Polish Part Research Articles

Assessment of groundwater vulnerability within the cross-border areas of Ukraine and Poland

Problem statement. The growing global trend of groundwater consumption and excessive groundwater abstraction in many parts of the world requires an accurate and comprehensive assessment of the potential for groundwater resource development. The EU-WATERRES international project has begun developing a concept for coordinated management and harmonized monitoring of groundwater resources in the transboundary areas of Ukraine and Poland. Studying groundwater's natural protection status or vulnerability is a priority, as groundwater pollution has become a significant environmental problem in recent decades due to the growth of industrial production and agricultural activities. Study objective is to analyze the existing materials on the natural protection of groundwater within the study area and to quantify the vulnerability of the main useful aquifer (MUA) to surface pollution in the cross-border Polish-Ukrainian area. Methodology involves the quantitative method of groundwater vulnerability assessment by calculating the time of pollutant penetration into the aquifer through the aeration zone using the modified Bindemann formula and GIS. Research results. Studies have shown that the most vulnerable among MUA there is an unconfined alluvial Quaternary horizon (alQ) of the Syan and Dniester River basins. Throughout its entire development, its vulnerability corresponds to the "very high" category because of pollution from the surface caused by precipitation filtration. The Upper Cretaceous aquifer (K2) is less vulnerable. The groundwater of this horizon in the Polish part of the cross-border area is more vulnerable - here the vulnerability corresponds to the categories "very high" and "high". In the Ukrainian part, the Upper Cretaceous aquifer is characterized by better natural hydrogeological conditions and is less vulnerable to pollution. The Lower Neogene aquifer, which has a limited distribution on the slopes of the Western Bug-Syan River watershed within Roztochia, is the least vulnerable to pollution as compared to the others. The lithological composition of the aeration zone and the thickness of weakly permeable and practically impermeable rocks have a decisive impact on the filtration time and vulnerability of groundwater to pollutants from the surface by infiltration. Scientific novelty of the research. For the first time, a quantitative assessment of the vulnerability of the MUAs for the Polish-Ukrainian cross-border area was carried out. The use of the results of this assessment will facilitate the adoption of appropriate management decisions for the comprehensive protection of transboundary groundwater, prevention of its pollution, and reduction of anthropogenic impact.

Attitudes toward Conservation of the Transboundary Białowieża Forest among Ecotourism Businesses in Poland and Belarus

The Białowieża Forest is a contested transboundary forest massif in Poland and Belarus. Reflecting on transitions from value chains built on sustained yield forestry to ecotourism, we pioneer documentation of how country-specific legacies shape preferences toward increased forest protection at the expense of wood production. For both countries, we used a quantitative ordered logit model based on questionnaires to Polish and Belarusian ecotourism business owners to, for the first time, empirically study drivers of their preferences toward different Białowieża Forest values, and we used qualitative data to identify attitudes toward the expansion of protected areas in the Białowieża Forest. Whilst Belarusian ecotourism business owners supported increased area protection, the opposite was true for their Polish counterparts. The proportion of foreign guests co-varied with support toward increased area protection. Conversely, local origin, size of hospitality business, and role of foresters as customers decreased interest in area protection. The qualitative data revealed that narratives against extended area protection were spread in Poland but not in Belarus. The conflict over the conservation of the Polish part of the Białowieża Forest involves actors and stakeholders with competing interests. A solution is that this remnant massif of the once widespread European temperate lowland forest becomes subject to a regional planning and zoning perspective. Encouraging multiple value chains and evidence-based collaborative learning are key components.

Geometry and topology of a Polish Outer Carpathian digital-elevation-model-interpreted lineament network in the context of regional tectonics

Abstract. The Polish part of the Western Outer Carpathian lineament network was analysed based on the Global Multi-resolution Terrain Elevation Data 2010 (GMTED2010) digital elevation model. Lineaments were identified in the visual screening of the hillshade model. To the best of our knowledge, no one has studied the geometrical properties of the network in relation to the topological ones. The NetworkGT QGIS toolbox was applied to identify the nodes and branches of the network as well as to calculate the topology parameters. Our aim was to find differences between the western and eastern parts of the Western Outer Carpathians; therefore, the analyses were carried out in six sectors chosen based on the geographical subdivision in the geological context: three in the north, mainly the Silesian unit, and three in the south, mainly the Magura unit. We found general agreement of the identified network with the photo-lineament map; however, some of the photo-lineaments are not confirmed by a digital elevation model (DEM). We found that the topological parameters of the networks change from west to east but not from north to south. There are areas of increased interconnectivity, especially the Nowy Sącz Basin, where the lineament network may reflect a complicated system of cross-cutting, deep-rooted fault zones in the basement.

New faunistic records of Limoniidae and Pediciidae crane-flies (Diptera) from the Bieszczady Mountains in Poland.

New data on the occurrence of 122 Limoniidae and 17 Pediciidae species in the Polish part of the Western Bieszczady Mountains is presented. Four species: Idiocera (I.) punctata (Edwards, 1938), Rhabdomastix (Rh.) laetoidea Starý, 2004, Lipsothrix ecucullata Edwards, 1938 (Limoniidae), and Dicranota (Paradicranota) subflammatra Starý, 1998 (Pediciidae), are reported from Poland for the first time. A general comparison of the species composition across the different protected areas of the Bieszczady Mts is also discussed.

The role of the microencruster-microbial reef-building consortium in organic reefs evolution (Late Jurassic, northern Tethys shelf, southern Poland)

The carbonate sediments of the Polish part of Tethys shelf contain Crescentiella-microbial-cement facies. The facies is associated with Middle Oxfordian-Lower Kimmeridgian microbial-grain dominated reefs, microbial-sponge dual hybride reefs, and less frequently sponge/coral-microbial-abiotic triple hybride reefs. The Crescentiella (incertae sedis) and microbialites form numerous cluster bioconstructions with stromatactis-like cavities in which rapid lithification was supported by early marine cementation. However, the factors controlling the development of such bioconstructions and the role of Crescentiella in the development of reef frameworks remain enigmatic. The sediments from five localities were investigated using thin-sections analyses supported by cathodoluminescence observations, stable oxygen and carbon isotope analyses and dispersive X-ray spectrometry. The development of Crescentiella-microbial-cement facies took place in three intervals spanning the Transversarium, Upper Bifurcatus, and Planula zones and coinciding with the period of maximum development of the Late Jurassic reefs in Poland. The reefs contain microencruster Crescentiella which was an important rigid framework constructor among the microbialites while the skeletal metazoans were rare. The inferred palaeosetting of the facies ranges from the seaward steep-fronted outer margin to the upper slope broad reef complex/microplatform where the development of skeletal metazoans was limited and mainly formed stratiform microbialites binding coated grain-bioclastic dominated sediments. The occurrence of Crescentiella-microbial-cement boundstone facies is useful for palaeogeographic, palaeobathymetric, and palaeotectonic investigations.

A new A-type granitoid occurrence in southernmost Fennoscandia: geochemistry, age and origin of rapakivi-type quartz monzonite from the Pietkowo IG1 borehole, NE Poland

Rapakivi-type quartz monzonite and the underlying dark-grey granodiorite from the Pietkowo IG1 borehole, in the Polish part of southernmost Fennoscandia have been investigated using whole-rock geochemistry, Sm–Nd isotope geochemistry and U–Pb zircon dating. The quartz monzonite was emplaced at 1495–1491 Ma, although slightly older zircon cores (antecrysts) of 1513 Ma imply a two-stage crystallization. The geochemical similarities with Mazury Complex granitoids, their metaluminous and alkali-calcic nature, elevated contents of F, Ga and high-field-strength-elements (HFSE), indicate that the Pietkowo IG1 rapakivi-type quartz monzonite is an ‘A-type’ granitoid. The presence of magnetite and titanite indicates crystallization under oxidizing conditions. The rock is classified as A2 sub-type, and the Nb/Y ratio implies a within-plate setting. The dark-grey granodiorite, dated to 1813 Ma, has a calc-alkaline character, typical of a volcanic-arc environment. Initial whole rock εNd values range between -2.9 and -3.3 for the rapakivi-type quartz monzonite and from -1.0 to + 1.1 for the dark-grey granodiorite. We suggest that the A-type Pietkowo IG1 rapakivi-type quartz monzonite was generated from the dark-grey granodiorite via partial melting at middle to lower crustal levels. The most plausible ascent route for the quartz monzonite was via lithospheric-scale weakness zones, between the eastern margin of the Mazowsze Domain and Belarus-Podlasie Granulite Belt, i.e., the Białystok fault. Therefore, the Pietkowo IG1 rapakivi-type quartz monzonite is a representative of the Mesoproterozoic A-type granitoid occurrence in southernmost Fennoscandia.

Catholics on the Barricades: Poland, France, and “Revolution,” 1891–1956 by Piotr H. Kosicki

Reviewed by: Catholics on the Barricades: Poland, France, and “Revolution,” 1891–1956 by Piotr H. Kosicki Mikołaj Kunicki Catholics on the Barricades: Poland, France, and “Revolution,” 1891–1956. By Piotr H. Kosicki. (New Haven: Yale University Press. 2018. Pp. xxviii, 424. $40.00. ISBN: 9780300225518). Writing a transnational historical monograph about Polish and French intellectuals, lay activists, and ecclesiastical figures alike, who formed the twentieth-century “Catholic avant-garde,” the personalist current, is not an easy task. First, the collective biography of these figures is likely to appeal to highly specialised audiences; [End Page 213] secondly, the current climate around the Roman Catholic Church, with its internal conflicts, sexual-abuse cases, and the Vatican’s inconsistent approach toward international and social affairs may diminish some readers’ appetite for the story of Catholic revolutionaries who sought a just society, engaged in dialogue with Marxism and its Stalinist branch, and paved the way for the groundbreaking Vatican Council II. Fortunately, Piotr Kosicki’s book is a tour de force, expertly researched, elegantly written, and likely to be compared with and favorably contrasted against such titles as Zeev Sternhell’s Neither Right nor Left (1983/1987) and Tony Judt’s Past Imperfect (1992). Kosicki begins his story in the 1890s with Catholics’ reactions to Marxism, capitalism, and nationalism and concludes it in the mid-1950s, when Polish and French personalists and Catholic socialists faced the end of Stalinism, liberating themselves from the ideological corsets (if not straitjackets) of anti-Germanism, Soviet-sponsored and one-sided, anti-Americanist peace activism. The liberating effect of the thaw coincided with the death of Pius XII and the subsequent convocation of the Second Vatican Council. The book’s French characters illustrate the vicissitudes of Catholic thinkers and activists, including Jacques Maritain, Emmanuel Mounier, or worker-priest Jean Boulier, and impact they made in France and beyond. Their Polish counterparts constitute an equally diverse company of groups and individuals who adopted the personalist core, tried to implement and modify it in prewar, wartime, and postwar communist-dominated Poland, often paying for their actions with their lives, imprisonment, or moral compromises. The book focuses mostly on the Polish part of the story, giving the fascinating portrayals of fascists and nationalists turned into pro-communist “progressive” Catholics (Bolesław Piasecki and his entourage of Dziś i Jutro millieu). We also meet their young adept, Catholic radical Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the first Polish democratic prime minister after the collapse of communism, and a young cleric and priest named Karol Wojtyła, better known as John Paul II. Lastly, Kosicki pays close attention to the Cracow-based disciples of Mounier from the Tygodnik Powszechny weekly that were turned down by their spiritual master, vowed to abstain from the communist-dominated political life preserving their integrity and defending independent culture, and later joined forces with Mazowiecki and gay catehumen Jerzy Zawieyski to form the Znak circle of more independent Catholic activists in the post-Stalinist era. For Kosicki, the link between the Polish personalist groups and the Solidarity movement, which served as an icebreaker of communism in the 1980s is obvious. However, the autor is at his best while discussing less-known and researched phenomena such as the peculiar nature of French intellectuals’ involvement in the Soviet-sponsored Peace Movement; the role of anti-Germanism shared by both the French and the Poles in cementing their collaboration with Moscow; and the opposition of Esprit editors to European integration in the 1950s. Kosicki’s work does not contain any flaws or errors. If anything, I view it a bit apologetic toward John Paul II, one of the protagonists of this book, much revered in the past, and currently under posthumous re-examination. Another issue concerns the real [End Page 214] impact of intellectual Catholicism on Polish religiosity, which under the tutelage of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, also a frequently evoked figure, moved away from open Catholicism. Lastly, I would advise the author to pay more attention to the 1968 anti-Semitic campaign and the effect it had on the collapse of the Znak group. Still, Piotr Kosicki authored an excellent work, which will top the readingg lists of students of Polish and European history...

From Memory Conflicts to the Demarcation of Cultural Memory: Teschen Silesia One Hundred Years After Division

The aim of the paper is to analyse a specific case of transformation of communicative memories into cultural memories under the influence of state institutions in Teschen Silesia [Cieszyn Silesia; Těšín Silesia]. In 1920, the multi-ethnic territory of the former Duchy of Teschen was divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia. The author focuses on the state of local social memories after one hundred years since the division and raises the question, what kind of social memories are supported by the Polish and Czech local administrations and what kind of social memories are ignored or suppressed by them. Both sides of the Polish-Czech state border have at least one common feature today, namely the colonization of the past by the national states present here, in that the history of the Polish part of Teschen Silesia is commonly seen here as the history of Poland, and the history of the Czech part of this area as the history of the Czech Republic. It is an unconscious – and thus unreflective – conceptual structure that affects local national identities. The author calls this cognitive structure “demarcation logic”.

Organic matter variations in the deep marginal basin of the Western Tethys and links to various environments in isotopic Albian–Cenomanian Boundary Interval

In the latest Albian–lowermost Cenomanian, the palaeoenvironments along the northern margin in the Carpathian domain of the Western Tethys were characterized by deep basins with floors below the calcium compensation depth, which were filled with flysch and hemipelagic sediments. On the other hand, the terrestrial areas surrounding the Western Tethys to the north were covered by a diverse flora of gymnosperms and experienced an increase in the diversity of angiosperms; the latter was characterized by a rapid spread in most terrestrial environments. The flysch/hemipelagic succession of the Silesian Basin (the Polish part of the Outer Carpathians) contains a sedimentological record of organic-rich accumulation that is related to the carbon isotope excursion, known as the Albian–Cenomanian Boundary Interval (ACBI); its older part corresponds to Oceanic Anoxic Event 1d (OAE1d). Organic matter (OM) records from these noncalcareous sediments are characterized by the occurrence of both terrigenous and marine organic compounds, and an increase in their accumulation intensity occurred during OAE1d, similar to other Western Tethyan areas and their northern surroundings. Quantitative analyses of the OM compounds using petrographic and chemical methods indicate that the majority were redeposited from land and estuarine environments; however, the OAE1d strata (Alternans Level) and the lower part of the post-OAE1d black shale succession are also enriched in OM of marine origin. This enrichment is interpreted as the result of enhanced surface water productivity, most likely related to redistribution of nutrients from coastal areas during the sea level rise of the KAl8 eustatic cycle. OAE1d was also the period in which the degradation of OM took place under reducing conditions in the bottom waters (although they were not anoxic), which was possibly caused by poor ventilation. A high proportion of terrigenous/estuarine OM compounds redeposited in the Silesian Basin is characteristic, especially for the post-ACBI black and dark grey shales. A large amount of this OM type has undergone relatively rapid degradation as it has settled from the shallows through a well‑oxygenated water column in the epi-, meso- and bathypelagic zones. Some terrigenous OM came from forest fires that occurred in the catchment area and supplied material to the Silesian Basin.

The Morphology of Cemeteries of Abandoned Villages in the Polish Part of Former East Prussia: Boundaries and Spatial Forms of Burial Grounds

The article discusses selected issues concerning the morphology of cemeteries of completely depopulated rural settlement units located in the part of East Prussia that was incorporated into Poland in 1945. The boundaries and spatial forms of the cemeteries were analysed and interpreted. These are actually the best-preserved components of the landscape of these historical burial places. The basic source material used in the study for the identification and preliminary analysis of the boundaries and shapes of the cemeteries were the sheets of the Topographische Karte Messtischblatt map from the 1920s–1940s and orthophotomaps showing the current land cover. Detailed analyses were performed using altitude measurement data from airborne laser scanning (resource of the Central Office of Geodesy and Cartography). The research results show clear differences in the size and shape of cemeteries belonging to specific types of settlement units. The preserved relics testify to the different ways of organising burial places at single-manor estates, where family cemeteries functioned, and those established in villages. The results of the analysis also indicate the characteristic features of the contemporary landscape of former Evangelical cemeteries, facilitating their field identification.

The Śnieżka peatland as a candidate Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the Anthropocene series

The subalpine, atmospherically fed Śnieżka peatland, located in the Polish part of the Sudetes, is one of the nominated candidates for the GSSP of the Anthropocene. Data from two profiles, Sn1 (2012) and Sn0 (2020), from this site are critical for distinguishing the proposed epoch, while an additional core Sn2 is presented to support main evidence. The Sn0 archive contains a wide array of critical markers such as plutonium (Pu), radiocarbon (F14C), fly ash particles, Hg and stable C and N isotopes which are consistent with the previously well documented 210Pb/14C dated Sn1 profile, which provides a high-resolution and comprehensive database of trace elements and rare earth elements (REE), Pb isotopes, Pu, Cs, pollen and testate amoebae. The 1952 worldwide appearance of Pu, owing to its global synchronicity and repeatability between the cores, is proposed here as a primary marker of the Anthropocene, supported by the prominent upturn of selected chemostratigraphic and biostratigraphic indicators as well as the appearance of technofossils and artificial radionuclides.

Stratigraphy and Sedimentary Record of the Ordovician System in Poland: a Review

Abstract This report provides insight into the main stratigraphic and sedimentary aspects of the Ordovician System in major tectonic units of Poland: (1) East European Craton, (2) Pomeranian Block, (3) Łysogóry Block, (4) Małopolska Block, (5) Upper Silesian Block, and (6) the Sudetes. The first studies of the Ordovician rocks in Poland were conducted as early as the second half of the nineteenth century in outcrops of the Holy Cross Mountains (SE Poland). Moreover, the Ordovician rocks are exposed in the Sudetes, where they are incorporated into the tectonostratigraphic units accreted during the Variscan orogeny. Significant progress has been made since the 1950s in the recognition of the Ordovician stratigraphic and facies architecture due to numerous drilling cores, which have been mostly made in NE Poland (East European Craton). The temporal and spatial facies pattern in the Polish part of the East European Craton indicate that in the Early and Middle Ordovician this area was a part of large, epicontinental carbonate platform replaced in the Late Ordovician by fine-grained clastics of distal shelf. The Ordovician sedimentary record in the Łysogóry and Małopolska blocks (SE Poland) reveals numerous similarities to the facies architecture in the neighbouring East European Craton, especially its marginal localities. Thus, it is possible to distinguish the same eustatic events in these units corresponding to sea-level changes reported in Baltica, although locally a regional tectonic activity masked their effects. The evolution of the sedimentary basin in NW Poland (Pomeranian Block) was influenced by the collision of Baltica with Avalonia in the Late Ordovician, which resulted in the development of the Caledonian fold-and-thrust belt.

Heart failure in patients with atrial fibrillation: Insights from Polish part of the EORP-AF general long-term registry.

This study aimed to determine the impact of heart failure (HF) on clinical outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). We analysed data from Polish participants of the EURObservational Research Programme-AF General Long-Term Registry. The primary endpoint was all-cause death, and the secondary endpoints included hospital readmissions, cardiovascular (CV) interventions, thromboembolic and haemorrhagic events, rhythm control interventions, and other CV or non-CV diseases development during one-year follow up. Overall, 688 patients with available data on HF were included into analysis; 51% (n=351) had HF; of these 48% (n=168) had reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), 22% (n=77) mid-range EF (HFmrEF), and 30% (n=106) preserved EF (HFpEF). Compared with patients without HF, those with HF had higher mortality rate (aHR 5.61; 95% CI 1.94-16.22, P<0.01). Patients with HF (vs. without HF) had more often CV interventions (10% vs. 5.4%, P=0.046) and events (14% vs. 7.1%, P=0.02), and had less often atrial arrhythmia-related hospital admissions (6.8% vs. 15%, P<0.01). Over follow-up, patients with HFmrEF and HFpEF had similar mortality rate versus HFrEF (aHR 0.45, 95% CI 0.13-1.57, P=0.45 for HFmrEF and aHR 0.54, 95% CI 0.20-1.48, P=0.54 for HFpEF). Mortality rate was similar among rhythm versus rate control group (aHR 0.34; 95% CI 0.10-1.16; P=0.34). AF patients with HF have greater mortality rate and more CV interventions/events. No statistically significant difference in long-term outcomes between patients with HFrEF, HFmrEF, and HFpEF highlights the need to develop therapeutic strategies targeting functional status and survival for patients with HF and AF.

Restytucja żubra w Polsce. Działania zorientowane na ochronę żubrów

The Białowieża Forest is a compact forest complex situated on the border between Poland and Belarus. The Polish part covers 62,000 ha, of which 10,500 ha is the area of the Białowieża National Park. Nature of the Forest is protected under applicable regulations of ordinances concerning the protection of species of plants, animals and fungi, and under planning documents containing protective tasks for Białowieża, reserves, habitats and species subject to protection in the area of Natura 2000. One of the main priorities of nature protection in the Białowieża Primeval Forest is the protection of the wisent (European bison), for which the Forest is the basic refuge. This is mainly due to the history of the species – it was here that the last free-living survivors were found and here the population was reproduced, first by breeding, and, finally, in free-living herds. The world’s wisent population in 2017 was about 6,000 individuals, with nearly 1,700 in Poland. This state is a result of the implementation of many projects for the protection of the species, as well as close international cooperation. The significant increase in the number of herds and the population indicates the effectiveness of the activities carried out and the need to continue them.

Advantages and limitations of an interdisciplinary approach in woodland archaeology: An example of 18th-19th century tar production in European temperate forest

Tar production was an important part of forest management until the beginning of the 20th century. Tar – used for many purposes – from glue, through boatbuilding, to a pharmacy – was widely produced throughout Europe. As early as in the 18th century, in some parts of Europe, tar production became massive. In the eastern part of Europe, however, that process was still carried out with simple methods known from the Middle Ages. With Airborne Laser Scanning, we have detected 53 traces of tar processing in the Polish part of the Białowieża Forest. In 2019, one of the features was archaeologically excavated to identify its preserved structure/architecture and collect samples for laboratory tests. The outcomes of the archaeological test trench did not provide answers to many research questions. Therefore, it was decided to apply an interdisciplinary approach to determine the utilised raw material, timing and the process of tar production. In result of the dendrochronological and anthracological analyses, it was found that diverse parts of Scots pine trees were used for tar production. Our tree ring analyses provided also the first information about the absolute chronology of the tar kiln activity. To obtain information on the tar production process, i.e. the burning temperature and the characteristics of the obtained tar, we performed chemical analyses of the tar samples (microscopic and Fourier Transform Infrared, FTIR). This multidisciplinary case study of one of the many sites from the Białowieża Forest provided basic information about the methods of tar production in modern times and their probable impact on the immediate vicinity of the forest. However, such an interdisciplinary approach is limited by both the quantity and quality of the preserved artefacts, found during archaeological excavations.

Pilot research on gastrointestinal parasites of the Tatra chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra tatrica).

The Tatra chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra tatrica) is a significant representative of the High Tatra Mountains endemic fauna species. In terms of health hazards for these animals, an important role is played by parasitic infections that can lead to a significant depletion of the entire population. The aim of the study was to describe the occurrence of gastrointestinal parasites of Tatra chamois in the current environmental and climatic conditions of the High Tatra Mountains. During the pilot project in 2014 - 2017, a total of 494 chamois faecal samples were collected from the Slovak High Tatra and 114 samples in the Polish part of the mountain and examined using standard coprological methods. The results revealed that the overall positivity for gastrointestinal parasites in chamois of the Slovak High Tatra reached 74.7%. Most frequent were protozoa - Eimeria spp. (42.7%), helminths were represented by Moniezia spp. tapeworms (23.5%), eggs of GIS-strongylids (7.1%), and sporadically Capillaria spp. (1.4%). The chamois from the Polish Tatra Mts. were infected with Eimeria spp. (43.9%), GIT-strongylids (9.6%), and Moniezia spp. (6.1%). Parasitic infection was determined in 59.6 % of faecal samples from the Polish part of the mountains. Statistical analyses revealed asignificant difference in Moniezia spp. occurrence in different Slovak Tatra Mts. Regions, as well as between Slovak and Polish Tatra Mts. Initial research on the gastrointestinal parasites of the Tatra chamois revealed one indisputable finding - a relatively high prevalence of the genus Moniezia, which is closely linked to the climate and microclimate conditions of the mountains. Further intensive research on parasite composition and distribution in Tatra chamois is needed in broader temporal, ecological, and zoological contexts.

Sediment quality in the Polish part of the trans-boundary Vistula Lagoon: implications for deposition management

The Vistula Lagoon is located in Europe and is the second largest lagoon in the Baltic Sea, after Curonian Lagoon. It is a transboundary water basin shared by Poland and Russia. The entire Polish part is a NATURA 2000 area. The whole lagoon area requires economic rehabilitation comprising integrated management involving ecological, social and economic interactions and couplings. Currently most of the actions and investments are devoted to development of local tourism and stimulation of local economy by construction of new marinas and small harbors. In Polish part this is enhanced by the Vistula Spit cross-cut construction. Such activities result in a need for expansion of navigational channels leading to their dredging and necessity of safe management of the dredged deposit. Investigations of sediment quality thus became indispensable. To assess its quality, sediment samples were collected in the Polish and Russian part of the Vistula Lagoon to evaluate and compare soil strength parameters and the concentrations of harmful substances in both parts. Due to the current political situation and interruption of scientific contacts between the Russian and Polish researchers only the results obtained for the Polish part are reported herein. The analysis revealed that the studied sediments are generally very weak in terms of strength parameters but safe as regards the presence of dangerous substances according to EU regulations. This allows for deposition in the form of artificial islands that will ultimately fulfill important ecosystem services and provide long term solution for the excess sediment management.

Problems of Tourist Mobility in Remote Areas of Natural Value—The Case of the Hajnowka Poviat in Poland and the Zaoneshye Region in Russia

Tourist destinations are often inaccessible due to mobility problems. The purpose of this paper is to identify the mobility problems of tourist destinations in remote areas of natural value. The research was carried out in the following two tourist destinations with the above-mentioned values: in the Zaoneshye Region in Russia and the Hajnówka Poviat, which includes the priceless resources of the Polish part of the Białowieża Forest. The research was conducted using a survey method. Respondents could download the survey questionnaire onto their mobile devices (smartphone, tablet) by scanning a QR code or provide their answers to the questionnaire on paper or to an interviewer, who recorded them in an electronic version. The respondent group consisted of tourists visiting both regions for tourism purposes. The survey was carried out between 2019 and 2021. The results showed that the car is the preferred means of transport in both regions, and that road works are somewhat or completely necessary. Additionally, tourists in the Hajnowka Poviat travel a lot on foot or by bicycle, as there are more cycling and pedestrian paths available. In contrast, tourists visiting the Zaoneshye Region suggest providing more facilities for tourism and better and more efficient communication.

Kryzys gospodarczy, faszyzm i „warstwy pośrednie”. Reakcje polskich socjalistów na zwycięstwo nazizmu w Niemczech

The decline of the democratic Weimar Republic and NSDAP’s rise to power in 1933 caused a huge political uproar, especially among European socialists and social democrats. For many decades German SPD was a role-model for other socialist parties. The German working class was also perceived as the best organized and the most politically educated in all of Europe. Therefore, as Gerd-Reiner Horn noticed in his path-breaking study, the period of about 40 months after the creation of Hitler’s cabinet was a time of extremely intensive (and perhaps most passionate in the interwar period) discussion on strategy and political practice of the European socialist movement. In the following article, the Polish part of this debate is presented in detail. I examine official resolutions and ideological statements of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS), polemic pamphlets, the wide range of comments and political analyses published in socialist press, police reports, etc., in order to address three main issues: 1. in what way the Nazi Party’s rise to power catalyzed the process of radicalization among Polish socialists; 2. what the connection is between socialists’ opinion on the social basis of the German fascist movement and the evolution of their political strategy; 3. to what extent their diagnoses regarding the social basis of fascist movements in general determined their views on the possible evolution of the Nazi regime. I argue that the tragedy of SPD made Polish socialists more sensitive to the role of emotions in political mobilization and urged them to reevaluate some of their previous propaganda techniques. According to the majority of acclaimed socialist intellectuals, fascism was objectively a procapitalist movement, the social basis of which was composed of pauperized and disorientated “middle strata” (e.g. shopkeepers, clerks, artisans, peasants, unemployed youth, etc.). In orthodox Marxism these groups were perceived as declining and deprived of genuine historical agency. But the Nazi rise to power showed that they have immense political potential and their support may be decisive for the result of the clash between socialism and fascism. Thus, the question of how to mobilize the majority of the “middle strata” in favor of socialism became a crucial part of debates among Polish socialists in the mid-1930s. As I argue, different answers for this crucial question determined profound tactical differences and contributed to harsh arguments on PPS’s politics.

Abundance of Live and Dead Bacteriopsammon Inhabiting Sandy Ecosystems of Recreational Marine Beaches of the Southern Baltic Sea

The study was carried out on four non-tidal sandy marine beaches located on the Polish part of the southern Baltic Sea coast. We applied a LIVE/DEAD™ BacLight™ Bacterial Viability Kit (Invitrogen™) method to determine the abundance of live and dead bacteriopsammon. Live psammon bacteria cells constituted 31–53% of the total number of bacteria inhabiting sand of the studied beaches. Abundance of live and dead psammon bacteria generally differed along the horizontal profile in all beaches. The maximum density of bacteria was noted in the dune and the middle part of the beach (dry zones) and the minimum in wet zones, i.e., under seawater surface and at the swash zone. Generally along the vertical profile, the highest numbers of two studied bacterial groups were noted in the surface sand layer, while with increasing sediment depth their numbers significantly decreased. The abundance of live and dead bacteria showed a distinct seasonal variation.