Nanoscale Visualization of Elastic Inhomogeneities at TiN Coatings Using Ultrasonic Force Microscopy

Ultrasonic force microscopy has been applied to the characterization of titanium nitride coatings deposited by physical vapor deposition dc magnetron sputtering on stainless steel substrates. The titanium nitride layers exhibit a rich variety of elastic contrast in the ultrasonic force microscopy images. Nanoscale inhomogeneities in stiffness on the titanium nitride films have been attributed to softer substoichiometric titanium nitride species and/or trapped subsurface gas. The results show that increasing the sputtering power at the Ti cathode increases the elastic homogeneity of the titanium nitride layers on the nanometer scale. Ultrasonic force microscopy elastic mapping on titanium nitride layers demonstrates the capability of the technique to provide information of high value for the engineering of improved coatings

Plants in aquatic ecosystems: current trends and future directions

Aquatic plants fulfil a wide range of ecological roles, and make a substantial contribution to the structure, function and service provision of aquatic ecosystems. Given their well-documented importance in aquatic ecosystems, research into aquatic plants continues to blossom. The 14th International Symposium on Aquatic Plants, held in Edinburgh in September 2015, brought together 120 delegates from 28 countries and six continents. This special issue of Hydrobiologia includes a select number of papers on aspects of aquatic plants, covering a wide range of species, systems and issues. In this paper we present an overview of current trends and future directions in aquatic plant research in the early 21st century. Our understanding of aquatic plant biology, the range of scientific issues being addressed and the range of techniques available to researchers have all arguably never been greater; however, substantial challenges exist to the conservation and management of both aquatic plants and the ecosystems in which they are found. The range of countries and continents represented by conference delegates and authors of papers in the special issue illustrate the global relevance of aquatic plant research in the early 21st century but also the many challenges that this burgeoning scientific discipline must address

Rozwoj rolnictwa ekologicznego w Polsce i w wybranych krajach

Rolnictwo, angażując duże ilości ludzi w tworzeniu wielkoprzest- rzennych agroekosystemów, posiada szczególną rangę zarówno pod względem ekonomicznym jak i ekologicznym. Zdobycze techniki i chemii, osiągnięcia w hodowli roślin i zwierząt, wywierają z jednej strony stymulując plonowanie, ale często mogą powodować negatywne skutki przyrodnicze. Koniecznością ochrony środowiska w środowisku rolniczym jest rozwijanie alternatywnych do konwencjonalnych systemów gospodarowania. Są to tzw. systemy proekologiczne, metody (specyficzne gospodarstwa proekologiczne i integrowane), lub radykalne systemy rolnictwa ekologicznego (organiczno-biologiczne, biodynamiczne i inne). Optymalnym modelem dla szerszego stosowania jest typ rolnictwa integrowanego, pozwalający na harmonijny rozwoj produkcji rolnej z uwzględnieniem licznych aspektów przyrodniczych.Agriculture involving much of labour forces in the process of large-surface agroecosystems creation, plays an important economic and environmental role. The technological achievements as well as development of plant and animal breeding stimulates yielding on one side, whereas may als o „negatively affect the environment. One of the options of rural environment protection is development of alternative farming systems. There are so called sustainable methods (specific sustainable and itegrated farms) although radical farming systems (organic-biological, biodynamic and the others). Optimal model for the wide implementation appears to be an integrated farming system. It gives possibility for the well balanced development of production combined with environmental requirements

Relation between macrophyte-based classification of rivers and physico-chemical quality of riverine water, exemplified in the rivers of Wielkopolska

W województwie wielkopolskim w latach 2007-2009 przebadano 153 stanowiska na rzekach, które sklasyfikowano w 5-klasowym systemie stanu ekologicznego. Klasyfikacja opierała się na Makrofitowym Indeksie Rzecznym (MIR). Wartości indeksu makrofitowego porównano następnie z wynikami analiz fizyczno-chemicznych wody w rzekach należących do różnych typów. W analizie statystycznej wykorzystano następujące wartości wskaźników hydrochemicznych: średnie roczne, średnie w sezonie wegetacyjnym (VI-IX), maksymalne i minimalne oraz kwartyle. Badania wykazały istotne powiązania pomiędzy indeksem makrofitowym a zawartością pierwiastków biogennych w wodzie oraz BZT5, węglem organicznym, przewodnością właściwą oraz chlorofilem a w rzekach typu piaszczystego i kamienisto-żwirowego. Najwyższe wartości korelacji wskaźnika makrofitowego wykazano w odniesieniu do BZT5, chlorofilu a, węgla organicznego i azotu Kjeldahla, przy czym wskaźnik ten najsilniej odzwierciedlał średnie wartości roczne i w podobny sposób średnie z okresu wegetacji oraz najwyższe wartości w roku.In the time span of 2007-2009, assessments were carried out for 153 monitoring stations located along the rivers of Wielkopolska, which were classified according to the 5-class system of ecological status. Their classification was based on the Macrophyte Index for Rivers (MIR). The MIR values were then compared with the results obtained from physico-chemical analysis of water samples taken at different types of rivers. Statistical analysis included the following hydrochemical parameters: annual averages, growth season averages (June-September), annual maximum and minimum values and quartiles. The study revealed a significant relation between the macrophyte index and nutrient content of the water, as well as BOD5, organic carbon, conductivity and chlorophyll a in sandy rivers and stone-and-gravel rivers. The highest correlation values of the macrophyte index were observed with BOD5, chlorophyll a, organic carbon and Kjeldahl nitrogen. The macrophyte index most accurately reflects annual average values and, in a very similar way, the average values of the growth season and the highest values in a year

Value of the Natural Environment and Willingness of the Society to Pay for this Good

The aim of this study was to determine the willingness of different social groups to incur expenses for the benefit of the environment. The scope of the study comprised an analysis of materials from a survey conducted in 2012 in the study area of the Wielkopolski National Park in different locations in the communes within the Park and in the city of Poznań. A total of 1002 questionnaires were collected in the course of the study. The questionnaire is composed of three parts. In the first part questions concerned general information on the Wielkopolski National Park (the state of knowledge, frequency of visits, importance of the Park to the visitors, preferred forest type, etc.). The second part contained questions concerning willingness of the respondents to incur expenses for the environment (donations for the possibility to use the value of the Wielkopolski National Park or a possible compensation for the inability to use the Park, as an alternative in case the respondents did not declare any amount of money would they be willing to do volunteer work for the Park). The third part comprised a socio-economic characteristic of respondents (sex, age, profession, net income per person in the family, education, place of residence). In the analysed group of respondents 61% were women, while the other 39% were men. Age of respondents ranged from below 18 years to over 60 years. The greatest number of people were from the age group of 18–25 years (37.1%), as well as 26–40 and 41–60 years (23.1%, 20.1%). Among respondents the greatest number lived in cities over 100 thousand inhabitants (35.6%), the other groups represented towns of 21 to 100 thousand (23.9%), towns up to 20 thousand inhabitants (23.5%), and villages (17%). The mean net monthly revenue from 1000 to 2500 PLN was declared by the greatest number of respondents (43.4%, 36.8%), while in terms of profession the most numerous group comprised students (34%) and office workers (16.6%). Recorded survey results were subjected to statistical and mathematical analyses using the Statistica and CANOCO programmes. The following statistical methods were applied: principal component analysis (PCA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), called the canonical compatibility analysis. The aim of PCA was to determine the principal directions of variation in the matrix of responses given by the respondents. The Cattell’s scree test was performed to determine the number of significant principal components explaining the percentage of total variation of the matrix. In the process of analysis the normalised Varimax rotation was applied. Canonical correspondence analyses (CCA) were performed for all responses obtained from respondents concerning their professions. CCA made it possible to construct a model, in which dependencies between environmental parameters and sociological traits were measured in the form of the sum of squares of deviations from the mean. The analysis selects a linear combination of environmental parameters so that the sum of squares of deviations from the mean is smallest. Analyses showed that support for the incurrence of costs for the environment is not connected either with the education of respondents or their knowledge on the Wielkopolski National Park and the frequency of visits to the Park. These three elements were connected with completely different directions of variation shown in PCA. Studies showed no dependence between income levels of respondents and the incurrence of costs for environmental purposes, which may be considered inconsistent with the theoretical income elasticity, which determines the relationship between income and willingness to pay environmental costs. PCA showed that income per person in the family of the respondent was only to a limited degree connected with the factor, which was determined both by the support for pro-environmental expenses and the amount of the declared annual fee. Professional groups most willing to incur costs for the environment were businessmen, for-esters and old age pensioners. The least willing group to cover costs for the environment comprised farmers, who at the same time were most willing to offer volunteer work for the Park. It may be concluded that despite the limited financial means farmers appreciate the financial value of the Park and are aware of their shared responsibility for its maintenance by declaring willingness to work for its benefit