floods, dendrogeomorphology, Veľký Studený potok creek, Picea abies, High Tatras Mts.

Dendrogeomorfologická rekonstrukce povodňových událostí na Velkém Studeném potoce ve Vysokých Tatrách. Na základě 16 vrtných jader ze smrku ztepilého (P. abies) bylo identifikováno 11 událostí s nejsilnějším signálem z roku 1958. Další významnější události byly zjištěny v letech 1967, 1979, 2000, 2009 a 2013.

The southern slopes of the High Tatra Mts. suffer from a lack of data about the past flood events because archival records from this region are rather scarce. In addition, gauging stations with field monitoring are missing in the most dynamic (most elevated) parts of the creek. The main aim of this study is to identify the frequency of flood events in the Veľký Studený potok creek obtained via dendrogeomorphic methods. Sampling strategies are usually based on a large number of trees. However, this area was affected by severe wind calamities (e.g. in 2004 and 2014) resulting in the decreased number of trees suitable for sampling. Analysis of 48 increment cores from 16 individuals of Picea abies (L.) Karst allowed the identification of 11 flood events during the period 1952–2016. The strongest dendrogeomorphic signal occurred in 1958 followed by the events in 1967, 1979, 2000, 2009 and 2013. This paper showed that dendrogeomorphic research based on a limited number of trees is reliable for the creation of at least minimum chronology. Furthermore, we outlined the possibilities of future reconstructions in sufficiently forested reaches of high-gradient streams in this region.