Abstract - Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization PAS

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Recently in Poland there has been an intensive process of transforming the economic structure of rural areas, which manifests itself, inter alia, in changing the occupational structure of its inhabitants. Development of non-agricultural ways of farming in rural areas leads to creation of rural areas of multifunctional character, with population growth, where the role of agriculture as a source of income of inhabitants is decreasing. On the other hand, in the marginal areas, with still dominant agricultural function, there is a significant population loss. One of the effects of the observed process are changes in rural settlements. The aim of the presented research is to deepen the existing knowledge on the evolution of spatial distribution of rural population depending on the level of socio-economic development of the region and structural features of the level achieved. The authors used research conducted within the framework of monitoring rural development in Poland. They compared them with the statistical database of the Central Statistical Office, which made it possible to distinguish growing and depopulating villages. The results of the study confirmed that the spatial differentiation of population in rural areas undergoes constant evolution and its effect is a decrease of population in areas located far from larger cities and an increase in suburban areas.
Recently, it has been claimed that spatial inequalities in Hungary had by far not reduced, but signifi cantly increased since 1990. The inefficiency of Hungarian regional development in the reduction of spatial inequalities, in the past two decades has been caused by several different reasons. Functional deficiency of the local institutions of the regional development network is one of the most characteristic reasons, which led to this situation. Network members at the next planning turnover should be able to change the attitudes catalyse the changes necessary, being able to contribute to the realisation of a planning practice based on community development.
Recently, marginal lands have been attracting attention as areas of high cultural and natural value that are undergoing profound, uncontrolled transformations. These changes are seen as a threat to the cohesion and identity of existing landscapes. However, ongoing processes are often difficult to interpret and evaluate without a long-term historical perspective. Here, we focused on understanding the long-term landscape dynamics in the depopulated and economically marginalized Wiar River basin, where 87% of inhabitants were displaced after World War II. A detailed, spatially explicit land-cover analysis based on eight series of topographic data (dating from 1780 to 2017), in line with the review of archival sources and literature, allowed us for identification of patterns and drivers of change. We linked the driving forces and the resulting landscape properties to four distinct historical periods (i.e. pre-industrial, industrial, socialist, and free-market). We demonstrated how the landscape of 25 villages, dominated for centuries by open farmland, shifted after WWII into extensively forested, and that not all regions in Europe follow the pattern of increasing rate of land-cover change.
Recently Montenegro has often been faced with extreme weather events. The aim of this paper is to provide a detailed synoptic analysis of a severe weather event, a waterspout, and to confirm an indication that in most cases such events could potentially be forecasted, which is of great practical significance, since human lives and property can be saved. The paper presents the research results of synoptic and mesoscale weather conditions which created a favourable meteorological environment for a waterspout development in Tivat (Montenegrin coast) on June 9, 2018, around 01 UTC (03 CET). Based on field survey analysis, the rating of tornado intensity by the Fujita scale (F-scale) has been done by assessing the damage. The synoptic type for this situation was CLOSED-SW and was determined by a detailed examination of atmospheric circulation. The results presented in the manuscript can help decision makers in Montenegro to take certain adaptation measures (above all, in tourism and construction) in order to mitig te the negative consequences of weather extremes.
Regeneration of centrally located city areas has been increasingly more often undertaken as a regeneration megaproject exercise. In European cities there are vast post-railway areas, which, if transformed, can produce morphological and functional changes. Against this background, investigating demolition as part of transformation of the existing spatial and functional structures is an interesting option. Transformations proposed for the downtown area of Vienna previously occupied by the Wien Südbahnhof railway station include the reconstruction of 109 ha formerly used exclusively by railway sector operators. The research problem boils down to the question: what was the course of demolition of the area covered by modernisation works carried out as a megaproject and how has it transformed space organisation on the spot? The paper analyses the sequence of urban renewal initiated in Vienna in the area adjacent to the new Wien Hauptbahnhof railway station and identifies the outcomes of the process. Regeneration project triggered the decision to completely demolish all elements of the existing railway infrastructure and to reconstruct it anew on a much smaller area. Recuperated post-railway land was made available to housing developers, as well as to service facilities and leisure projects, which expand central area of the city.
Regional development is largely determined by both the quality and quantity of internal resources, as well as the degree to which these are being utilized. Local resources represent unique – and socially and economically utilizable – features, factors and phenomena in a given area capable of forming its internal development potential. Among these one may differentiate material and non-material resources, with a further divide into groups and types. The overriding research objective was to identify the structure of local resources in three regions of eastern Poland, and to assess their development potential. For this purpose, research procedure assumed evaluating local assets referring to their utility and uniqueness, by the means of constructed indicators. The study showed that majority of resources were of average utilitarian and uniqueness value, often characterized by considerable spatial differentiation. Several types of prevailing resources were identified including architectural forms and buildings, as well as those related to tourism attractiveness. Resources with the greatest impact on enhancing local development tend to be of considerable uniqueness. On the other hand, there is a group of highly-unique resources characterized by confined utility regarding the practical point of view. This may attest to the still-untapped potential of local resources in researched regions.
Regional socio-economic inequality is a major threat of instability in northeast Europe. The polarisation-equalization dynamics has a direct influence over the distribution of population, industry, financial resources, environmental load, and other domains of the Baltic region. The research scope covers an area of nine countries, including the Baltic coast of Germany, Poland, and north-western Russia. Official data of Eurostat and Rosstat are used to evaluate the relationship between a number of statistical indicators over a period of 2000-2016. Research results reveal an inverse correlation between the volume of GRP per capita generated and the rate of its increase, as well as between GRP per capita and population change. A less significant direct correlation between population density and the rate of population increase found. Results emphasise cross-country differences in polarisation and equalization processes and stress that the population of the Baltic region is increasingly concentrating in capital cities. The latter is especially evident in countries with a relatively small population size. An important factor affecting the development of international cooperation in the Baltic region and national economic growth is the high economic growth rates in the less economically developed countries. The article puts forward arguments in favour of regional equalization and advocates against polarisation strategy, including special measures to stimulate growth of urban agglomerations.
Remote sensing studies have shown that urban areas have unique environmental, climatic, land use/cover characteristics as a result of intense anthropogenic activities. Consequently, urban areas have developed distinct microclimate and elevated temperatures. Thermal remote sensing data has been widely used to study these characteristics. In this study, an attempt has been made to review the studies involving Landsat remote sensing dataset for investigating land surface temperature. Landsat is oldest finer resolution thermal dataset, which has been effectively used in mapping and analysis of land surface temperature, urban heat island and urban microclimate. Since 1978, it has been providing thermal data through Thematic Mapper (TM), Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) sensors.
Reports from the European Commission (e.g. European Commission, 2018) show a relatively high level of motorisation in Poland (leaving the country ranked 6th among EU Member States). The number of cars per 1000 inhabitants is higher here than in any other of the formerly-communist countries acceding to the EU in or after 2004. Unfortunately, however, this situation inter alia reflects twisted statistics on motorisation that do not therefore offer a full or proper reflection of the real situation on the Polish car market. This article has devoted itself to the analysis of shortcomings characterising three groups of motorisation statistics relating to: 1. the cars known as “dead souls” (end-of-life vehicles) – whose numbers are overstated (by perhaps 6 million cars – or 26% of the entire total), given the retention on the register of those that have not been on the road for a long time, 2. “cars with a grille” – part of a Poland-specific phenomenon that results in understatement of numbers of cars and overstatement of numbers of goods vehicles (to the tune of perhaps 750,000), given people’s efforts to ensure that personal cars are approved for registration as commercial vehicles, 3. company cars, given overstatement (equal to perhaps 1.5 million) of numbers of vehicles in cities due to the presence of leasing companies and large enterprises operating company cars. The spatial distribution across the country of cars in the above–mentioned groups is very uneven and does much to influence spatial patterns relating to Poland’s motorisation rate (s). Overall, motorisation is much overestimated in large cities (e.g. Warsaw, Poznań, Katowice and Wrocław), while being underestimated in rural areas (especially in SE Poland). A crucial achievement of our analysis involves correction of official European statistics in this regard. The discrepancies characterising the statistics have the clear spatial distribution presented in Fig. 6. In its last section, this article then attempts to determine the consequences of such twisting of the motorisation statistics where both geographical research and decision-making are concerned.
Research on tourist traffic is a major methodological challenge because a potential respondent is on the move and difficult to capture. There is a need to identify both tourists and one-day visitors. It is important to know motives for their arrival, forms of their stay, assessments of individual components of the tourist offer or consumer loyalty. In 2020, the Podkarpackie Province resumed the idea of regional research on tourist traffic. The aim of this article is to present the methodology of cyclical research of tourist traffic in the Podkarpackie Province. It uses the experience gained during the pilot studies conducted in 2020. The methodology and measurement tool contribute to the standardisation of tourism research in Poland at the provincial level. The proposed solutions activate and integrate various environments into the development of tourism in the region. They allow observation of changes in the structure of tourist traffic and evolution of tourists’ opinions and expectations. On the other hand, they are flexible in order to respond to changes in tourism. The solutions suggested in the methodology are to provide comprehensive and unique data which will facilitate an effective tourism policy at the regional level and can be used by businesses in the tourist industry <br>
Research results provide an insight into the profile, motivation and activities of visitors of mid-size cities in Central Europe, using Advent in Zagreb, Croatia, as a case study. It is based on a questionnaire survey conducted on a sample of visitors of the event. The event that spread tremendously from 3 to 30 locations in the period 2010-2019, attracts mainly younger visitors with higher educational background, mostly from Croatia, Europe and East Asia, with a complex motivation. Two main groups of visitors are distinguished based on their travel distance, length of stay and motivation. <br>
Researching the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina as a region of Serbia and an European Union (EU) border region, we have long been concerned with the raison d’être of cross-border programmes, their impact, sustainability and long-term results. Against that background, the current study is focused on the results of the 2014-2020 cycle. The region of Vojvodina has neighbouring external borders with three EU Member States. While the partner countries have already applied for almost 100% of the available amounts, the implementation of projects and thus the payment of grants is only 50% effected so far. Our intention has been to examine the Vojvodina region in terms of cross-border programmes based on already completed projects and running along the lines of different Priorities. The Programme Areas of the four (Hungarian-Serbian, Croatian-Serbian, Romanian-Serbian and Serbia-Bosnia and Hercegovina) Cross-border cooperation programmes do overlap significantly. Primarily, we have been researching the territorial distribution of each, by reference to the locations of project owners and of project activities; as well as the related networking character of the projects implemented in Vojvodina in the Interreg-IPA (Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance) 2014-2020 programming period. It is then in this context that we examine the focal and connection points of the cross-border connections, in this way potentially indicating deficiencies in regard to sustainable project implementation. Without claiming to be exhaustive, we have also sought to reference impeding circumstances relating to a barrier effect that is obviously of particular importance given the fact that external borders of the EU are involved.
Riparian hardwood forests have become very rare in most areas across Europe, as their fertile habitats have mostly been transformed into grasslands and arable land. Furthermore, where small patches remain, these are seen to be subject to major changes in soil cover and plant composition, thanks to habitat change induced by drainage, river engineering, the construction of river embankments and forestry. A further, highly visible symptom of the degradation of riparian hardwood forest is invasion by alien species (neophytes). This article therefore draws on work to analyze Poland’s vegetation of riparian hardwood forest, by reference to some 249 phytosociological relevés from 83 sites located along river valleys (Fig. 1). The work came within Natura 2000 habitat monitoring, and specifically a research project entitled Riparian hardwood forest services in the middle Vistula river valley. The main objectives here were to point to any relationships that might pertain between the share of invasive alien species and the structure and composition of riparian hardwood forest vegetation, as well as to determine the former’s habitat requirements. The studied communities were divided into two groups: ZI – with the presence of invasive alien species, and ZN – natural communities lacking such species (as listed by Tokarska-Guzik et al., 2012). Relationships between the share of invasive species and the structure and composition of native vegetation were tested by comparing species richness (number of species: S – general, SA – trees, SB – shrubs, SC – herbs, SD – bryophytes), species diversity (H – the Shannon diversity index (Shannon and Weaver, 1949), J – the Pielou evenness index (Pielou, 1975)), habitat preferences of species by reference to Ellenberg ecological indicators (Ellenberg et al., 1992) and socio-ecological affinity (after Schmidt et al., 2011). Spearman rank correlation coefficients were used to assess relationships between the numbers of invasive alien species and the cover-shares they accounted for on the one hand, and the values of all studied parameters on the other. Mean values were compared across the ZI and ZN groups using the Mann-Whitney U-test. Statistical analyses were performed using PAST 2.17 (Hammer et al., 2001). Invasive alien species were recorded on ca. 70% of the plots studied. Small balsam was species among the 15 observed most frequently and achieving greatest abundance (Table 1, Fig. 2). Lower general richness of species in the communities where invasive alien species are present results mainly from decline in numbers of hygrophilous and shade-tolerant forest species, as well as shrubs and bryophytes (Table 2). This may be related to changes in habitat conditions that diminish competition from the existing composition of the phytocoenosis. The undergrowth of communities featuring invasive species is composed of species preferring habitats with higher light availability, with a higher soil pH and a richer trophic status, but there are few species of more moist habitats. The broad habitat range characteristic for small balsam (as regards light and soil pH) combine with its preference for drier mesophilous sites and a marked capacity to disperse providing for the expansion of the species, which in fact comes to dominate in disturbed forest communities. On a more-positive note, the analysis shows how the degradation of riparian hardwood forests could be limited, if only their natural habitat conditions can be assured.
Riparian hardwood forests of Quercus robur, Ulmus spp and Fraxinus spp that are present along major rivers are valuable communities protected by the EU Habitat Directive and recommended for monitoring. Part of the reason for that is relative rarity on the scale of Europe as a whole, and also in Poland. This in turn reflects the way in which fertile habitats were, in their majority, deforested long ago, drained and changed into grasslands or arable land. Additionally, the greater part of these habitats have lost their specific features, as a result of river engineering and – primarily – the construction of the river embankments that have acted to limit flooding and alluvial processes, in that way also initiating change in the composition of both soils and plant communities. Specifically, this article presents selected results of the research project: Riparian hardwood forest services in the middle Vistula river valley. One of the main objectives thereof was to assess the condition of forest ecosystems from which flooding has now been absent for at least 50 years, as well as to prepare guidelines for actions necessary to maintain or restore their diversity, and proper ecological and biological functions. Our research questions therefore revolved around components of riparian hardwood forest ecosystems have been most changed … and why? The research was conducted in six riparian hardwood forests (to date unmonitored) located in the valley of the middle Vistula (in Mazowieckie voivodship). Relevant work was carried out using the standard monitoring guidelines – as primarily based on an assessment of vegetation composition and structure together with water conditions. However, in the work in question, these were augmented by additional analyses allowing for detailed characterisations of soil, the topoclimate, and the species diversity achieved by selected groups of invertebrate (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus and Haplotaxida: Lumbricidae). The communities selected represent multi-functional, species-rich forests. Extensive use of the studied riparian mixed forests ensures that deadwood resources are quite considerable. Moreover, the studied forests exert a strong impact when it comes to mitigation of climate locally. The observed soil types indicate fertile and biologically-active habitats, as well as to soil development largely determined by the height of the groundwater table causing the gleyic process in the lower parts of profiles. However, in some forest patches it is possible to note transformations related to habitat drying, with significant canopy gaps and disturbances of topsoil and the undergrowth. There was a great abundance of invasive alien plant species (mainly Impatiens parviflora) in the undergrowth. Moisture conditions have an impact on the occasional occurrence of Lumbricidae associated with wet and flooded areas. In turn, the domination by Bombus of open-habitat species indicates a transformation of forest structure, and the patchy nature of riparian forests located in a rural landscape. The obtained results demonstrate that protective actions should focus on ensuring adequate soil-moisture conditions, and on restoring the natural structure of vegetation with a view to invasions of alien species being hampered. Another important issue is the proper use of land adjacent to forest patches, as fallows prove to be invaded quickly by the kenophytes preferring abandoned and disturbed places.
Rivers flowing through cities and their valleys serve many functions, having also a special role in the amelioration of the urban climate. Within the city limits of Poland’s capital city, Warsaw, the River Vistula flows over a distance of 31.5 km, in a valley of maximum width 2 km. The river is regulated and enclosed within flood embankments. Its left bank, in the districts of Śródmieście and Żoliborz especially, is high and partly built over with boulevards; while the right bank is low and natural, with sandy beaches and walking and cycling paths. Despite the long-term transformation, the Vistula Valley still has an extremely valuable role in the natural system. Most of it enjoys Natura 2000 protection (from the points of view of flora, fauna and the Valley itself). While the Vistula Valley in Warsaw certainly constitutes the city’s main and most effective area of ventilation and air regeneration, knowledge of its thermal conditions remains scant. That is somewhat paradoxical, given worldwide study of urban climate since the 1830s, with considerable urban-focused interest among Polish climatologists also not leading to much elucidation of the river-valley climate within the city. Through the work carried out it proved possible to demonstrate differences in the thermal regime in Warsaw’s Vistula Valley, depending on the location and the immediate vicinity of the studied point. The amplitude in average daily air temperature is lower where density of buildings is greater, and where the ratio for the presence of biologically active areas is lower. The northern and southern parts of the Valley in Warsaw are characterised by similar thermal conditions, while the downtown part differs clearly from these places, being much warmer, but also much more likely to play host to the “cold spot” phenomenon. <br>
‘Rock cities’ – a geomorphological term widely used in Czechia, but hardly formalised elsewhere – are spectacular rock-cut landscapes consisting of closelyspaced residual rock blocks separated by narrow intersecting corridors, imparting an overall visual resemblance to an urban landscape. The heights of the rock blocks in question – as compared with the floors of the corridors and passages – may reach many tens of metres. These landforms are known in a wide range of lithologies, including limestones, dolomites, conglomerates, tuffs and granites; but they are particularly well developed in regularly jointed sandstones which support a plateau and cuesta morphology. Typical geomorphic settings of rock cities are marginal parts of plateaus, backslopes of cuesta ridges and top parts of residual hills (mesas). Examples of sandstone rock cities from south-west Poland include the mesa of Szczeliniec Wielki and the plateau of Skalniak (the socalled Błędne Skały rock labyrinth, Dziedziniec), whereas they are even better represented in the adjacent part of Czechia (at the Adršpach and Teplice ‘Rock Cities’ and Ostaš). Further rock cities can be found in northern Czechia, within an extensive tableland built of Upper Cretaceous sedimentary formations, chiefly sandstones, and then in Saxony, Germany. The origin and evolution of the ‘rock cities’ are primarily controlled by structure, i.e. the pattern of discontinuities within the rock mass. These, preferentially eroded due to mechanical weakness, turn into ‘streets’, and into ‘squares’ at their intersections. However, the rock mass itself has to be strong enough to support steep to vertical rock faces, and in sandstones the strength is the combined result of wide joint spacing in certain sandstone variants and the presence of surface crusts of chemical and biochemical origin. The latter prevent steady grain-by-grain disintegration. A wide range of processes are thus involved in the formation of sandstone ‘rock cities’, including surface and subsurface weathering (including silica dissolution), mass movements of different types, underground erosion (piping), and subordinately fluvial erosion and aeolian abrasion. Despite these being spectacular landscapes, very few models of long-term evolution of ‘rock city’ and ruiniform relief have been presented in the literature, and it is anyway unlikely that any one scenario would apply to all situations. Rather, ‘rock cities’ are most probably examples of geomorphological convergence.
Rock walls and talus slopes, which are the most common features of high-mountain relief, have been researched for many years. Geomorphologists have taken particular interest in debris flows, which play a major role in the development of talus slopes. This paper presents the results of the first lichenometric dating of debris flows on the southern slopes of the Tatra Mountains. The greatest debris flow activity took place in the Little Ice Age and in the last two decades.
Romania after accession to the EU, on 1 January 2007, tried to find a strategy to optimize the integration of our country from economic, social, technological and environmental viewpoint. A context in which Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) help the market economy comes as appropriate to the current world-wide political landscape, but equally create and enlarge contradictions. Romania meat a new inflow of FDI after 2000, surpassing its neighbour countries year after year. But the growth prospects for 2009 continue to deteriorate sharply, as the country is expected to suffer a strong deceleration of both the domestic and the external sectors.
Romania has experienced considerable growth in agritourism able to meet the demand for sustainable tourism generated on both domestic and European markets. A picturesque landscape, other unique features and cultural heritage have all acted directly to increase agritourism in the country. Against this background, the work detailed in this paper sought to employ a quantitative approach in assessing if the above development of agritourism correlated directly with financial assistance allocated under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Findings in fact point to a direct impact of funding disbursed under the CAP, while payments disbursed under the so-called second pillar are not found to have impacted on the growth of agritourism. Outcomes with the Epanechnikov kernel method highlight a significant shift in the subsidies allocated under the Common Agricultural Policy via its first and second pillars, with an increase in the total fund disbursed in 2013 as compared with 2007. Subsidies allocated via the second pillar of the CAP can thus be said to have had a pivotal role in supporting investment in on-farm diversification, in this way achieving a partial integration of farmers’ incomes in Romania.
Rural areas have been traditionally perceived as space dominated by agriculture. However, especially since the World War II a sinking importance of agriculture for the economy, employment and even identity building could be observed. This has occurred both in developed capitalist and post-socialist countries. The purpose of this article is to discuss the character of present rural economies of developed countries (and especially Visegrad countries) with a particular attention to other than acricultural and tourism economic industries. Key factors influencing the growth of jobs in non-farming and tourism sectors are analysed and on this basis the conditions for entrepreneurship in rural areas in the era of the knowledge economy are re-evaluated.

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