Provenance and paleoenvironmental context of the Late Pleistocene thin aeolian silt mantles in southwestern Poland – A widespread parent material for soils

Thin loess deposits are widespread soil parent materials and important archives for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. The origin of loess in SW Poland is attributed to the Great Odra Valley (GOV), following the general concept that large rivers play a major role in regional silt supply. Yet, the precise provenance (glacier sources and/or local rocks) of silts, possibly deflated from dry GOV braided riverbeds, is not clear. Our study of thin and thick loess mantles in SW Poland for the first time indicates the provenance of thin loess based on mineralogical (MLA-SEM) and isotopic analyses (143Nd/144Nd, 87Sr/86Sr). Luminescence ages of five localities point to thin loess mantle formation during and shortly (23.0 to 17.7 ka yr) after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Our isotopic data indicate that thin loess deposits in SW Poland are the mixtures of two main components – local Sudetic and Scandinavian, the latter delivered by the Fennoscandian ice sheet (FIS). Also, detailed analyses of heavy minerals show that a single mineral (e.g., hornblende) may come from both Sudetic and Scandinavian sources. This research highlights the role of the (Pleistocene) GOV in collecting and homogenizing materials, while supplying the region with fine particles to be deflated by paleowinds from open surfaces. Anomalies in mineralogy and isotopic composition are connected with influence of Sudetic mountain rivers and locally blowing silt material by katabatic winds. Regional grain size differentiation of thin loess mantles explains transport distance and altitude. © 2021 The Author

Mass tourism in protected areas – underestimated threat? Polish National Parks case study

The article considers the tourist traffic as possible to elements of inanimate nature in protected areas. The highest form of protection in Poland - national parks, has been taken into account. The main goal is to diagnose the situation based on the analysis of official documents elaborated by the national park authorities. One of the important elements is to diagnose the threat to nature and indicate ways to neutralize it. At the beginning, the geotouristic potential of these parks was presented, where this type of resources is considered important from the point of view of tourism. The tourist function of the most important attractions in Poland was indicated. In the top ten there are as many as 4 national parks, including Tatrzański which takes first place. The size of tourist traffic in all 23 parks was analyzed. As a result, it was shown that the most popular, where tourist flow is of mass character, include mountain parks with significant geotouristic potential. Next, the current protection plans for them were analyzed: Tatrzański, Karkonoski, Table Mountains and Pieniński, where the annual tourist flow varies between 0.5 million and almost 4 million visitors per year. Threats were assigned to 4 groups: existing internal threats, potential internal threats, existing external threats and potential external threats. In each of the types of threats special attention was paid to those related to inanimate nature. It also indicated the ways in which park managers want to influence the change of negative trends. The basic conclusion was indicated, which boils down to the postulate of a balanced approach to the protection of both types of nature: animate and inanimate. In the case of animate nature, threats and suggestions for improving the situation seem to be much better diagnosed than in the case of inanimate nature

Geoheritage and geotourism potential of the Strzelin Hills (Sudetic Foreland, SW Poland)

The aim of this paper is to present a state of knowledge about geotourism potential of the Strzelin Hills. Still there is no geotouristic infrastructure in the Strzelin Hills that could make available all their advantages for educational purposes. There are being carried out works on inventory and documentation to create a base for a development of geotourism. The geotouristic potential is described on the basis of previously studied and valorized objects of geological and geomorphological heritage. There were inventoried 38 objects of geoheritage. During valorization of 17 geosites and geomorphosites were selected 8 represented objects, which present 10 from the 15 thematic groups. There were briefly described 6 of them in this paper.

A new methodological approach (QEMSCAN®) in the mineralogical study of Polish loess: Guidelines for further research

This article presents in detail the methodology dedicated strictly to loess mineralogical investigation by automated mineralogy system QEMSCAN® (quantitative evaluation of minerals by scanning electron microscopy (SEM)), which couples SEM and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry to automatically deliver mineral and phase mapping. The present study provides guidelines for further loess investigation in Poland, in order to maintain the complete comparability of results which will be obtained. The methodology is then used to obtain the data on complex mineralogical composition (heavy, light, transparent and opaque phases). In total 1,159,107 particles have been measured for five bulk loess samples and 4–6% of them were heavy minerals (c.a. 10,000 per sample). The bulk samples are dominated by quartz (57.3–62.9%) and contain plagioclase (7.8–9.2%), K-feldspar (7.9–8.7%), carbonates (5.0–7.8%), muscovite (3.2–6.2%), biotite (4.2–7.5%), heavy minerals (4.3–5.8%) and clay minerals (0.9–1.6%). The heavy minerals (as a group recalculated to 100%) are mainly represented by phases such as clinopyroxene (38–51%), garnets (14–21%), TiO2 polymorphs (8–12%), Al2SiO5 polymorphs (3–7%), ilmenite (3–6%), iron oxides, e.g., hematite and magnetite (2–5%) and zircon (∼2%). Nearly 50% of the heavy minerals is classified in the 16–31 µm fraction, which determine the changes in the current research procedure traditionally used for Polish loess

The stratigraphic and spatial aspects of the differentiation of the chemical composition of the Late Pleistocene loess-palaeosol sequences in Poland – a case study of the Tyszowce and Biały Kościół profiles

Artykuł prezentuje porównanie składu geochemicznego i stopnia zwietrzenia chemicznego dwóch późnoplejstoceńskich sekwencji lessowo-glebowych, zlokalizowanych w SE i SW Polsce. Analiza chemiczna w zakresie pierwiastków głównych (Si, Al, Fe, Mn, Mg, Ca, Na, K, Ti, P) oraz wyliczonych na ich podstawie wskaźników (CIA, Ti/Al, K/Al, Mg/Ca, K/Ca, Na/K oraz Si/Al) wykazała, że obie sekwencje są zróżnicowane zarówno w ujęciu stratygraficznym, jak i przestrzennym. Zmienność stratygraficzna związana jest ze zmianami paleoklimatu warunkującymi natężenie zarówno procesów lito-, jak i pedogenezy. Zmienność przestrzenna może wynikać m.in. z odmiennych warunków klimatycznych w trakcie tworzenia się sekwencji lessowo-glebowych, recyklingu lessów lub nawet odmiennego źródła materiału. Istotna może być też dysproporcja miąższości sekwencji, skutkująca zróżnicowanym wpływem infiltracji wód opadowych.The article presents the comparison of the geochemical composition and the degree of chemical weathering between two Late Pleistocene loess-palaeosol sequences of SE and SW Poland. The results of major element (Si, Al, Fe, Mn, Mg, Ca, Na, K, Ti, P) and geochemical index (CIA, Ti/Al, K/Al, Mg/Ca, K/Ca, Na/K oraz Si/Al) analyses indicate stratigraphical and spatial differentiation between sequences. The stratigraphic differentiation is connected with palaeoclimatic conditions which control the intensity of pedogenesis. The spatial variability may be attributed to different climatic conditions during the deposition of loess, the loess recycling process, or even to different source areas. The disproportion between the thicknesses of the loess covers can also be important. It can affect the rainwater infiltration effect

Attractiveness of protected areas for geotourism purposes from the perspective of visitors: the example of Babiogórski National Park (Poland)

This article examines the tourist role of protected areas important for their unanimated nature potential. In Poland the highest form of legal protection is a national park. Babiogórski National Parks is one of 23 national parks in Poland. The aim of this article is to present its tourist attraction based on its geotourist potential considered by tourists who visit this park. At the beginning a brief history of protection of Babia Góra is presented. Based on stock-taking sightseeing method an analysis of the most important tourist attractiveness elements (like infrastructure or tourist values) is done. The focus on the values of unanimated nature is made grouping them into four main categories. As the result of research on infrastructure the most important accommodation units were indicated present at the surroundings of this National Park which is vital for its tourist capacity. For the correct functioning of tourist movement at the protected area the supporting infrastructure is important bearing a lot of functions. The function of channeling of the tourist movement as well as the didactic function are the most important for protection and correct use of geotourist values. Among the many elements of the supporting infrastructure the most important ones are tourist and didactic routes (their course and themes are presented). The most important part of the article is the presentation of the participants of the tourist movement opinions on the Babiogórski National Park tourist attractiveness. A survey was conducted and then analysed on 308 respondents in 2011. They were asked to judge both the quality of infrastructure as well as attraction of geotourist values together with their adaptation to reception by the tourist movement. The results analysis served as a base to appraise the state and perspectives for the geotourism development in Babiogórski National Park from the point of view of the receivers of tourist product i.e. the protected area

Loess documentary sites and their potential for geotourism in Lower Silesia (Poland)

The presented article fits into the subject of using the geotourist potential in the development of tourism in the region on the example of Lower Silesia voivodship. The main purpose of the article is actually the presentation of the potential of documentary sites, one of the abiotic forms of nature protection functioning in Poland, in the context of geoprotection and as geotourist attraction. Using the method of sightseeing inventory, a review of forms of nature protection has been carried out. Although “Soft” Rock Geosites are not excessively popular and appreciated, they are significant element of Quaternary palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental archive and can provide interpretative facilities and services not only for geoscientists but also for constantly expanding group of conscious tourists. As a consequence of lithological and chronological research, two Late Pleistocene loess-soil sequences from Lower Silesia have been chosen: "Loess of Vine Mountain" - documentary site established in 2016 in Trzebnica and loess-soil sequence in Biały Kościół. After a detailed presentation of the sections, educational values were indicated, which should be promoted. Cultural values occurring in the vicinity of documentation sites are also presented. Taking into account the threats to the proper development of documentation sites, which were indicated in the article, solutions were proposed that would allow the sustainable development of geotourist resources of the loess