**1. Introduction**

The mountains are vital to life on Earth. Approximately 27% of the Earth's surface (40 million km2 ) are covered by mountains [1], which possess at least one third of the species of the entire species diversity of terrestrial plants [2] and, at the same time, supply half of the human population with water [3, 4]. In the course of natural development, high mountains have become a refuge of many rare, endangered and endemic species and habitats [5]. Plant communities, differentiated both by height and species, very effectively capture water precipitation, snow, fog and ice. They regulate their

runoff, allow uniform distribution of moisture throughout the soil horizon profile, and ensure a long-term balanced water regime [3]. For these reasons, plant communities in high altitudes have an irreplaceable role. These are mainly spring areas of watercourses, which are currently the last surface sources of clean water [4].

The alpine landscape in particular represents a unique biogeographical unit of the Earth. The territory covered by alpine vegetation is fragmented into several mountain regions [6, 7]. Alpine landscape can be found at all latitudes [8, 9]. It occupies 4 million km2 , which represents almost 3% of the Earth's land surface. Alpine vegetation hides a great variety of species around the world, including 8,000–10,000 species of vascular plants. Alpine ecosystems have a strong impact on humans. Around 10% of the world's population lives in high-altitude regions, and more than 40% of them depend in some way on the resources of these ecosystems, in particular drinking and irrigation water from high altitude basins [9].

The alpine landscape of Slovakia is understood as mountains with developed upper forest boundaries and higher vegetation zones: subalpine, alpine and subnival [10]. The subalpine vegetation zone follows the montane vegetation zone and ends with an upper limit of the continuous occurrence of shrubland at an altitude of approximately 1850 m above sea level [11]. The alpine zone follows the subalpine zone and extends to a height of about 2300 m above sea level. It consists of original, primary alpine meadows, which extend over the shrubland zone, the so-called alpine grasslands. The subnival zone is the highest vegetation zone of the Tatras at altitudes from 2300 m to the highest peaks. The vegetation is poor, more continuous vegetation cover does not exist, plants occupy rock cracks, walls and slits. In Slovakia, the alpine landscape occupies 320 km<sup>2</sup> , which represents 0.7% of the country's territory [12]. The island character of the high mountains, their height and substratum ruggedness created suitable conditions for the creation of a varied mosaic of vegetation types with a number of naturally rare, relict and endemic plants. The Alpine landscape in Slovakia is found only in national parks, which mainly protect their ecosystems.

The unique alpine landscape with which humans have been connected since the past is represented by the smallest high mountains in the world, the Tatra Mountains. In the past, in the places where now exist the highest peaks, prehistoric seas were spreading, massive layers of sediments were deposited, mountain-forming processes were taking place and prehistoric animals were moving around the landscape. Today's appearance of the Tatras has been completed by processes in the last two million years. Mountain massifs elevated by alpine folding with remains of layers of sedimentary rocks formed mountain glaciers during probably four ice ages. They pushed huge volumes of rubble out of them and gave them the character of high mountains. The alternation of hot and cold periods, dry and humid periods in the Holocene was the key to the development of today's plant and animal kingdom. In the 11th century, they were surrounded by one large primary forest, and until the 14th century only isolated shepherds, treasure hunters and lumberjacks wandered into their valleys. Major changes occurred in the 14th − 17th centuries, when Wallachian colonization was directed to higher mountain areas. In the 18th – 19th centuries, most of the accessible forests were grubbed up for the needs of mining, metallurgy and construction. Following the shepherds and lumberjacks came researchers, tourists and climbers [13].

People perceived the rare beauty of the mountains and their uniqueness in the distant past. In order to preserve them, they declared the first protected areas. The aim was protection of their beauty, protection for religious and utilitarian reasons and protection of wildlife with original game for hunting. Later, biological,

#### *Impacts of Human Activities on the High Mountain Landscape of the Tatras… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.105601*

biogeographical and ecological aspects were pushed to the fore, such as protection of rare and endangered species and their habitats, protection of representative ecosystems, up to the systemically understood protection of natural ecosystems and original ecological processes [14].

However, a question has been hanging over national parks since the creation of the first ones – how to preserve the original nature from the emerging anthropic pressure and, at the same time, how to make the national park available for recreation and relaxation? This is a global issue applying to national parks around the world [14]. Protected areas are now considered as effective and promising instruments not only of a global strategy, but also of national strategies aimed at combating biodiversity loss [15, 16]. The mission of nature conservation areas is to preserve biodiversity and functioning natural ecosystems that serve as a refuge for many endangered plant and animal species and provide ecosystem services. However, they are often disturbed in most of the area of the intensively used landscape that surrounds them [14–16]. Despite great efforts to preserve the nature of the mountains, there are still significant changes in the environment. These changes are the result of climate change, deforestation or natural disasters, in many places in less developed countries in the world, also of mineral extraction, armed conflicts, poverty and hunger. In more advanced countries, as a result of modern times that have brought about the development of sports facilities, recreation and tourism, new roads, hotels and lifts have been built. This is a global trend. More than 50 million people visit mountains every year [17]. Many mountain towns around the world depend on the development of tourism. Catering and accommodation services for tourists who come to admire the mountains are developed in the villages.

The Tatras, despite their protection, they are threatened by an increasing number of tourists and increasing demands for the construction of infrastructure connected with services. In this chapter, we focus on the area located on the border of the High and Belianske Tatras, where the alpine landscape is characterized by various degrees of destruction, but, at the same time, almost undisturbed unique nature. We focus on the impacts of human activities on the high mountain landscape during the past and at present.
