Map of forest tree species for Poland based on Sentinel-2 data

Accurate information on forest tree species composition is vital for various scientific applications, as well as for forest inventory and management purposes. Country-wide, detailed species maps are a valuable resource for environmental management, conservation, research, and planning. Here, we performed the classification of 16 dominant tree species and genera in Poland using time series of Sentinel-2 imagery. To generate comprehensive spectral–temporal information, we created Sentinel-2 seasonal aggregations known as spectral–temporal metrics (STMs) within the Google Earth Engine (GEE). STMs were computed for short periods of 15–30 d during spring, summer, and autumn, covering multi-annual observations from 2018 to 2021. The Polish Forest Data Bank served as reference data, and, to obtain robust samples with pure stands only, the data were validated through automated and visual inspection based on very-high-resolution orthoimagery, resulting in 4500 polygons serving as training and test data. The forest mask was derived from available land cover datasets in GEE, namely the ESA WorldCover and Dynamic World dataset. Additionally, we incorporated various topographic and climatic variables from GEE to enhance classification accuracy. The random forest algorithm was employed for the classification process, and an area-adjusted accuracy assessment was conducted through cross-validation and test datasets. The results demonstrate that the country-wide forest stand species mapping achieved an accuracy exceeding 80 %; however, this varies greatly depending on species, region, and observation frequency. We provide freely accessible resources, including the forest tree species map and training and test data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10180469 (Grabska-Szwagrzyk, 2023a).</p

Poezja polska po roku 2000: diagnozy, problemy, interpretacje

S\u142owa kluczowe: historia literatury polskiej \u2013 20-21 w.; poezja polska \u2013 21 w.; krytyka literacka polska \u2013 20-21 w.; literatura polska \u2013 tematyka \u2013 20-21 w.; literatura a kultura nowoczesn

Protection gaps and restoration opportunities for primary forests in Europe

Aims: Primary forests are critical for forest biodiversity and provide key ecosystem services. In Europe, these forests are particularly scarce and it is unclear whether they are sufficiently protected. Here we aim to: (a) understand whether extant primary forests are representative of the range of naturally occurring forest types, (b) identify forest types which host enough primary forest under strict protection to meet conservation targets and (c) highlight areas where restoration is needed and feasible. Location: Europe. Methods: We combined a unique geodatabase of primary forests with maps of forest cover, potential natural vegetation, biogeographic regions and protected areas to quantify the proportion of extant primary forest across Europe\u27s forest types and to identify gaps in protection. Using spatial predictions of primary forest locations to account for underreporting of primary forests, we then highlighted areas where restoration could complement protection. Results: We found a substantial bias in primary forest distribution across forest types. Of the 54 forest types we assessed, six had no primary forest at all, and in two-thirds of forest types, less than 1% of forest was primary. Even if generally protected, only ten forest types had more than half of their primary forests strictly protected. Protecting all documented primary forests requires expanding the protected area networks by 1,132 km2 (19,194 km2 when including also predicted primary forests). Encouragingly, large areas of non-primary forest existed inside protected areas for most types, thus presenting restoration opportunities. Main conclusion: Europe\u27s primary forests are in a perilous state, as also acknowledged by EU\u27s “Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.” Yet, there are considerable opportunities for ensuring better protection and restoring primary forest structure, composition and functioning, at least partially. We advocate integrated policy reforms that explicitly account for the irreplaceable nature of primary forests and ramp up protection and restoration efforts alike

Biomass and morphology of fine roots in temperate broad-leaved forests differing in tree species diversity: is there evidence of below-ground overyielding?

Biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning in forests have only recently attracted increasing attention. The vast majority of studies in forests have focused on above-ground responses to differences in tree species diversity, while systematic analyses of the effects of biodiversity on root systems are virtually non-existent. By investigating the fine root systems in 12 temperate deciduous forest stands in Central Europe, we tested the hypotheses that (1) stand fine root biomass increases with tree diversity, and (2) ‘below-ground overyielding’ of species-rich stands in terms of fine root biomass is the consequence of spatial niche segregation of the roots of different species. The selected stands represent a gradient in tree species diversity on similar bedrock from almost pure beech forests to medium-diverse forests built by beech, ash, and lime, and highly-diverse stands dominated by beech, ash, lime, maple, and hornbeam. We investigated fine root biomass and necromass at 24 profiles per stand and analyzed species differences in fine root morphology by microscopic analysis. Fine root biomass ranged from 440 to 480 g m−2 in the species-poor to species-rich stands, with 63–77% being concentrated in the upper 20 cm of the soil. In contradiction to our two hypotheses, the differences in tree species diversity affected neither stand fine root biomass nor vertical root distribution patterns. Fine root morphology showed marked distinctions between species, but these root morphological differences did not lead to significant differences in fine root surface area or root tip number on a stand area basis. Moreover, differences in species composition of the stands did not alter fine root morphology of the species. We conclude that ‘below-ground overyielding’ in terms of fine root biomass does not occur in the species-rich stands, which is most likely caused by the absence of significant spatial segregation of the root systems of these late-successional species

Passenger aircraft frequently used for transport – case study for Boeing and Airbus : trend of development

Obecnie obserwuje się rozwój transportu lotniczego pod względem wyboru sposobu podróżowania. Badania przeprowadzone przez Worldbank.org [1] wykazują, iż w latach 2013/2014 nastąpił wzrost przewozów pasażerskich aż o 5%, niż w latach. Obecnie na świecie prosperuje wiele linii lotniczych, poprzez co, pasażerowie mają możliwość dogodnego podróżowania przy możliwości ogromnego wyboru. Jednakże, jeśli chodzi o zakup produktu, jakim jest samolot pasażerski, obecnie na świecie występuje sytuacja oligopolu, na którym zgodnie z definicją, na danym rynku konkurują między sobą dwa niezależni od siebie producenci. Celem pracy jest zbadanie rynku pasażerskich pojazdów lotniczych na przykładzie czołowych światowych producentów samolotów, koncernów Boeing i konsorcjum Airbus. Marki te są najbardziej rozpoznawalne na całym świecie, gdyż od lat wyznaczają trendy w konstrukcji samolotów. Analiza obecnej sytuacji na rynku oraz strategii obu firm będących pionierami w produkcji samolotów, pozwoli autorom zobrazować kierunek rozwoju konstrukcji samolotów pasażerskich. Interesująca walka o pozyskanie większego udziału na rynku produkcyjnym powoduje wprowadzanie wielu innowacji do konstrukcji w krótkim czasie. Autorzy dokonają próby oceny, która z marek ma większe znaczenie w sferze produkcji samolotów pasażerskich. W celu przeprowadzenia analizy działalności obu firm, autorzy skupią się na czynnikach ekonomicznych i technologicznych na rynku przewozów pasażerskich. Ponadto, zostanie użyta technika SWOT, która polega na strategicznej analizie wewnętrznego i zewnętrznego środowiska danej organizacji, a mianowicie Airbus oraz Boeing. Wszechstronna analiza będzie istotna dla określenia trendów funkcjonowania obu światowych grup w odniesieniu do przyszłości, a tym samym pomoże zweryfikować jak bardzo technologia samolotów będzie się rozwijać, biorąc pod uwagę fakt, iż obie firmy są pionierami w oferowaniu najnowszych rozwiązań w obszarze przewozów lotniczych. Dane wykorzystane w publikacji bazują na źródłach prasy i literatury światowej, a także informacjach zawartych na oficjalnych stronach internetowych obu marek.The global market of passenger aircraft is and will belong in the coming years to two large producers: European consortium Airbus and American Boeing company. Both companies offer a wide array of choices what are single-aisle and wide-body aircrafts, which signifies the diversity of structures and greater capabilities while choosing what to buy by airlines. Both Boeing and Airbus have aircrafts, which are characterized by the most popular among customers due to similar technical values. This initiates even greater competition between companies, which often is visible by almost qual sale of its products in recent years. Airbus and Boeing set trends regarding to the future market for passenger aircrafts. Production of aircrafts will focus on providing customers with tailored solutions to the global trends related to the ecological approach and guaranteeing security on board. The passenger aircrafts will be characterized by low fuel combustion and and design with lighter materials. Future of aircrafts will certainly belong to both companies. Manufacturers outdo each other in offering new solutions. Boeing currently is located in a lower position when it comes to sales, Airbus for several years is at the forefront although this situation may change, turning attention to plans to launch a new material that is able to revolutionize the production of aircraft