Variability of precipitation in Podhale and determinants of its circulation

W pracy przedstawiono zmienność rocznych, sezonowych, miesięcznych i dobowych sum opadów atmosferycznych oraz liczby dni z opadem ≥0,1 mm, ≥1,0 mm i ≥10 mm na Podhalu w wieloleciu 1981-2010. Dane pochodzą z 6 stacjach meteorologicznych IMGW PIB tj. z Zawoi, Jabłonki, Zakopanego, Kasprowego Wierchu, Nowego Targu i Ochotnicy Górnej. Wykazano, że opady charakteryzują się dużą zmiennością w przebiegu wieloletnim, jak i rocznym. Szczególnie jest to widoczne w przypadku stacji zlokalizowanych w odmiennych warunkach fizycznogeograficznych. Średnie roczne sumy opadów na rozpatrywanym obszarze wahają się od 740,7 mm w Jabłonce do 1761,7 mm na Kasprowym Wierchu. Najbardziej wyraźne kontrasty opadowe występują między Zawoją a Jabłonką, co wynika z położenia obu stacji. Pierwsza z nich jest eksponowana na wiatry deszczonośne z zachodu a druga jest w cieniu opadowym Babiej Góry. Wykazano większą zmienność opadów w półroczy ciepłym. W ostatniej dekadzie rozpatrywanego wielolecia zaznaczył się wzrost maksymalnych opadów, co spowodowało wysokie sumy w porach roku, jak i miesiącach.Największa częstość dni z opadem słabym i bardzo słabym występuje na stacjach, które otrzymują niewielkie sumy opadów. W przypadku opadów silnych i bardzo silnych jest odwrotnie – największa częstość występuje na Kasprowym Wierchu i w Zakopanem. Maksymalne sumy dobowe opadów wynoszą ponad 100 mm.Średnia roczna liczba dni z opadem ≥0,1 mm wynosi od 171 dni w Ochotnicy Górnej do 229 dni na Kasprowym Wierchu, a w przypadku liczby dni z opadem ≥10,0 mm od 20 dni w Jabłonce do 57 dni na Kasprowym Wierchu.Dobowe sumy opadów powiązano z Kalendarzem sytuacji synoptycznych w dorzeczu Górnej Wisły T. Niedźwiedzia (1981, 2013). Określono częstość występowania typów sytuacji, prawdopodobieństwo warunkowe wystąpienia opadów o różnej wielkości oraz dobowe sumy opadów w poszczególnych typach i porach roku. Wykazano, że najwyższe prawdopodobieństwo wystąpienia opadów i największe sumy są w typach cyklonalnych, szczególnie Nc, NEc, Cc i Bc.The paper presents the variability of annual, seasonal, monthly and daily sums of precipitation and number of days with precipitation ≥0,1 mm, ≥1,0 mm and ≥10 mm in Podhale in the multi-year period 1981-2010. The data come from 6 IMGW PIB meteorological stations, i.e. Zawoja Jabłonka, Zakopane, Kasprowy Wierch, Nowy Targ and Ochotnica Górna.It has been shown that the rainfall is characterized by the high volatility in the course of many years, as well as in annual. This is particularly evident in the case of stations located in different physico conditions. Average annual rainfall ranged from 740.7 mm in Jabłonka to 1761.7 mm on Kasprowy Wierch. The most distinct contrasts are between windward Zawoja and leeward Jabłonka, which is located in the rain shadow of Babia Góra.The daily rainfall are associated with Calendar of Synoptic Situation in the basin of the Upper Vistula by T. Bear (1981, 2013). It defines the prevalence types of situations, the conditional probability of rain of varying size and daily rainfall in different types and seasons. It has been shown that the highest probability of rain and the largest amounts are in cyclonic types, particularly Nc, NEc, Cc and Bc

Ocena wytrzymałości mechanicznej drewna brzozy pod kątem przydatności na konstrukcje budowlane

Celem pracy była ocena wytrzymałości mechanicznej drewna brzozy pod kątem zastosowania tego gatunku także na konstrukcje nośne, oprócz elementów wykończeniowych. W specjalistycznych laboratoriach zbadano w trzech powtórzeniach siły niszczące i przemieszczenia na powietrzno suchych próbkach o normowych kształtach i wymiarach. Na podstawie pomiarów obliczono średnie doraźne wytrzymałości tego drewna na: zginanie, które wyniosło aż 110,47 MPa; na ścinanie w poprzek włókien, które było równe 7,00 MPa; na rozciąganie w poprzek włókien, którego wartość osiągnęła poziom 3,92 MPa; na rozciąganie wzdłuż włókien, które określono na 96,27 MPa i na ściskanie wzdłuż włókien, gdzie otrzymano wytrzymałość 60,97 MPa. Tak korzystne kształtowanie się cech mechanicznych pozwoliło sformułować wniosek o przydatności tego gatunku na dowolne elementy konstrukcyjne i łączniki drewniane

Species of tree from the „Morasko Meteorite” nature reserve, in which root stuck a fragment of meteorite

The fragment of root with the stuck of meteorite, originated from the „Morasko Meteorite” nature reserve were analysed to determine the species of the tree. Based on the macro characteristics and microscopic preparation techniques, the anatomical features of analysed wood is presented. Besides the cross-section of place where the meteorite had lodged in and the depreciation degree of wood is taken into consideration to obtain the probability time of meteorite impact. It is concluded that the meteorite have to stabbed into the living European larch, therefore it is very probably that it had happened not earlier than about 200–300 years ago.Poddany badaniom fragment korzenia wraz z wbitym weń meteorytem, pochodzącym z rezerwatu przyrody „Meteoryt Morasko”, został określony jako drewno modrzewiowe (Larix decidua Mill.). Zarówno stan zachowania drewna jak również jego stopień deprecjacji obok widocznego na przekroju poprzecznym, w miejscu utkwienia meteorytu, charakterystycznego przebiegu słojów rocznych, świadczących o podjęciu przez drzewo próby zabliźnienia rany, wskazują, że fragment meteorytu, który upadł na ziemię na obszarze obecnego rezerwatu przyrody „Meteoryt Morasko,” wbił się w żyjące drzewo modrzewia europejskiego. Miało to zatem miejsce najprawdopodobniej w okresie nie wcześniej niż około 200–300 lat temu

Estimating defoliation of Scots pine stands using machine learning methods and vegetation indices of Sentinel-2

In the presented study, the Sentinel-2 vegetation indices (VIs) were evaluated in context of estimating defoliation of Scots pine stands in western Poland. Regression and classification models were built based on reference data from 50 field plots and Sentinel-2 satellite images from three acquisition dates. Three machine-learning (ML) methods were tested: k-nearest neighbors (kNN), random forest (RF), and support vector machines (SVM). Regression models predicted stands defoliation with moderate accuracy. R2 values for regression models amounted to 0.53, 0.57, 0.57 for kNN, RF and SVM, accordingly. Analogically, the following values of normalized root mean squared error were obtained: 12.2%, 11.9% and 11.6%. Overall accuracies for two-class classification models were 78%, 75%, 78% for kNN, RF and SVM methods. The Green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and MERIS Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index VIs were found to be most robust defoliation predictors regardless of the ML method. We conclude that Sentinel-2 satellite images provide useful information about forest defoliation and may contribute to forest monitoring systems

Effect of scots pine forest management on soil properties and carabid beetle occurrence under post-fire environmental conditions - a case study from Central Europe

Abstract Background Fires have a fundamental impact on phytocoenoses and, depending on the size of the fire, can have a positive or negative effect. The role of fires in the formation of the species composition of plants, restoration of stands and changes in soil properties is well studied. However, the long-term relationship between forest management methods, soil properties and epigeic entomofauna assemblages in post-fire areas is still not clear. The effects of Scots pine stand management methods on biochemical soil properties and ground beetle assemblages in the largest post-fire area in Central Europe after the second World were investigated. The study was conducted in the Rudy Raciborskie Forest district in southern Poland. The soil properties and epigeic beetle community structure were analysed. The research covered areas with natural and artificial pine regeneration, which were subjected to various care treatments. Results The tendency for higher accumulations of organic matter in the soil of stands that underwent natural regeneration was proven. The stimulating role of soil organic carbon on the activity of dehydrogenases in the soil of naturally renewed areas with silvicultural treatment (NRAT) was noted. Regardless of the manner of stand regeneration, the activity of β-glucosidase was higher in the areas in which breeding treatments were practised. Furthermore, managed forest stands presented a higher abundance of carabid beetles than stands without treatment practices. Thirteen epigeic beetle species from the families Geotrupidae, Carabidae, Curculionidae, Cerambycidae and Silphidae were captured, with beetles from the first two families being the most numerous. Rare epigeal carabid species in the fauna of Poland and Europe, such as Carabus glabratus (Paykull) and Carabus auronitens Fabr., found appropriate habitat conditions for survival in the post-fire areas. Compared with the other areas, in the NRAT area, there were better stand and soil properties and more features conducive to epigeic entomofaunal occurrences. The highest post-fire content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was recorded in the soils of the sites that underwent artificial regeneration. The results suggest that preparing the soil before the introduction of new vegetation affects the amount of aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Conclusions The better performance of the NRAT stand draws attention to the positive aspects of the use of natural regeneration, both from ecological and economic perspectives. The effects of forest management on the amount of soil organic matter after fires have been proven. The natural regeneration of stands was conducive to the accumulation of organic matter. The enzymatic activity of soils is influenced by the renewal method and forest management strategy. The NRAT area was characterized by the highest number of carabid species

Innovative Line for Door Production TechnoPORTA—Technological and Economic Aspects of Application of Wood-Based Materials

Material losses are caused by the machining process and the manufacturing process, as well as the use of excessive dimensional allowances applied to the machined materials. An adequate reduction of the planned machining allowances for wood-based panel components is possible when the machining line is properly designed and equipped with high-precision machines and devices. The aim of the study was to determine the size of material savings in relation to the most important construction materials when implementing an innovative technological line for processing industrial doors made of wood materials. The achieved savings improve the competitiveness of the door manufacturer on the market. In order to calculate the material savings obtained in the production of the most important models of door leaves that can be obtained in machining on the TechnoPORTA line, numerical data were compiled specifying the dimensions of semi-finished products, taking into account machining allowances applied before and after reduction. The implementation of the TechnoPORTA line makes it possible to reduce the negative impact on the environment by reducing the consumption of wood. It reduces the consumption of materials and the operating costs associated with the reduction of labor intensity, the load on machines and devices, and inventory levels

The Efficiency of Edge Banding Module in a Mass Customized Line for Wooden Doors Production

The TechnoPORTA technology line is a fully automated smart line ensuring the highest quality and efficiency of production wooden doors. The aim of the study was to experimentally determine the performance of the edge banding module in the TechnoPORTA line on particular working days and to determine the possible influence of organizational and technological factors characterizing the line’s operation, which can be defined and determined by analyzing the temporal technological data obtained from the IT systems controlling the line’s operation. The research was conducted on the edge banding module, which is crucial to the performance of the entire TechnoPORTA line. During the study, data on door leaf machining were collected such as the mean time of production per one working cycle, mean time of retooling, number of retooling, number of door leaves leaving in a series, and most frequent time of series. The data collected by the IT system controlling the line indicates that this module is flexible and its performance is not related to the control parameters. The results can be used to improve the operation of the module and the replication of the work schedule to subsequent modules of the technological line

Transcriptomic landscape of blood platelets in healthy donors

Blood platelet RNA-sequencing is increasingly used among the scientific community. Aberrant platelet transcriptome is common in cancer or cardiovascular disease, but reference data on platelet RNA content in healthy individuals are scarce and merit complex investigation. We sought to explore the dynamics of platelet transcriptome. Datasets from 204 healthy donors were used for the analysis of splice variants, particularly with regard to age, sex, blood storage time, unit of collection or library size. Genes B2M, PPBP, TMSB4X, ACTB, FTL, CLU, PF4, F13A1, GNAS, SPARC, PTMA, TAGLN2, OAZ1 and OST4 demonstrated the highest expression in the analysed cohort, remaining substantial transcription consistency. CSF3R gene was found upregulated in males (fold change 2.10, FDR q < 0.05). Cohort dichotomisation according to the median age, showed upregulated KSR1 in the older donors (fold change 2.11, FDR q < 0.05). Unsupervised hierarchical clustering revealed two clusters which were irrespective of age, sex, storage time, collecting unit or library size. However, when donors are analysed globally (as vectors), sex, storage time, library size, the unit of blood collection as well as age impose a certain degree of between- and/or within-group variability. Healthy donor platelet transcriptome retains general consistency, with very few splice variants deviating from the landscape. Although multidimensional analysis reveals statistically significant variability between and within the analysed groups, biologically, these changes are minor and irrelevant while considering disease classification. Our work provides a reference for studies working both on healthy platelets and pathological conditions affecting platelet transcriptome