The new features of landslide relief discovered using LiDAR – case study from Babia Góra massif, Western Carpathian Mountains

Basing on LiDAR data, the re-interpretation of the limit and distribution of the selected landslide forms in 9 test areas were carried out. The forms are located at the slopes of the monoclinal ridge of Babia Góra Mt. (1,725 m a.s.l.) in the flysch Western Carpathians. The earlier knowledge on these landforms is shown in the unpublished map at the scale of 1:5,000 which was prepared basing on geomorphological mapping. Basing on the newest information source, subtle geomorphic signatures of landslides were found, the dynamics of these forms and directions of their further development were determined. Local differentiation of deep-seated landslides was indicated according to the relation between the sandstone layer dip and slope inclination, slope length, and altitude of the location of headwaters. An attention was paid to polycyclic relief of the highest located landslide forms, which contain the elements of glacial and nival morphology, and some are modelled by debris flows

The timberline in the Azau Valley in the central Caucasus Mountains in the context of landforms and the geomorphological processes modelling the area

This brief study depicts the Azau Valley in the central Caucasus Mountains in the context of landforms and the geomorphological processes modelling the area. The attached Plate shows the location of timberline and the distribution and extent of landforms of different origin

Comprehensive study of the mountainous lake sediments in relation to natural and anthropogenic processes and time (Mały Staw Lake, Poland)

The Sudety Mts. form a chain of mountains in the South of Poland and during the last 200 years were subjected to strong industrial and agricultural pressure. The records of these human-induced changes are stored in natural archives like lake sediments. For the comprehensive study, three sediment cores taken from Mały Staw Lake (Sudety Mts.) were analyzed for the concentration of K, Na, Mn, Fe, Cu, Mg, Zn, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb and radioactivity of 137Cs and 210Pb. As a result of the studies, the bathymetry map was developed and the sources of solid material supplied to the lake were identified. The geochronology studies of the cores were performed using 210Pb method, to evaluate model of time changes in the sediment. Radioactivity of 210Pbuns (determined indirectly by 210Po) ranged from 1051 ± 64 to 12 ± 8 Bq kg−1. The 137Cs radioactivity was determined directly by gamma spectrometry and varied from525 ± 37Bq kg−1 for top layers to 9.80 ± 5.40 Bq kg−1 for the bottom of the core. Two characteristic peaks of 137Cs radioactivity related to the global fallouts after nuclear weapons testing and the Chernobyl accident were observed and used to confirm210Pb dating method. Chemometrics analysis of the chosen metal’s concentrations combined with sample dating showed distinct imprint of human activity on the studied area

The dynamics of the timberline ecotone on the asymmetric ridge of the Babia Góra Massif, Western Carpathians

Timberline ecotone (TE) generally developed because the temperatures in the environment were too low. There are other overlapping biotic and abiotic factors which affect the TE. The main aim of this work was to determine how the asymmetry of Babia Góra’s ridge influences the location and characteristics of the timberline ecotone nowadays, and how the ridge influenced the timberline ecotone in the mid-20th century. The asymmetry of environmental conditions means the timberline has formed in two extreme environments: on the sunny and gentle southern slope (40% of the timberline length) and on the cold, humid, steep northern slope (another 40% of the timberline length). The southern slope of the ridge shows a progressive timberline length of 86%. In turn, 81% of the timberline on the northern slope is in a stable ecotone

The diversity of soils of the upper forest line, transition, and mountain pine zones in the Babia Góra Massif

The upper forest line transition zone up to the mountain pine zone on the southern slopes of Babia Góra, has diversified phytosociology and soils. The development and diversity of the upper forest soils are affected by morphogenetic processes, physiographic conditions, vegetation, and anthropogenic factors which in the past included sheep grazing. An analysis conducted on the morphological and chemical soil properties in the transects covering the upper forest line, transition, and mountain pine zone on the southern slopes of Babia Góra revealed considerable diversification characterising these soils within the individual altitude zones. A substantial changeability in the contents of the analysed components in the investigated soils is characteristic for mountain soils developed in the areas with great intensity of slope phenomena and processes

The tree-ring growth responses to climate in the timberline ecotone of Babia Góra Mountain

The growth/climate response of Norway spruce in the timberline ecotone of Babia Góra Mountain was examined. Based on a pool of 708 trees from 10 sites, the influence of age, exposure, and method of computing chronology, was assessed. Gridded data and 12 instrumental series were used to study the spatiotemporal relationship of the tree growth and climate. Temperature mainly controls the growth of the Norway spruce in the timberline ecotone at Babia Góra Mountain. The most important factors were the June and July temperatures (r = 0.57) and of the entire growing season April-September (r = 0.52). The precipitation of late winter (Marchand correspondingly the January-March season) had a positive influence on the tree growth. The previously reported negative correlation with the summer precipitation was found but it was less important. The mature trees growing on the northern slope showed a response to the summer temperature in a stronger manner than all the other groups. The low-frequency SPL chronologies (detrended using the cubic smoothing splines method) performed better than the RCS (regional curve standardisation) of the high-frequency SPL. A strong correlation was found with Obidowa, the nearest located instrumental data (a distance of 35 km), and the Hala Gąsienicowa, the station located at a similar elevation a.s.l. (1508 m a.s.l.), but also with the Krakow located farther away and at a lower elevation (237 m a.s.l.). The TRW/temperature correlation was temporally most stable in the case of Zakopane

Geographical characteristics of the timberline in the Carpathians

The pattern of timberline distribution on mountain ranges world-wide is related to global factors. The basic factor is temperature and the amount of radiation, which falls with increasing distance from the equator. Additionally, this basic relationship is overlaid by the specific features of the type of climate on the massif (degree of continentality or oceanity) and the mass-elevation effect. In the Carpathians, the mass elevation effect seems to have bigger impact on the location of timberline (R2 = 0.71, p = 0.00) than their latitudinal location (R2 = 0.56, p = 0.00). The timberline altitude changes by 70 m a.s.l. (±20 m) with each degree of latitude. The influence of the type of the climate is complex and it is not clearly visible due to past and recent human impact

The influence of snow avalanches on the timberline in the Babia Góra Massif, Western Carpathians

Avalanches are one of the most important abiotic factors influencing the timberline on a worldwide scale. In the case of Babia Góra, avalanches are found to affect more than ¹⁄³ of the length of the timberline, locally lowering it by as much as 350 m in distance. The timberline under the influence of avalanche processes is associated with steep slopes (>30°), with 90% of this being located on the massif’s northern slope. In the long run (1964-2009), around the whole massif the timberline shows a high degree of stability along 79% of its length. It proved possible to reconstruct avalanche events along the largest avalanche path in the examined massif, the Szeroki Żleb gully. Nine such events are seen to have occurred over the past 120 years, with seven of these characterising the last 50 years. The avalanche(s) occurring in winter 1975/1976 had the greatest impact on the timberline in the Szeroki Żleb gully over the examined period

Timberline in the Carpathians : an overview

In nature, division lines are delineated where multiple important environmental features change. These division lines may be singled out at the intersection of two geosystems (Balon 2000) where the functional uniformity of the geosystems located on both sides are preserved (Forman & Gordon 1986; Cadenasso et al. 2003). A significant environmental boundary is the upper forest boundary (timberline), which separates different vegetation zones: (1) forest from non-forest (Piękoś-Mirkowa & Mirek 1996); climatic zones (2) cool from very cool (Hess 1965); geoecological zones (3) periglacial from temperate forest system (Kotarba 1996). A timberline is a sensitive ecosystem therefore is a good indicator of changes occurring in the environment. There are, however, multiple elements which affect the timberline. This ecotone has also been widely analysed in local, regional, and even monographic studies of numerous massifs. It is necessary to present and organise the great amount of information in order to aid research on the timberline in the Carpathians

Rapid river bed recovery after the in-channel mining : the case of Vistula River, Poland

The effects of in-channel wet-pit mining is nowadays widely discussed in terms of negative influence of the created pits on the river ecosystem and fluvial processes. The pits induce an alteration of natural flow or sediment transport. This paper describes the post-mining channel recovery observed in a relatively short time in a gravelly sand bed lowland river. The study was based on repeated bathymetry of the channel and grain size analyses of bed material taken from the mining area and its surrounding upstream and downstream pit. We also use calculations of possible bedload sediment movement in the studied river reach. We noticed that the excavation pit exceeded the maximum depth of 8.8 m in 2014 and, immediately after the end of mining, the bedload started to infill the pit. The bathymetric measurements in 2019 indicated that the process of pit infill was completed after five years, though the former pit is refilled with material finer than the natural bedload observed in the discussed river reach, and consists mainly of sand. The studied process of pit infilling runs continuously, even during the annual average water stages