Logistics Principles for the Emergency Evacuation of People

This contribution focuses on the issue of the evacuation of people during emergency situations. The study of the logistics processes for a selected object were based on the layout of the administration building, namely that of the Institute of Technology and Business in České Budějovice. The evacuation model, PathFinder, was utilized for the calculation and preparation of the logistics processes for the evacuation of people

Response of peat biogeochemistry and soil organic matter quality to rewetting in bogs and spruce swamp forests

Various peatland restoration strategies developed during the last two decades have aimed to stop degradation and bring back the original hydrology, biodiversity and other peatland functions. This study evaluated progress 6-15 years after rewetting in vegetation development, physicochemical properties of peat, soil organic matter (SOM) quality and microbial activity in previously long-term drained bogs and spruce swamp forests (SSF) in comparison with pristine and long-term drained sites in the Bohemian Forest, Czech Republic. Long-term drainage led to overall ecosystem degradation, indicated by a change in vegetation composition, reduced decomposability of peat, with high content of recalcitrant compounds and decreased pH, and reduced soil microbial biomass and activity. The degradation was more pronounced in SSF, while bogs seemed to be relatively resistant to environmental changes caused by drainage. Post-rewetting progress has occurred with regard to vegetation composition, peat pH, microbial biomass and potential anaerobic CO2 and CH4 production, all of which tending towards characteristics of the pristine sites. However, overall SOM quality has not yet responded significantly, indicating that some peat properties and functions, such as C accumulation, need much longer periods of time to return to the original level.Peer reviewe

Rural and Forest Roads – Logistics Platform for Rural Transport Services

This paper focuses on the historical development of rural and forest roads as part of the process of making rural areas serviceable. On the basis of a selected location of interest, the development of the rural transport, supply and service system (logistics service system – LSS) is illustrated within the context of the relevant production, economic and social potential of the area

Foreign Direct Investment and Transport Serviceability – a Prerequisite for the Development and Stability of National and Regional Economies

This article focuses on the development and impact of foreign direct investment (hereinafter referred to as “FDI“) in the V4 countries and in particular Slovakia, with a primary focus on the automotive and electronics industries. A detailed analysis is carried out in the Žilina Region, where the positive impact of FDI on the economic growth of the region and its stability is documented through regression analysis. In the following part, the influence of both foreign and domestic investment on transport serviceability and transport infrastructure development is analysed on the basis of the example of the Region of South Bohemia

Rural and Forest Roads – Logistics Platform for Rural Transport Services

This paper focuses on the historical development of rural and forest roads as part of the process of making rural areas serviceable. On the basis of a selected location of interest, the development of the rural transport, supply and service system (logistics service system – LSS) is illustrated within the context of the relevant production, economic and social potential of the area

The Value Chain as the Basis of Business Model Design

The article presents a new approach to the generation of business models based on value streams. The originality of the study lies in the assumption that in every business model the generator of added value is the value chain which, if original enough, will maximize potential while minimizing costs. This approach will provide the respective enterprise with a high level competitiveness in the long term. The tested group of enterprises consisted of 354 SMEs, one hundred eighty-seven of which were from the manufacturing and industry sector, with 167 from the services sector. The novelty of this approach also consists of the integrated approach to the business environment in which the value streams were analyzed. The results suggest that the analysis of value streams is suitable for the projection of business models. In addition, the methods of dimensional reduction and logit regression have been identified as appropriate analytical tools, with representative results found valid and utilizable in business practice. The authors of the article are aware that this is only the first step in addressing this issue, one which will play a critical role in the gradual process of the upcoming digital transformation of all business models, not only those of SMEs in the Czech Republic

Responses of fine-root biomass and production to drying depend on wetness and site nutrient regime in boreal forested peatland

Introduction: Peatlands are terrestrial-carbon hotspots, where changes in carbon pools and fluxes potentially caused by drying or warming may have significant feedbacks to climate change. In forested peatlands, fine-root biomass (FRB), and production (FRP) are important carbon pools and fluxes, but they and their depth distribution and plant functional type (PFT) composition are poorly known. Methods: We studied the effects of persistent water-table level (WTL) drawdown on these characteristics in four forested boreal peatland site types that varied in soil nutrient and WTL regimes, ground vegetation and tree stand characteristics. Each site type was represented by a pair of one undrained and one drained site. Two pairs were nutrient-poor, Scots pine dominated sites, one very wet and one relatively dry in their undrained condition. The other two pairs were nutrient-rich, Norway spruce dominated sites, again one wetter and one drier in the undrained condition. FRB was estimated by separating and visually identifying roots from soil cores extending down to 50 cm depth. FRP was estimated using ingrowth cores covering the same depth, and the separated roots were identified using infrared spectroscopy. Results and discussion: Both FRB and FRP varied widely both within and among the different types of boreal forested peatland. In FRB, the clearest differences were seen in the two originally wettest sites, nutrient-poor tall-sedge pine fen and nutrient-rich herb-rich spruce swamp: FRB was smaller in the drained site compared to the undrained site in the pine fen, but the opposite was true in the spruce swamp. FRP was generally higher in the nutrient-poor, pine-dominated sites than the nutrient-rich, spruce-dominates sites. The depth distribution of FRB was more superficial than that of FRP, except for the most nutrient-rich spruce swamp. Tree and shrub roots dominated both FRB and FRP, except for the undrained pine fen, where graminoids and forbs dominated. Even there, these PFTs were replaced by trees and shrubs at the drained site. Site wetness and nutrient regime both thus clearly regulated FRB and FRP of the forested peatland site types studied, and both need to be considered when making any generalizations

Implementation and initial calibration of carbon-13 soil organic matter decomposition in the Yasso model

Soils account for the largest share of carbon found in terrestrial ecosystems, and their status is of considerable interest for the global carbon cycle budget and atmospheric carbon concentration. The decomposition of soil organic matter depends on environmental conditions and human activities, which raises the question of how permanent are these carbon storages under changing climate. One way to get insight into carbon decomposition processes is to analyse different carbon isotope concentrations in soil organic matter. In this paper we introduce a carbon-13-isotope-specific soil organic matter decomposition add-on into the Yasso soil carbon model and assess its functionality. The new C-13-dedicated decomposition is straightforward to implement and depends linearly on the default Yasso model parameters and the relative carbon isotope (C-13/C-12) concentration. The model modifications are based on the assumption that the heavier C-13 atoms are not as reactive as C-12. The new formulations were calibrated using fractionated C, C-13 and delta(13) measurements from litterbags containing pine needles and woody material, which were left to decompose in natural environment for 4 years. The introduced model modifications considerably improve the model behaviour in a 100-year-long simulation, where modelled delta(13) is compared against fractionated peat column carbon content. The work presented here is a proof of concept and enables C-13 to be used as a natural tracer to detect changes in the underlying soil organic matter decomposition.Peer reviewe