Materials for biota of lichens and lichenicolous fungi in the military area near Toruń, Poland

The paper presents the first species list of lichens and lichenicolous fungi found and identified in the artillery training area located near the city of Toruń. Lichenological studies were conducted in that area in 1998–2001 and 2009. A total of 100 taxa were identified, including 4 species of lichenicolous fungi, with particular emphasis on epigeic lichens – mainly from the genus Cladonia and Cetraria associated with heaths and arenaceous grasslands. The identified lichens include some threatened and protected taxa, i.a. Bryoria subcana, Cetraria islandica, Physconia distorta, Peltigera canina, P. polydactylon, P. praetextata, Ramalina fraxinea, Stereocaulon condensatum

Changes in the organic carbon resources in successive forest development stageson dunes in the Toruń Basin

One way to prevent the growing carbon dioxide amount in the atmosphere consists in afforestation of forest wastelands such as: heaths, peat bogs, swamps. Replacing such ecological systems by planting them with trees allows to increase the afforested area and, at the same time, to increase the accumulation of organic carbon in the plant biomass. The growing contribution of forest stands may lead to natural restoration, mostly by self-seeding. This study determined changes in the organic carbon resources at the following stages of the natural succession occurring on heaths. The changes were compared with values obtained for the pine cultivation developed from artificial afforestation of the inland dune. The study was conducted on the heathland near the southern boundary of Toruń. Four plots were established in the gradient of the increasing density of pine. The second object of the study was an artificial pine cultivation established on the suburban inland dune (Zadroże Dune). The heather was preserved in abundant quantities in places where wilding pine trees occurred in small numbers (plot I), whereas in places with older self-sown plants (plots III and IV), the heath covered only a small part of the study area, beneath the canopy gaps allowing greater sunlight penetration. The artificial forest cultivation established on a dry habitat with trees three times older compared to self-sown pines on the heathland accumulates similar amounts of carbon in the biomass. The performed analysis showed that there are no significant differences in the carbon resources accumulated in the artificial and well-developed forest ecosystem (ca. 108.30 t Corg./ha) compared to carbon resources in the naturally developing area (plot IV; 94.61 t Corg./ha)

Epigeic lichens of different development stages of forest growing on the heathland

The study deals with the occurrence of epigeic lichens on the study plots with a varying percentage of Calluna vulgaris (L.) in different forest development stages on the heathland Glinki near the southern boundary of Toruń. Five plots were established in the gradient of the increasing density of pine. A total of 17 lichen species were identified, typical of this type of habitats, mainly from the genus of Cladonia, including e.g.: Cladonia arbuscula, C. furcata, C. gracilis, C. uncialis as well as Cetraria aculeata, C. islandica, and also Stereocaulon condensatum and Trapeliopsis granulosa . Two species, i.e. Cladonia digitata and C. portentosa occurred only on the heath. The light availability and the trophic status of the substrate determine this kind of distribution of lichens

The use of remote sensing methods for assessing forest stand condition in Northern Poland

The influence of chemical and physical stresses on health condition of three forest complexes was analysed. The first study area consisted of managed forest situated in the vicinity of ANWIL Nitric Company in Włocławek subjected to strong NOx stress. The second complex is a reserve Las Piwnicki situated near the city of Torun. For the last 20 years old pines and oaks in the reserve have been observed to die as a result of natural processes and chemical stress emitted by town. The third site consists of pine plantations in Zabory Landscape Park. A large part of the study area is covered by the secondary forest restored at the end of 19th century on land temporarily used for farming. Coloured and panchromatic aerial photographs were used to assess the range of NOx emission effect and the extend of injuries suffered by tree crown in the surroundings of nitrogen works as well as to assess the dying rate of the pines and oaks in the reserve Las Piwnicki. The assessment of the condition of forests in Zabory Landscape Park was based on the NDVI obtained from the analysis of Landsat TM satellite data. The zone of very intensive influence of gas emission on forests growing near the nitrogen works was described on the basis of aerial photographs. It was found that changes in the structure of the upper layer of trees have considerably increased around 1985 in the reserve Las Piwnicki. The pine forests growing in places continuously afforested for the last several centuries have a higher NDVI value than secondary forests restored on former agricultural soils in Zabory Landscape Park. Those secondary forests have been refereed to syntaxons Cladonio-Pinetum and Calluno-Pinetum. Fire risk in those forests is much higher than in the remaining forest types occurring in the park.Analizowano wpływ stresów chemicznych na zdrowotność trzech kompleksów leśnych. Pierwszy obszar badań, którym był las gospodarczy wokół zakładów azotowych ANWIL we Włocławku, podlegał silnemu oddziaływaniu NOx. Drugim kompleksem był rezerwat Las Piwnicki zlokalizowany w pobliżu Torunia. Przez ostatnie dwadzieścia lat obserwuje się tu zamieranie starych sosen i dębów, jako następstwo skażeń chemicznych emitowanych przez miasto do atmosfery. Trzeci kompleks leśny obejmował plantacje sosny zwyczajnej w Zaborskim Parku Krajobrazowym. W tym obiekcie przyrodniczym znaczna część terenu pokryta jest lasami wtórnymi odtworzonymi w końcu XIX wieku na glebach czasowo użytkowanych rolniczo. Do oceny efektu emisji tlenków azotu w postaci uszkodzeń koron drzew wokół zakładów azotowych wykorzystano kolorowe i panchromatyczne zdjęcia lotnicze. Z podobnych źródeł pochodziły informacje do oceny tempa usychania sosen i dębów w rezerwacie Las Piwnicki. Ocenę kondycji lasów w Zaborskim Parku Krajobrazowym oparto o analizę znormalizowanego różnicowego wskaźnika roślinnego (NDVI) pozyskanego ze zobrazowania wykonanego przez satelitę Landsat skanerem TM. Na podstawie zdjęć lotniczych okolic Włocławka wyznaczono strefy oddziaływania emisji gazowych na lasy rosnące w pobliżu zakładów azotowych. Na podstawie serii zdjęć lotniczych Lasu Piwnickiego wykonanych w różnych latach stwierdzono, że zmiany w strukturze górnej warstwy drzew rezerwatu nasiliły się około 1985 roku. W wyniku analizy zdjęcia satelitarnego stwierdzono, że wskaźnik NDVI borów sosnowych rosnących na obszarach zawsze zalesionych w ciągu ostatnich kilku stuleci jest wyższy niż lasów wtórnych, odtworzonych na glebach użytkowanych rolniczo. Lasy te zaliczane są do syntaksonów Cladonio-Pinetum i Calluno-Pinetum. Występuje w nich znacznie wyższe zagrożenie pożarowe niż w pozostałych typach zbiorowisk leśnych wyróżnionych na terenie parku

Influence of land cover and structure of tree stands on pollen deposition in Zaborski Landscape Park

The paper presents a comparison of modern pollen deposition in Tauber traps after one-year exposure at two research sites - Laska and Widno, located in the northern part of the Zaborski Landscape Park in the Pomerania Province (Northern Poland). The studied sites were circular in shape with a radius of 2 km and an area of 1256 ha each. They were characterised by similar contribution of forest and non-forest areas, as well as similar species composition and area covered by tree species. Both sites differed, however, in the location of traps in relation to forest areas and distribution of deciduous trees amid pine monocultures. At the former site, a Tauber trap was placed in the open field, i.e. in xerothermic meadow, in the western part of the Laska village. At the latter site, a trap was placed on the borderline between meadows of the Widno village and the surrounding forests. At the site of Laska, scattered deciduous trees occurred mostly in the form of small clusters amid extensive pine monocultures surrounding the village. Whereas at the site of Widno, deciduous tree species covered larger areas in the form of more fertile oak-hornbeam forests, beech forests and birch woods amid pine forests. The size of area covered by tree species and the amount of pollen deposition by these trees were positively correlated at both sites. In addition, the average annual pollen deposition was calculated for each site for seven most abundant tree species during the period of 1999-2010. By comparing the arithmetic means, it was found that the pollen deposition at the site of Widno is higher for most of the studied arboreal species compared with the site of Laska, but these differences are statistically significant only in the case of birch and hornbeam

Comparison of heath communities from the class Nardo-Callunetea from the Toruń Basin and other regions of Poland

This paper presents the variability within two heath associations, i.e. Pohlio-Callunetum and Arctostaphylo-Callunetum in the territory of Poland. The variability of the former syntaxon was determined based on 9 sets of published relevés, made in different regions of Poland. In the case of the latter syntaxon, there were 13 sets of relevés. The sets were being compared in respect of species composition assuming the degrees of species constancy as characteristics of the compared sets. The comparisons have been done with the classic phytosociological method according to Braun-Blanquet, as well as with numerical taxonomy methods using the software MVSP. In both cases, the subsets of relevés from the artillery range near the city of Toruń were clearly separated from the others. In the obtained dendrograms, relevés from the neighbourhood of Toruń, classified within the analysed subassociations formed separate clusters and their distance to other groups of relevés from the same association but from different regions of Poland was significant. Both in the case of the association Pohlio Callunetum and the association Arctostaphylo-Callunetum, sets of relevés from the Skwierzyna (coniferous) Forest in western Poland and from the Tuchola Forest in northern Poland were the most similar to relevés from the neighbourhood of Toruń

Variability of the structure and directions in the development of heaths and psammophilous grasslands within the artillery range near the city of Toruń

Phytosociological analysis of non-forest communities was carried out on one of the oldest and the biggest military training grounds in Europe, located near the city of Toruń, in central Poland. Heaths and psammophilous grasslands developed here as a result of deforestation of inland dunes in the valley of the Vistula River, as well as a result of destruction of soils and vegetation brought on by manoeuvres and artillery firings. They form a landscape mosaic with young self-seeding pines, mature pine forests and birch forests. Using the Braun-Blanquet method, 84 relevés were made in the areas dominated by dwarf shrubs and 32 relevés within psammophilous grasslands. Applying the classic phytosociological method, the following plant associations were distinguished in the first set of relevés: Pohlio-Callunetum and Arctostaphylo-Callunetum, as well as the community with Cytisus scoparius. Within the psammophilous grasslands, two associations were distinguished: Spergulo vernalis-Corynephoretum and Calamagrostietum epigeji. In this paper, the heterogeneity within associations and communities was presented together with descriptions of individual syntaxa, as well as dynamic and developmental relationships between the aforementioned were identified

Biomass of Scots pine-silver birch tree stand 25 years after afforestation of former agricultural land

: In 2O15, the structure of a forest stand growing on former agricultural land in subunit 277n of the Przymuszewo Forest Division (Regional Directorate of State Forests RDSF in Toruń) was described. The study area was afforested in 199O - mostly with Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) and several seedlings of the European beech – after many years of agricultural cultivation of grain and potato crops. Characteristics of the forest stand comprised the following parameters: species composition and species diversity, density of individual components, the average tree diameter at breast height (DBH), and the height and aboveground biomass of trees divided into individual species. The species structure, dendrometric characteristics and spatial dis- tribution of trees studied in 2015 were compared with the situation assessed in 2000. Based on DBH and height values, as well as the use of dendrometric tables and basic wood density for tree species, the above- ground biomass and total biomass of trees with a minimum diameter of 7 cm were calculated. The aboveground and total biomass for trees with DBH less than 7 cm was calculated on the basis of density and weight of trees according to the classification into species and height classes. The aboveground and total biomass of the whole tree stand, including spontaneous non-native and invasive Padus serotina Ehrh., was compared with the standing biomass of agricultural areas in the Tuchola Forest region as well as with other Scots pine-silver birch plantations on former agricultural lands described in ecological literature. The paper presents also the differences in assessments of aboveground pine biomass at the study site obtained when using conver- sion factors established during direct measurements carried out in forests of the Przymuszewo Forest Division and conversion factors applied during inventories conducted in Poland according to the IPCC recommendations for international reporting submitted to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, FAO and UNFCC

Changes in the plant cover of the dune hill in Folusz near Szubin (NW Poland) between 1959 and 2012: the problem of preservation of xerothermic grasslands in the agricultural landscape

The dune hill in Folusz is one of the most interesting sites with xerothermic vegetation in the Polish lowland. It is different from other sites by the fact that xerothermic vegetation covers a single dune located amidst large areas of Molinia meadows rather than slopes of river valleys. Vegetation occurring on the hill represents a cold Stipa steppe with rare species of floodplain meadows and has long aroused the interest of botanists. In the 19th century and in the early 20th century, observations in this area were carried out by German botanists (L. Kühling, F. Spribille, H. Miller, W. Bock). In the 1930s, the investigation was continued by botanists from the University in Poznań. After World War II, it was one of the main research sites for botanists and ecologists from the University in Toruń, and recently also from the universities in Bydgoszcz. Floristic lists were compiled by all the aforementioned researchers, which describe the state of flora in the subsequent periods, and when collated in tables, they help to determine the directions of changes occurring in the area over a hundred years. Not all the materials obtained in the past were published. A lot of interesting data were preserved in the Toruń centre in the form of actual vegetation maps and relevés. This paper presents the comparison of vegetation from 1959, plotted on the unpublished vegetation map by J. Wilkoń-Michalska, with the vegetation in 2013. Changes in the land cover were also analysed through a series of aerial photographs from 1961, 1975, 1986 and 2005. The GIS and GPS technology was used in the spatial analysis. Furthermore, the analysis of flora changes was performed, including the comparison of data presented in ecological literature with unpublished data collected by J. Wilkoń-Michalska in 1956-1964. In addition, numerical analysis of relevés from both these periods and from 2012 was performed. The objective of all the analyses was to determine how the changes were affected by spontaneous development of oak trees on the dune and destructive human activity related to exploitation of the sand, afforestation of the dune with pine, birch and oak, and planting of common lilac. An effort was also made to assess the importance of including the Folusz dune hill within the Natura 2000 site − PLH040027 „Molinia meadows in Folusz” − for preventing further degradation of xerothermic vegetation

Past, current and potential resources of carbon and above-ground plant biomass in the landscape with heaths in some selected areas of the Tuchola Forest

Applying the GIS technologies, historical and contemporary cartographic materials, data coming from the forest inventory and indices of biomass state, the total biomass and biomass for individual layers of forest and non-forest phytocoenoses, the real and potential biomass was assessed, as well as current and potential carbon resources in that biomass in four nature objects. The investigated objects were characterized by different spatial size, as well as by different intensity of human economic activities and different status of nature conservation. Those were: the Tuchola Forest National Park, the Zaborski Landscape Park, as well as the areas of the so-called (forest) demesne of Zabory and the (field) demesne of Tuchola in the former District (Starosty) of Tuchola. In the case of both demesnes, the biomass state was assessed, as well as the extent of its displacement caused by economic human activities, both nowadays and in the past, i.e. for the year 1796 and 2008. The smallest difference in the state of potential and actual biomass was recorded in the National Park. The loss here amounted to 28.44%. The biggest differences occurred in the field demesne in 1796. The loss here reached 76.47%. It was also observed that nowadays the loss slightly decreased, reaching the level of 73.97%. In the demesne of Zabory, the increase of biomass state was considerably higher during the discussed period. In 1796, when heaths and poor xerothermic meadows covered relatively large areas and were exploited as sheep’s grazing lands, the biomass loss amounted here to 69.32% and in 2008 to 51.87%. The increase of biomass state and at the same time the reduction in biomass losses, calculated in relation to the potential, was brought here about mainly by establishing the Prussian Forest Inspectorate Zwangshof in 1890 and by afforestation of agricultural and fallow lands, which was done by Polish forest inspectorates in the 20th century, particularly during several years after the 2nd World War