Spontaneous formation of optically induced surface relief gratings

A model based on Fick's law of diffusion as a phenomenological description of the molecular motion, and on the coupled mode theory, is developped to describe single-beam surface relief grating formation in azopolymers thin films. It allows to explain the mechanism of spontaneous patterning, and self-organization. It allows also to compute the surface relief profile and its evolution in time with good agreement with experiments

Dispersed settlement in the mountains – lost landscapes?

Współczesny krajobraz Karpat Polskich ulega silnemu przekształceniu związanemu z intensyfikacją funkcji osadniczej. Negatywny aspekt tego zjawiska jest powodowany przez rozproszony charakter zabudowy w obrębie stoków i wierzchowin górskich, zwłaszcza położonych w pobliżu większych miast, jak np. w sąsiedztwie Rzeszowa. W artykule przedstawiono skutki krajobrazowe, przyrodnicze, społeczne i ekonomiczne zjawiska rozpraszania zabudowy. Przeprowadzono także studium przypadku polegającego na ocenie różnic w rozpraszaniu zabudowy w strefie podmiejskiej Rzeszowa pomiędzy gminami Krasne w Kotlinie Sandomierskiej i Chmielnik na Pogórzu Dynowskim. Analizy GIS wykazały, że zjawisko to jest intensywniejsze w karpackiej części tego obszaru. Niepokojącym faktem obecnie jest coraz intensywniejsze zabudowywanie grzbietów i wierzchowin górskich kosztem dolin i stoków. Rodzi to obawę o nieodwracalną utratę cennych dla turystyki krajobrazów karpackich. Te negatywne procesy wskazują na konieczność zmian prawnych ograniczających rolę decyzji lokalizacyjnych.The contemporary landscape of the Polish Carpathians is strongly modified by intensification of the settlement. The negative aspect of this process is caused by dispersing of new buildings on the mountain slopes and flat topped hills, especially on the outskirts of cities, such Rzeszow. The article presents the impact of the scattering of buildings on landscape, environment, social and economic processes. The evaluation of the different scale of dispersed settlement was made in the case study of the suburban area of Rzeszów. Two communities were analysed: Krasne, located in the Sandomierz Basin and Chmielnik in the Dynowskie Foothills. GIS analysis showed that negative processes in the settlement mainly occurred in the Carpathian part of the area. In the Chmielnik community, buildings are more intensively scattered and located increasingly on flat topped hills in stead of valleys and slopes. These factors cause the irretrievable loss of value for tourism in the Carpathian landscape. The legislative changes restricting the role of location decisions are needed to counteract these negative processes

Expansion of brushwood in the subalpine zone of the Western Bieszczady Mts.

Complete discontinuation of agricultural use of subalpine meadows in the Western Bieszczady, which dates back to 1940s, started the process of their overgrowing with brushwood. Based on available cartographic material the following features were analysed: changes in the area occupied by brushwood on Mała Rawka and Wielka Rawka subalpine meadows, their growth rate and the relationship between the overgrowth process and the previous manner of agricultural use as well as topographic conditions throughout last 30 years. In that period the brushwood on Mała Rawka meadow (in the past the area had been reaped) was characterised by a small initial area (in the 1980s), a significant growth rate of the area and its relation to the slopes exposed to N, NE and E, the zone adjacent to the timber line and steeper slopes. In 1980 on Wielka Rawka meadow (previously used as a pasture) a high share of brushwood was found (about 25% of the meadow area), whose distribution was related only to the slopes of N, NE and E exposure. In subsequent years the growth rate was low. The results indicate a progressing process of overgrowing of subalpine meadows by brushwood. The brushwood expansion is related to discontinuation of agricultural use of the meadows and its course depends on the earlier regime of cultivation. The pattern of brushwood distribution also depends on altitude, exposure and the grade of slopes. Those relations result from the expansion of the rowan tree, dominating in the brushwood, also climatic conditions and accessibility of the ground

Activation of acid‐sensing ion channels by carbon dioxide regulates amygdala synaptic protein degradation in memory reconsolidation

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The importance of livestock grazing at woodland-grassland interface in the conservation of rich oakwood plant communities in temperate Europe

Traditional husbandry fostered rich semi-open oakwood communities composed of forest and non-forest species. In the eastern Carpathian region, silvo-pastoralism was commonplace by the mid-1900s. This study aimed to determine the state of the preservation of the ecotonal character of grassland-woodland interfaces in formerly pastured cultural landscapes of SE-Polish Carpathian foothills and W-Ukrainian Ciscarpathia in the context of land-use change. In the first region, despite the long-lasting history of forest grazing amongst mainly arable land, the post-WWII collapse of husbandry and the imposed ban on forest grazing, has led to swift development of dense undergrowth and establishment of impermeable ecological woodland-open habitat barrier. As a result, former silvo-pastoral oakwoods developed the features of the Tilio-Carpinentum forest community although some forest species have not yet moved in due to their poor dispersibility. The much younger oakwoods in the Ukrainian study region are remnants of the sparsely treed grasslands, some of which had been ploughed in the mid 20th century. Their semi-open canopy structure, maintained through repetitive grass burning, contributes to the communities ecotonal character, but without regular livestock-led plant “spill-over” from the grassland, the oakwoods remain species-poor. The restoration of species-rich semi-open oak woods requires “unsealing” the forest-grassland interface, reducing the degree of canopy closure, and opening that zone up to extensive grazing—an important seed dispersal vector