Sustainable Mountain Regions: Challenges and Perspectives in Southeastern Europe

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvi

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2. Sustainable Policies in Mountain Regions

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Mountain Development Policies in Bulgaria: Practices and Challenges

      • Boian Koulov, Mariyana Nikolova, Georgi Zhelezov

      Pages 3-15

   3. Cooperation Models and Pluri-Activity to Exhaust Value-Added Potentials in Mountain Regions

      • Miriam L. Weiß, Christian Hoffmann, Thomas Streifeneder

      Pages 17-31

3. Natural Resources and Ecosystem Services: Adaptation to Climate Change

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 33-33

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   2. Applications of GIS-Based Hydrological Models in Mountain Areas in Bulgaria for Ecosystem Services Assessment: Issues and Advantages

      • Kremena Boyanova, Stoyan Nedkov, Benjamin Burkhard

      Pages 35-51

   3. Mapping Carbon Storage Using Land Cover/Land Use Data in the Area of Beklemeto, Central Balkan

      • Miglena Zhiyanski, Alexander Gikov, Stoyan Nedkov, Petar Dimitrov, Lora Naydenova

      Pages 53-65

   4. Consequences of Non-intervention Management for the Development of Subalpine Spruce Forests in Bulgaria

      • Alexander Dountchev, Momchil Panayotov, Nickolay Tsvetanov, Petar Zhelev, Stefan Yurukov

      Pages 67-76

   5. Technical Climate Change Adaptation Options of the Major Ski Resorts in Bulgaria

      • Osman Cenk Demiroglu, Mustafa Tufan Turp, Tugba Ozturk, Nazan An, Mehmet Levent Kurnaz

      Pages 77-88

   6. Hydric Significance of Landscape in a Mountain River Basin

      • Barbora Šatalová

      Pages 89-103

4. Mountain Economies

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 105-105

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   2. Small-Scale Mountain Tourism in Bulgaria: Development Patterns and Sustainability Implications

      • Vasil Marinov, Mariana Assenova, Elka Dogramadjieva

      Pages 107-122

   3. Beyond Existing e-Tourism for Mountains: Findings from the Case of Zagori, Greece

      • George Panagiotopoulos, Loukas-Moysis Misthos, Dimitris Kaliampakos

      Pages 123-136

   4. Sustainable Tourism in Mountain Destinations: The Perceived and Actual Role of a Destination Management Organization

      • Urs Wagenseil, Myrta Zemp

      Pages 137-148

5. Mountain Ecology, Risks and Protected Areas

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 149-149

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   2. Biodiversity Protection of the Forest Ecosystems on the Base of Representative Geoecosystems

      • Zita Izakovičová, László Miklós

      Pages 151-158

   3. Predicting the Potential Distribution of Ailanthus altissima, an Invasive Terrestrial Plant Species in Măcin Mountains National Park (Romania)

      • Ines Grigorescu, Monica Dumitraşcu, Gheorghe Kucsicsa, Mihai Doroftei, Mihaela Năstase, Carmen-Sofia Dragotă

      Pages 159-172

   4. Determination of the Landscapes Regulation Capacity and Their Role in the Prevention of Catastrophic Events: A Case Study from the Lom River Upper Valley, Bulgaria

      • Daniela Avetisyan, Bilyana Borisova, Roumen Nedkov

      Pages 173-190

   5. GIS- and RS-Based Modelling of Potential Natural Hazard Areas in Mountains. Case Study: Vlahina Mountain

      • Ivica Milevski, Ekaterina Ivanova

      Pages 191-204

   6. Spatial Discrepancies of Ecological Networks in the Border Region of Serbia and Bulgaria

      • Assen Assenov

      Pages 205-217

Central to this edited volume is the proposition that the mountainous border region of Southeastern Europe needs to become a special target of European Union scale, regional development policy-making. Vivid case studies from eleven Central and Southeast European states present diverse perspectives on this region’s physical geography, economy and demographics and demonstrate the integrative potential of the geographic perspective in mountain research. Europe as a whole has a lot to gain from a “sustainable mountains” policy, especially in Southeast Europe. In their focus on the sustainable development of such areas, the chapters consider regional development policy, ecosystem services assessment, small-scale tourism, and forestry management.


This book will be of interest to a wide audience, including academics, students, and practitioners in the fields of geography, ecology, and environmental studies.

• Mountain regions in souteastern Europe
• Sustainable regional development policies in mountains
• Sustainable mountain tourism
• Ecosystem services assessment and natural resources
• Landscapes regulation and hazard prevention capacity
• Mountain ecology and protection

“It provides valuable insight into recent research conducted in the Southeastern European mountain regions. And thus it can be of interest to a diverse audience, including students, researchers and practitioners of different fields, e.g. in the fields of geography, ecology, environmental studies and tourism. … it reaches its goal of providing multiple pieces of evidence that sustainability principles should be used at every scale of geo-ecologic planning in mountain regions.” (Eszter Tanács, Hungarian Geographical Bulletin, Vol. 66 (1), 2017)

• Nat. Inst. of Geophy, Geodesy, & Geograp, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria

  Boian Koulov

• Nat Inst of Geophy,Geodes & Geography, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria

  Georgi Zhelezov

Policies and ethics