Nature value of the environment in Poland and its protection

Published in: Natural environment of Poland and its protection in Łódź University Geographical Research, edited by E. Kobojek and T.Marsza

Alaska as an example of tourist reception area

The State of Alaska is located in the north-western North America. Its area of 1 717 854 km2 is populated by 731 449 people (as 2012). Population density is low, only 0.5 person per square km. The main reason for the low population density are unfa-vourable natural conditions, the most important of which include climate, permafrost and topography. Alaska’s landscape diversity is a consequence of the variety of terrain types. For that reason, there are 8 national parks (Denali National Park, Gates of the Arctic National Park, Glacier Bay National Park, Katmai National Park, Kenai Fjords National Park, Kobuk Valley National Park, Lake Clark National Park, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park), national monuments and other lower rank protected areas established in Alaska. Each of these places, characterized by unique types of landscape (for example: glaciers, active volcanoes, fjords, high mountains) brings millions of tourists per year from the USA and all over the world. All these protected areas are very important for the development of tourist industry, and thus for the economy of USA. Alaska’s national parks draw about 2 million visitors annually.Stan Alaska położony jest na północnym-zachodzie Ameryki Północnej. Zajmuje on 1 717 854 km2 powierzchni, którą zamieszkuje 731 449 mieszkańców (2012 r.). Gęstość zaludnienia jest niewielka i wynosi zaledwie 0,5 os/km2. Wpływ na tę sytuację mają przede wszystkim stosunkowo niekorzystne warunki naturalne, z których najważniejszy wpływ mają warunki klimatyczne, wieloletnia zmarzlina i ukształtowanie terenu. Różnorodność krajobrazu będąca efektem ogromnego zróżnicowania form rzeźby, zdecydowała, iż na terenie Alaski utworzono 8 parków narodowych (Denali National Park, Gates of the Arctic National Park, Glacier Bay National Park, Katmai National Park, Kenai Fjords National Park, Kobuk Valley National Park, Lake Clark National Park, Wrangell‒St. Elias National Park), utworzono pomniki narodowe oraz obszary o niższej randze ochrony. Każdy z tych obszarów stanowi magnes przyciągający rzesze turystów z USA i z całego świata, gdyż znajdują się tu niepowtarzalne formy krajobrazu, jak lodowce, aktywne wulkany, fiordy, wysokie góry. Obszary te mają ogromne znacze-nie dla rozwoju turystyki w USA, a tym samym dla gospodarki. Rocznie tylko Alaskę odwiedza ok. 2 mln osób

A review of the methods of the reconstruction of man made landscape changes

The issue of the reconstruction of landscape changes can be approached in two ways. The papers representing the approach contain analyses of the change of only one landscape element, for instance: of vegetation, of relief or of other components of the epigeosphere. The others present the complex reconstruction, comprising changes of all, or almost all features of the study area. The comparision of cartographic materials from various times was the most often used method in above 30 papers (Maruszczak 1950, Pietrzak 1973, Krzemiński, Now a k o ws k i 1980, etc.). Data derived from cartographic sources provides reliable information on landscape changes that occured in the last two hundred years. In order to get the most precise picture of the massive contemporary human inlluence on landscape, airplane photographs were used (S i n k i ewi c z 1987, S z a ł a p i e t a 1988). The above mentioned papers presented the changes using various basic units of evaluation, for example: geocomplexes, administrative or geometric units. The attempts. to introduce indices describing a degree of human interference in the environment are noteworthy. The indices, such as: the index of human impact intensity (Klimko 1991), of a degree of anthropogenic transformation (Chmielewski 1980) and of a degree of landscape change (M. & A. M a r s z 1990) have been proposed recently and are not widely used.Podjęto próbę przedstawienia niektórych metod stosowanych w rekonstrukcji przemian krajobrazu, będących efektem działalności człowieka. Wybrano metody stosowane głównie przez geografów, dla których podstawowym materiałem badawczym są dawne i współczesne źródła kartograficzne. Uzupełniające informacje pochodzą najczęściej z opracowań stanowisk archeologicznych, historycznych źródeł pisanych i innych. Przedstawiono głównie przykłady metod stosowanych w obszarach nizinnych i wyżynnych

Obchody 25-lecia współpracy Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego z Uniwersytetem Justusa Liebiga w Giessen. Nowa perspektywa współpracy naukowej

Opis obchodów współpracy między uczelniam

Abandoned agricultural lands in buffer zones around landscape parks in the Łódź Voivodeship – habitat background, spatial distribution, scale of the phenomenon

The publication presents an evaluation of the ecological role of abandoned agricultural lands which exist around the seven landscape parks in the Łódź Voivodeship. In thirty-nine land abandonment study plots, arranged into thirteen groups, agrophysical and agrochemical analyses were conducted as well as phytosociological and mycological inventorying, in order to determine the relationships between the vegetation and macromycetes fungi and the abiotic features of the natural environment. The role of geocomplex potential, the influence of adjacent urbanised areas and the development of touristic functions in rural areas were demonstrated in the spatial pattern of abandoned lands. The research revealed a high diversity of vegetation, flora and macromycetes fungi, vulnerability to the impact from the neighbouring habitats and the importance of abandoned lands as refugia of species which enrich the biodiversity. At the same time, attention was drawn to invasive plant species of non-native origin, which may pose a threat to the natural phytocoenoses of protected areas.Niniejsza monografia w języku angielskim jest podsumowaniem wyników badań w ramach grantu NCN nr 1760/B/P01/2011/40 – „Ekologiczna rola odłogów stref otaczających parki krajobrazowe w województwie łódzkim”

Introduction

The publication presents an evaluation of the ecological role of abandoned agricultural lands which exist around the seven landscape parks in the Łódź Voivodeship. In thirty-nine land abandonment study plots, arranged into thirteen groups, agrophysical and agrochemical analyses were conducted as well as phytosociological and mycological inventorying, in order to determine the relationships between the vegetation and macromycetes fungi and the abiotic features of the natural environment. The role of geocomplex potential, the influence of adjacent urbanised areas and the development of touristic functions in rural areas were demonstrated in the spatial pattern of abandoned lands. The research revealed a high diversity of vegetation, flora and macromycetes fungi, vulnerability to the impact from the neighbouring habitats and the importance of abandoned lands as refugia of species which enrich the biodiversity. At the same time, attention was drawn to invasive plant species of non-native origin, which may pose a threat to the natural phytocoenoses of protected areas.Niniejsza monografia w języku angielskim jest podsumowaniem wyników badań w ramach grantu NCN nr 1760/B/P01/2011/40 – „Ekologiczna rola odłogów stref otaczających parki krajobrazowe w województwie łódzkim”

Discussion

The publication presents an evaluation of the ecological role of abandoned agricultural lands which exist around the seven landscape parks in the Łódź Voivodeship. In thirty-nine land abandonment study plots, arranged into thirteen groups, agrophysical and agrochemical analyses were conducted as well as phytosociological and mycological inventorying, in order to determine the relationships between the vegetation and macromycetes fungi and the abiotic features of the natural environment. The role of geocomplex potential, the influence of adjacent urbanised areas and the development of touristic functions in rural areas were demonstrated in the spatial pattern of abandoned lands. The research revealed a high diversity of vegetation, flora and macromycetes fungi, vulnerability to the impact from the neighbouring habitats and the importance of abandoned lands as refugia of species which enrich the biodiversity. At the same time, attention was drawn to invasive plant species of non-native origin, which may pose a threat to the natural phytocoenoses of protected areas.Niniejsza monografia w języku angielskim jest podsumowaniem wyników badań w ramach grantu NCN nr 1760/B/P01/2011/40 – „Ekologiczna rola odłogów stref otaczających parki krajobrazowe w województwie łódzkim”

Aim and scope of the work

The publication presents an evaluation of the ecological role of abandoned agricultural lands which exist around the seven landscape parks in the Łódź Voivodeship. In thirty-nine land abandonment study plots, arranged into thirteen groups, agrophysical and agrochemical analyses were conducted as well as phytosociological and mycological inventorying, in order to determine the relationships between the vegetation and macromycetes fungi and the abiotic features of the natural environment. The role of geocomplex potential, the influence of adjacent urbanised areas and the development of touristic functions in rural areas were demonstrated in the spatial pattern of abandoned lands. The research revealed a high diversity of vegetation, flora and macromycetes fungi, vulnerability to the impact from the neighbouring habitats and the importance of abandoned lands as refugia of species which enrich the biodiversity. At the same time, attention was drawn to invasive plant species of non-native origin, which may pose a threat to the natural phytocoenoses of protected areas.Niniejsza monografia w języku angielskim jest podsumowaniem wyników badań w ramach grantu NCN nr 1760/B/P01/2011/40 – „Ekologiczna rola odłogów stref otaczających parki krajobrazowe w województwie łódzkim”

Pedological, floristic and mycological characteristics of the study areas

The publication presents an evaluation of the ecological role of abandoned agricultural lands which exist around the seven landscape parks in the Łódź Voivodeship. In thirty-nine land abandonment study plots, arranged into thirteen groups, agrophysical and agrochemical analyses were conducted as well as phytosociological and mycological inventorying, in order to determine the relationships between the vegetation and macromycetes fungi and the abiotic features of the natural environment. The role of geocomplex potential, the influence of adjacent urbanised areas and the development of touristic functions in rural areas were demonstrated in the spatial pattern of abandoned lands. The research revealed a high diversity of vegetation, flora and macromycetes fungi, vulnerability to the impact from the neighbouring habitats and the importance of abandoned lands as refugia of species which enrich the biodiversity. At the same time, attention was drawn to invasive plant species of non-native origin, which may pose a threat to the natural phytocoenoses of protected areas.Niniejsza monografia w języku angielskim jest podsumowaniem wyników badań w ramach grantu NCN nr 1760/B/P01/2011/40 – „Ekologiczna rola odłogów stref otaczających parki krajobrazowe w województwie łódzkim”

Methods

The publication presents an evaluation of the ecological role of abandoned agricultural lands which exist around the seven landscape parks in the Łódź Voivodeship. In thirty-nine land abandonment study plots, arranged into thirteen groups, agrophysical and agrochemical analyses were conducted as well as phytosociological and mycological inventorying, in order to determine the relationships between the vegetation and macromycetes fungi and the abiotic features of the natural environment. The role of geocomplex potential, the influence of adjacent urbanised areas and the development of touristic functions in rural areas were demonstrated in the spatial pattern of abandoned lands. The research revealed a high diversity of vegetation, flora and macromycetes fungi, vulnerability to the impact from the neighbouring habitats and the importance of abandoned lands as refugia of species which enrich the biodiversity. At the same time, attention was drawn to invasive plant species of non-native origin, which may pose a threat to the natural phytocoenoses of protected areas.Niniejsza monografia w języku angielskim jest podsumowaniem wyników badań w ramach grantu NCN nr 1760/B/P01/2011/40 – „Ekologiczna rola odłogów stref otaczających parki krajobrazowe w województwie łódzkim”