Zeszyt: 2019, vol. 16 / II / 1
The Uroczysko Warta is one of the most important riparian forest areas in Poland. The construction of the Jeziorsko reservoir resulted in changes in the Warta river hydrological regimes. This in turn led to a reduction in the floodplain area and flooding frequency, which as a consequence has had a dramatically detrimental effect on the floodplain forests in that wilderness. Riparian forests are among the richest and most beautiful forest ecosystems. Unfortunately, river regulation and flood control measures result in their degradation. In Poland only 0.2% total area is covered by riparian forests. The Uroczysko Warta is one of the most important groups of these habitats not only in Poland, but also on the European scale. It was assumed that the implementation of simple land and water system restoration systems - gates, barrages, culverts with backwater valve gates - may promote recreation of advantageous hydrological relations. This study presents results of water monitoring in the Uroczysko Warta Wilderness and the volume of deadwood formed as a consequence of hydrometeorological conditions. The paper provides a detailed description of climate characteristics (air temperature and precipitation) in the 30-year period of 1988-2017, i.e. after the commissioning of the Jeziorsko reservoir along with the ...
All uninterrupted time series of annual maximum flows of size at least 30 recorded in the period 1951-2016 in the Upper Vistula River catchment, were taken into trend analysis. Each of the 138 time series ended not earlier than in 2012. To estimate the trend, the nonparametric Theil-Kendall linear regression method was used. After removing the trend, lag-1 Kendall rank autocorrelation coefficient was calculated and, if the coefficient was significant at 5% level, was used to correct the variance of the Kendall S statistic which otherwise remained unchanged. Finally, the variance-corrected Mann-Kendall trend test was used, detecting 22 significant (at 5% level) linear trends of which only two were the effect of autocorrelation. All 138 significant and non-significant trends showed certain areal clustering clearly visible on the map of the catchment, which suggested dividing the area into three parts according the direction of trend and/or the number of statistically significant trends. Generally, the trends in the southern of the Upper Vistula River catchment are increasing, the opposite is true for the northern part. This finding does not concern the north-west part of the catchment where both kinds of trends are observed, which may be explained by strong anthropogenic influence. ...
The vulnerability of soil by wind erosion using the wind erosion equation (WEQ) in geographic information systems (GIS) was demonstrated on the cadastral area of Přísnotice, southeast of the Czech Republic. Raster layers were created for input factors of WEQ and potential soil loss by wind was calculated using the Raster Calculator. Subsequently, map outputs showing the potential vulnerability of soil to wind erosion were made. In the first variant, where the protective effect of the barriers was not taken into account, the wind erosion intensity reached 47.6 t.ha-1.year-1. In the second variant, where the protective effect of the barrier was assumed, the loss of soil was lower, the maximum value was 4.7 t.ha-1.year-1. The soil loss limit was exceeded, even in a situation where a relatively high protective barrier effect has been proposed. The advantage of determining of wind erosion vulnerability using ArcGIS is that it is possible to identify particular parts of soil blocks from the map outputs, which are the most vulnerable. Similarly, it is possible to design a windbreak network and simulate its protective effect using ArcGIS. ...
The aim of the three-year pot experiment was to determine the effect of standard mineral fertilization enriched with sulfur and iron on the content of nitrogen and sulfur in plants and on nutrient utilization by plants. Abundance of sulfates in soil after sulfur fertilization was also assessed. The direct effect of fertilization was assessed during the first and second year of the pot experiment, and the after-effect was analyzed during the third year. Rape (first year) and maize (second and third year) were the test plants. Solid mineral fertilizers (A: a mixture of ammonium nitrate and dolomite; B: a mixture of ammonium nitrate and sulfate) enriched with iron sulfate were used. Nitrogen content in the plants varied depending on applied fertilization as well on plant species and part. Sulfur application increased sulfur content in the aboveground parts of plants by 25-457% and in roots by 95-708%. Iron application ambiguously influenced nitrogen and sulfur content in the plants. Hovewer, simultaneous application of iron and sulfur (as fertilizer B enriched with iron) resulted in the highest coefficient of nitrogen (84%) and sulfur (39%) utilization. Sulfur fertilization caused a 5-20 fold increase in sulfate sulfur content in the soil. ...
The study is supposed to start a series of research on the role of natural building as an environment friendly solution. It includes the results of a survey which was carried out to define the level of university students' ecological awareness of benefits and development prospects of this technology in Poland. Young people were surveyed to find out their knowledge of the solutions based on natural resources available in the environment. It has been established whether positive attitude of students toward the natural environment can find reflection in their approval of eco-building and subsequently, willingness to invest money in construction of such buildings in the future. An important question has been addressed, that is, whether people are interested in houses made of clay, straw or wood an whether they consider them as cheap, durable, modern and esthetic architectural forms. ...
This article presents results on social infrastructure of burial character (cemeteries, crematoria) located in the rural areas in Poland taking into account its influence on spatial development and society. To achieve the goal, villages were chosen from each Province where in the years 1989-2019 burial facilities were implemented (36 objects), including: communal cemeteries (22 objects), parish cemeteries (8 objects), crematoria (6 objects). Analysis were carried out in accordance with the top-down principle, taking into account: planning documents, spatial and functional structure, context of burial objects, its location in the relation to the transport infrastructure, other religious facilities, development of buffer and social role. Research shows that the number of communal cemeteries and crematoria in the rural areas increased (which is associated with social acceptance for cremation process in Poland); this also applies to durability of cemetery composition and desacralization of its surrounding. Social infrastructure connected with burial should be an integrated part of rural landscape; that is why recommendations were elaborated. ...
The paper presents simple machine learning models used for prediction of some soil properties based on the NIR spectral response. Data on mineral soils from Poland were taken from the LUCAS dataset. Machine learning model was used that is included in the category of so-called multilayer perceptron (MLP). The MLP model input was a vector of combined, transformed inputs made by means of the PLSR (partial last squares regression) algorithm (45 inputs in total). The output was a vector of properties, reduced to 9 components due to poor modelling effects of the P and K components. The estimation errors for texture, soil organic carbon (SOC) and carbonates can be considered acceptable from the point of view of their suitability in the development of cartographic documentation. It can be supposed that further regionalization will improve these results. ...
Fountains are decorative elements that improve the attractiveness and visual qualities of urban environments. They can give refreshment to residents on a hot, sunny day. Despite the prohibitions on bathing in these facilities people often have contact with fountain water. It should be emphasized that poor quality of water from fountains can be dangerous for human health. This study was aimed at evaluating microbial contamination of water in Krakow fountains (fountain from Szczepański Square, fountain on the Groble Square, "Chopin" fountain near the philharmonic, "Stone" fountain on the Maria Magdalena Square and the fountain on the Main Market Square). Microbiological analyses were conducted to determine the total number of microorganisms at 36±2oC after 48 hours (mesophilic bacteria) and the total number of microorganisms at 22±2ºC after 74 hours (psychrophilic bacteria). In addition, the coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli and Closridium perfringens were also examined. The results have shown a high degree of microbiological contaminants in the tested water samples. The lowest contamination of water was observed in the fountain on the Szczepański Square and in nozzle water from the fountain on the Groble Square. The highest numbers of bacteria were found in "Stone" fountain at the Maria Magdalena Square. ...
Water is a significant source of macro- and microelements, necessary for the proper functioning of a human body. The purpose of this article was to analyze the quality of the selected bottled waters available on the Polish market in terms of the physico-chemical parameters (pH, conductivity, chloride ions, bromide ions), macroelements (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium) and trace elements (lead, nickel, antimony, arsenic). 17 brands of the bottled waters available on the Polish market were investigated within the study presented in the article (8 natural mineral waters, 6 spring waters and 3 therapeutic waters). The bottled waters, which were analyzed in the article, characterized with a large diversity of chemical composition. In two samples of therapeutic waters the permissible concentration of nickel was exceeded. ...
The possibility to combine wastewater treatment and electricity production can accomplish a microbial fuel cell. Microbial fuel cells use glucose from wastewater as a fuel. In recent years, both production of municipal and industry wastewater increases very much. Municipal wastewater is directed to the wastewater treatment plant. While industry wastewater can be use as a fertilizer. But, both municipal and industry wastewater can be used in the microbial fuel cells. The comparison of powering the microbial fuel cell with municipal and process wastewater from yeast production is presented in this paper. The measurements covered comparison of changes in the concentration of COD in the reactor without aeration, with aeration and with using a microbial fuel cell (powered with municipal and industry wastewater). The results of measurements of COD showed no differences between the microbial fuel cell powered with municipal wastewater and the microbial fuel cell powered with process yeast wastewater. But, the power output is higher with using process yeast wastewater to powering the microbial fuel cell. ...
