Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 12.1 General scheme of the interaction “global change - landscape system”
periods, still a serious deficit of regional and local data is observed in this area of
knowledge. And here is the very tricky moment in studying climate - global changes
in the state of the atmosphere cause quite different local reactions because of the
unique combination of specific topography, biotic environment and human impact at
each location (Fig. 12.1 ). That is why regional and local response to global changes
is very hard to predict without knowing in great detail the current regional and local
environmental setting. This problem is of a pragmatic importance - understand-
ing the mechanism of local response will give us the chance to correctly suggest,
estimate and evaluate future changes in our environment.
This chapter is focused on regional and local environmental change studies in
the highest mountains of Bulgaria with the aim to make a short revision of what has
been done and what should be done in the future.
12.2 Bulgarian Mountains - A Target Area for Paleoclimatic
Researches
The most serious difficulties when trying to reconstruct environmental conditions of
the past come from the impacts of human activity. In the context of climate this is
a “vicious circle” - we want to evaluate the changes in climate for some of which
we suspect the human factor, and at the same time civilization has destroyed the
evidence that should tell what the natural conditions in the past were. This is valid
for the most part of Europe, where only isolated and hardly accessible areas keep
nature preserved enough to tell what climate was like in the past. In this aspect the
Balkan region has an advantage that here vast areas are occupied by mountains of
various height, lithology and present local climate, and that many of them provide
still relatively wild nature.
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