

Georeliéf - zdroj informácií o tektonickom vývoji Západných Karpát v pliocénno-kvartérnom období

Duration: 1. 1. 2021 - 31. 12. 2024
Evidence number:2/0052/21
Program: VEGA
Project leader: RNDr. Prokešová Roberta PhD.
Annotation:Dynamics of the Western Carpathians landscape in the Pliocene-Quaternary period will be studied to identify the expression of neotectonics as one of the potential controls of the relief evolution. Methods of quantitative geomorphometry will be applied to extract data (topographic variables and morphometric indices) from digital elevation models (DEMs) of various resolutions. Additional data (GIS layers and databases) for spatial and geostatistical analyses will be obtained by completing and adapting available digital data (geological and geophysical maps, climate maps), laboratory analyses and fieldworks. Analysis of multi-source data will be used to specify the potential drivers of the Western Carpathians landscape evolution in various temporal and spatial scales. The results could be used as a template for effective sampling to quantify rates of uplift and erosion by numerical dating methods and assessment of geohazards (seismic hazard, landslide risks) or landscape sensitivity to future climate change.

Assessment of ecosystem services and their adaptation into the strategic planning and future development of the national parks and their hinterland

Hodnotenie ekosystémových služieb ich implementácia do strategického plánovania a budúceho vývoja národných parkov a ich zázemia

Duration: 1. 1. 2022 - 31. 12. 2024
Evidence number:2/0159/22
Program: VEGA
Project leader: Mgr. Pazúr Róbert PhD.
Annotation:The goals of the proposed project are to assess the current ecosystem services in the national parks in Slovakia, trade-offs of their different future development and its hinterland and their implementation into the strategic planning. We will particularly focus on the Tatra national park and its closest hinterland as this area is facing in recent years an uncontrolled development pressure related to the development of housing and tourism infrastructure and climate change. Integrating landscape ecology, remote sensing and social sciences we will provide a scientifically sound baseline about the different pathways of landscape development. Integrated knowledge will be provided to the stakeholder to facilitate the decision making process and define the sustainable development of the national parks and their hinterland. Proposed workflow, maps and models will be made available to serve as a template for the assessment of ecosystem services, future scenarios and spatial planning, which may be used elsewhere.

JASKO - Nurseries and kindergartens for everyone? Insights into pre-school education in Slovakia from the perspectives of spatial accessibility and social justice

Jasle a škôlky pre každého? Predškolské vzdelávanie na Slovensku z aspektu priestorovej dostupnosti a sociálnej spravodlivosti

Duration: 1. 7. 2022 - 30. 6. 2025
Evidence number:APVV-21-0286
Program: APVV
Project leader: Mgr. Sládeková Madajová Michala PhD.
Annotation:The project responds to the current topic of the introduction of compulsory pre-primary education. In such a necessary and socially sensitive area as pre-school education, authorities should be aware of spatial, temporal and socioeconomic consequences. The project identifies the main causes of low share of children included in pre-school education and the insufficient capacity of kindergartens, evaluates the measures taken so far and summarizes the problems that pre-school children, their parents and local governments will face from September 2021 when the law on compulsory pre-school attendance of 5-year-olds entered into force. Given the theoretical nature of the analysis carried out so far and given the fact that compulsory attendance in many regions is likely to be at the expense of younger (mainly 3-year-old) children, the project will focus not only on kindergartens included in the Network of Schools and Educational Facilities but on all care facilities, including those which facilitate the transition to pre-school education in kindergartens. The primary goal is to provide a comprehensive view of the issue of pre-school education in Slovakia from the aspect of spatial accessibility and social justice. Based on research into the heterogeneity of pre-primary education facilities, the environment in which they are located the project will present several concepts of commuting areas based on modeling both temporal and spatial accessibility by using more sophisticated mathematical methods, taking into account the travel-to-work commuting and individual decision strategies. The analysis of the current state, the design of solutions and the forecast of future development will create a comprehensive analytical document that will allow the adoption of effective and timely strategic measures at various levels (individual, local, regional, national).

METELCO - Mapping population distribution and mobility in Slovakia using mobile network data

Mapovanie rozmiestnenia a mobility populácie na Slovensku s využitím lokalizačných údajov mobilnej siete

Duration: 1. 7. 2021 - 30. 6. 2024
Evidence number:APVV-20-0586
Program: APVV
Project leader: Mgr. Rosina Konštantín PhD.
Annotation:Despite the fact that we live in an era characterized by a massive development of information and communication technologies current knowledge of population counts and distribution is still, paradoxically, very limited. There are several motives for challenging the relevance of conventional population datasets. In particular, both the occupational and private activities of the population are less place-bound compared to the past. Furthermore, the growing fluctuation and individual mobility of the population have also decoupled the place of residence from the workplace and extended the commute distances. Existing spatial datasets refer only to ‘residential’ population distribution, and more complete datasets reflecting spatiotemporal population variations are still lacking. Exploring and combining new and unconventional datasets can be useful to map spatiotemporal population distribution and to fill data gaps. The mobile phone data has surfaced in recent years as one of the big data sources with a lot of promise for its use in official statistics. Although mobile data does not provide the accuracy of the census, a comparison of this new data source with the census and the population register shows a high correlation and much more dynamism in the aspect of rapid changes. So, in terms of timeliness, quick and short-time indicators could be derived from mobile phone data as an additional source of population information. The project aims at developing and implementing a consistent and validated methodology to produce multi-temporal population distribution for Slovakia by utilizing the localization data of the mobile network. Such datasets will expand the knowledge base of spatiotemporal population patterns across the country. Moreover, multi-temporal population grids can be a useful and straightforward input to several models, particularly transport, land use, economic and environmental models.

MaRoCoHazard - Marginalized Roma concentrations in the context of natural hazards and social inequality

Marginalizované rómske koncentrácie v kontexte prírodných hrozieb a sociálnej nerovnosti

Duration: 1. 7. 2023 - 30. 6. 2027
Evidence number:APVV-22-0428
Program: APVV
Project leader: Ing. Kidová Anna PhD.
Annotation:Marginalized Roma concentrations in environmentally unstable areas (floods, landslides, contamination) together with their social status and population trend represent a very current research challenge in the context of increasing society's resilience, especially to flood risk. The present project responds to this challenge and the research focuses mainly on the analysis of: i) flood exposure of Roma settlements, whether due to the impact of morphological changes in river channels or evolution trends of segregated Roma settlements, ii) vulnerability of marginalized Roma concentrations to flood risk due to their social status, iii) public policies in terms of their effectiveness to help Roma communities in settlements to cope with the negative consequences of flood hazard, iv) the natural environment around Roma settlements in the context of its impact on flood risk compared to the rest / majority population. Research will be carried out at national, regional and local levels. Methodologically, the project is based on data obtained by multitemporal analysis of remote sensing data, morphometric analysis of georelief, data on socio-economic and spatial-functional relationships and data obtained from field research.

SUB-KIK - Suburbanization: Community, identity and everydayness

Suburbanizácia: Komunita, identita a každodennosť

Duration: 1. 8. 2021 - 31. 7. 2025
Evidence number:APVV-20-0432
Program: APVV
Project leader: Mgr. Šuška Pavel PhD.
Annotation:The general objective of the proposed project is to expand knowledge about the current process of suburbanization in the hinterland of the capital. The study of suburbanization has so far been dominated by quantitative analysis of basic processes (migration, construction, changes in landscape structures), which are viewed from the perspective of the metropolitan area. However, this dynamic environment is characterized by social transformations, negotiation, and creation of new identities, reassessment of the relationship to the localities, and (re)definition of individual perception of a home. Therefore, the main objective of the project is to analyze the specific place-making processes and relations, realized by participants with different socio-demographic characteristics (such as age, gender, ethnicity, religious affiliation, social status and other) and related social and individual identities. These are further reflected in their individual preferences, ideas, or norms and confronted with the socio-cultural and institutional context in the suburbs. The suburban space has a specific position in terms of socio-cultural aspects. On the one hand, a heterogeneous flow of immigrants with different experiences, worldviews, and social status are evident, and on the other, it is a space where these incoming identities meet and interact. The output of this interaction can often be an indeterminate hybrid conglomerate, or the transition to some kind of neoplasm, an alloy formed by combining and remelting these initial cultural elements. There is a negotiation and creation of new identities, a reassessment of the relationship to the locality, community, and redefining the individual and collective experience of home. The central category of home is not a static, but on the contrary, a procedural - and variable phenomenon.

Scholarships for excellent researchers threatened by the war conflict in Ukraine

Štipendiá pre excelentných výskumníkov ohrozených vojnovým konfliktom na Ukrajine

Duration: 12. 9. 2022 - 11. 9. 2024
Evidence number:09I03-03-V01-00021
Program: Iné projekty
Project leader: Polyvach Kateryna PhD.
Project web page:http://www.geography.sav.sk/veda-a-vyskum/projekty/next-generation_ua-22/

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on changes in consumption and its manifestations in new patterns of consumer behavior in Slovakia

Vplyv pandémie COVID-19 na zmeny v spotrebe a jej prejavy v nových vzorcoch správania spotrebiteľov na Slovensku

Duration: 1. 1. 2022 - 31. 12. 2024
Evidence number:2/0144/22
Program: VEGA
Project leader: Mgr. Bilková Kristína PhD.
Annotation:Consumption affects each of us and is constantly changing. It is influenced by various factors and currently the most important is the global COVID-19 pandemic. To stop the virus spreading, we were forced to change our typical activities and the consumption associated with them. The project monitors current trends in society and new challenges, such as the pandemic. One of the research topics are the regionally differentiated impacts of a pandemic on various areas of our lives. The project is focused on the evaluation and analysis of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Research activities will be aimed at identifying and quantifying the effects of a pandemic in retail and services in Slovakia and will respond to changes in consumption patterns using several methods and unique data. The results of the research will find application in other crisis situations, which will certainly appear in the future. The question is not whether it will appear, but when another crisis will arise which affects consumption.

Projects total: 17