| Co-operating investigators: | Marta Illýová, Ferdinand Šporka, Ladislav Hamerlík, Katarína Trnková
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| Anotation: | The Banská Štiavnica region belonged to the most important mining regions in Europe since the Middle Ages. Due to mining, the economic development of this area has increased, on the other hand, mining has left a legacy of residues and waste from ore processing. Many of these structures, e.g. reservoirs, have become a part of the landscape and, interestingly, made it even more attractive. That is likely the reason why impact of the mining activities has yet been evaluated as a geomorphological factor rather than an environmental issue. In contrast to previous studies focusing on the current landscape and ecosystems, the proposed project will study the extent and intensity of human impacts for the last ~250 years using multi-proxy approach. Except for evaluating environmental contamination by mining waste and its potential risk to organisms and humans, the project represents a unique opportunity to observe the dynamics and timing of processes leading to the current status of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
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