ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN THE NATIONAL PARK MALA FATRA

The driving forces of biodiversity retreat and thus also decrease of the capacity of landscapes to provide ecosystem services (ES) include also insufficient evaluation of these services and underestimation of their dependency on naturally high complexity and integrity of ecological systems. Therefore, understanding, mapping and evaluating ES belongs to great challenges of the ecological research. In the theoretical part of the contribution we outline basic types of ES and their relation to natural capital. In the experimental part we introduce several results of the assessment of the capacity of the current landscape in National Park Mala Fatra to provide ES. The chosen process includes analysis of the current landscape structure in the area, combined with the scale-based evaluation and salary of ES provided by individual types of landscape elements. The results obtained point to great potential of the territory especially for a group of cultural ES. Of these, we selected and financially appreciated the value of recreational ES.