Tourism Impact on the Shore Zone of Lakes: a Case Study of Four Lakes of Mrągowo Lakeland

Grażyna Furgała-Selezniow

Małgorzata Jankun-Woźnicka

Abstract

Lakes are an essential element of human well-being and lake tourism is becoming an increasingly important branch of the tourism industry worldwide. Numerous investments in tourism infrastructure, located in the shore zone of lakes, attract more and more tourists. This phenomenon has a negative impact on the natural environment of the lakes. Their shore zone, which is an ecotone zone, is particularly vulnerable to human pressure. Four lakes were selected for the study. They differed substantially in their use and land cover in the shore zone. GIS datasets were used for the analysis. A set of indices was proposed to monitoring the lake shore zone tourism load. The shore zone of the lakes with a high share of the residential buildings and the forest was the most affected by tourism. The shore zone of reservoirs with a high share of agricultural land and non-forest semi-natural areas was less loaded.