Polish Part Research Articles

New floristic records from the Polish part of the Lithuanian Lakeland (NE Poland)

This paper provides a floristic list of 111 vascular plant species recorded in the Polish part of the Lithuanian Lakeland in 2012-2014, using the ATPOL cartogram method. There are 36 native species, 53 established alien species, and 22 casual alien species. Among the established alien species there are 13 species native to Poland which have no natural geographical range in the Polish part of the Lithuanian Lakeland, and they appear to be kenophytes on a regional scale. 16 species are new to the regional flora. Some of the most interesting are: Amaranthus albus, Anthemis ruthenica, Avena strigosa, Bromus benekenii, Cam­ panula rapunculus, Erysimum hieraciifolium, Nonea pulla, Seseli annuum, Sisymbrium strictissimum, Stachys annua, and Tragopogon dubius.

Lichenometric curves for the Polish part of the Karkonosze and Tatra Mountains established with a new method

Lichenometric curves for the Polish part of the Karkonosze and Tatra Mountains established with a new method

The ‘Tisovik’ reserve of Silver fir in the Belarusian national park ‘Belavezhskaya Pushcha’

Abstract Silver firs (Abies alba Mill.) of natural origin occurring in the Belorussian part of the Białowieża Primeval Forest constitute an enclave situated 120 km to the north-east of a dense fir stand in the Polish part of the forest. In order to protect this population a reserve called ‘Tisovik’ was established. In this study, plant communities occurring in the ‘Tisovik’ reserve were described and its fir population (20 trees) was characterised in terms of its genetic structure.

Occurrence of the fungus Clathrus archeri (Phallaceae) in the Rożnowskie Foothills (Western Carpathians, Poland)

Abstract The paper presents the description of the new site of the expanding fungus Clathrus archeri (Berk.) Dring. in the Polish part of the Carpathians

Application of Ground Penetrating Radar to Identification of Thickness and Structure of Sediments in Postglacial Lakes, Illustrated with an Example of the Mały Staw Lake (The Karkonosze Mountains)

AbstractThis paper has been aimed at demonstrating the applicability of the ground penetrating radar to acquiring basic information on lake sediments and geomorphological conditions of their deposition in the basin of Mały Staw lake. The lake area is one of the most comprehensively studied part of the Polish part of the Karkonosze Mountains. The application of radar soundings enabled a fast and environmentally friendly verification as well as updating the results of previous research on the thickness and structure of the sediments of this glacial lake. Mały Staw lake is formed at the postglacial depression in the granite bedrock. The bottom of the lake is composed of limnic deposits of the maximum thickness reaching up to 15 m. The postglacial formations occurring below them probably contain a buried moraine of the youngest recessional phase. Solid rock is located about 25 meters beneath the current bottom of the lake.

ZASTOSOWANIE WSKAŹNIKA BPL DO OCENY STANU BIOZANIECZYSZCZENIA POLSKIEJ CZĘŚCI ZALEWU WIŚLANEGO

This paper presents biopollution assessment results with respect to macrozoobenthic non-indigenous species in the Polish part of the Vistula Lagoon. A biopollution level index (BPL) was applied and evaluated based on the studies on macrozoobenthos conducted in 2010 and 2012 within the frame of several individual projects. Overall 15 macrozoobenthic species were identified, 5 of which were aquatic alien species: Marenzelleria neglecta, Rhitropanopeus harrissi, Potamopyrgus antipodarum, Dreissena polymorpha and Rangia cuneata. According to the applied criteria the Vistula Lagoon was moderately influenced by invasive species.

Mowa potoczna Zaolzian

The paper was prepared on the basis of field research performed in July 2013. The study included children and young people from Polish minority schools in the Czech part of Cieszyn Silesia. The aim of the research was to verify some of the widespread statements (myths) on the current linguistic situation in this region. Following the analysis of the authentic texts, the authors came to the following conclusions: 1) local colloquial speech is not exactly the same as the traditional Silesian dialect; 2) it differs clearly from informality (Polish colloquial speech) used in the Polish part of Cieszyn Silesia. The paper includes four phonetic transcriptions of texts recorded during the research (Appendixes 1–4).

Zaleganie pokrywy śnieżnej i jego zmienność w polskiej części Sudetów i na ich przedpolu

Zaleganie pokrywy śnieżnej i jego zmienność w polskiej części Sudetów i na ich przedpolu

Small-sized <i>Trochammina</i> assemblages in deep-water Eocene flysch deposits (Outer Carpathians, Poland) and their palaeoecological implications

Abstract. The global climate change in the early Eocene contributed significantly to the turnover of benthic foraminifera. A major extinction within agglutinated and calcareous forms and the occurrence of opportunistic assemblages resulted. The Trochammina material described here belongs to these post-crisis assemblages. Foraminiferal assemblages with numerous Trochammina species are identified within deep-water Eocene deposits of the Polish part of the Outer Carpathians. Trochammina reach up to 80% of the assemblages, the remainder consists of cosmopolitan agglutinated foraminifera, mainly Bathysiphon, Recurvoides, Paratrochamminoides and Trochamminoides. The low biodiversity (average number of species 24, of genera 15) and the presence of dwarf forms are the main characteristics of the assemblages. These assemblages occur predominantly in shales with numerous organic traces (lower Hieroglyphic beds), deposited in the Silesian Basin (Outer Carpathians) which was on the northern margin of the western Tethys Ocean during the early Eocene (Ypresian, c. 50 Ma). The Trochammina biofacies developed in the Silesian Basin after the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum crisis, and is dominated by opportunistic forms, mainly represented by mobile epifauna and shallow-water infauna, interpreted as a recolonizing assemblage in a low energy environment.

Magnetic polarity of Upper Triassic sediments of the Germanic Basin in Poland

Palaeomagnetic results are presented for 205 samples of cores from the Ksiąz Wielkopolski IG-2, Woźniki K1 and Patoka 1 wells, drilled in the Polish part of Germanic Basin. The magnetic polarity stratigraphy is based on the inclination of the characteristic remanent magnetization, isolated in 60% of the total samples and found to be in general agreement with the expected Late Triassic inclination at the sampling sites. A total of 22 magnetozones from the integration of the three records correspond to about 25% of the published polarity zones for the Upper Triassic sediments that were combined in the worldwide composite polarity-time scale. The magne- tic polarity pattern, defined for the Schilfsanstein, fits very well with the one defined in the Tethys area for the upper part of the Julian sub-stage. According to the magnetostratigraphic data, the uppermost part of the Upper Gypsum Beds (equivalent to the Ozimek Member of the redefined Grabowa Formation) and the lowermost part of the Patoka Member, containing the Krasiejow bone-breccia horizon, can be correlated with the latest Tuvalian (~228.5 Ma) or with the middle part of Lacian (~225 Ma). However, if the “Long-Tuvalian” option for the Late Triassic Time Scale is taken into consideration, the parts of these substages mentioned above should be correlated with ~221.5 Ma and ~218.5 Ma, respectively.

Significance of pressure solution structures analysis for fluid flow studies – examples from Struga-1 well (Zechstein Main Dolomite; W Poland) : first results

The abstract studies the role of pressure solution structures i.e. stylolites and solution seams for fluid flow in dolomites from the Polish part of the Zechstein Main Dolomite (Ca2). The internal structure and composition of them may influence petroleum generation and migration.

Patients with heart failure and concomitant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease participating in the Heart Failure Pilot Survey (ESC-HF Pilot) - Polish population.

IntroductionThere is an increasing interest in comorbidities in heart failure patients. Data about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the Polish population of heart failure (HF) patients are scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment differences and outcome according to COPD occurrence in the Polish population of patients participating in the ESC-HF Pilot Survey Registry.Material and methodsWe analyzed the data of 891 patients with HF recruited in 2009–2011 in Poland: 648 (72.7%) hospitalized patients and 243 (27.3%) patients included as outpatients.ResultsThe COPD was documented in 110 (12.3%) patients with HF in the analyzed population. Patients with – compared to those without COPD were older, more often smokers, had higher NYHA class, and higher prevalence of hypertension. Ejection fraction (EF) was higher in hospitalized patients with COPD compared to patients without COPD (40.5 ±14.6% vs. 37.2 ±13.7%, p < 0.04), without a significant difference in the outpatient group. There was a significant difference in β-blocker use between patients with and without COPD (81.8% vs. 94.7%, p < 0.0001). Most patients received them below target doses. At the end of the 12-month follow-up, there was no significant difference in mortality between COPD and no-COPD patients (10.9% vs. 11.1%, p = 0.66).ConclusionsThe findings from the Polish part of the ESC-HF registry indicate that COPD in patients with HF is associated with older age, smoker status, hypertension and higher NYHA class. The use of β-blockers was significantly lower in patients with than without COPD. There were no significant differences in mortality between groups.

Osady paleogeńskie w polskiej części niecki żytawskiej – nowe światło na problem wieku zapadliska tektonicznego

PALEOGENE DEPOSITS IN THE POLISH PART OF THE ZITTAU BASIN – NEW LIGHT ON THE AGE OF THE TECTONIC DEPRESSION Abstract. The aim of the study was to identify and examine the Cenozoic strata in the southeastern margin of the Zittau Basin (Ohoe Rift) at the crossborder of Poland, Czech Republic and Germany, and to determine the age of the sedimentary and volcanic rocks related to synsedimentary volcanic events. The Opolno Zdroj PIG-1 borehole, located near the village of Markocice, reached a depth of 200.0 m b.g.l. and it was stopped in the crystalline basement of the Zittau Basin, piercing the whole sedimentary series together with the volcanites. A number of sedimentological and lithological studies and laboratory examinations have been performed on samples taken from drill cores. They included (1) a mineralogical/ petrographic study of volcanic rocks and absolute age determination using the K-Ar method (three samples from the borehole and one reference sample from a neraby outcrop) and (2) research of pollen-spore and phytoplankton assemblages from a layer of lignite-bearing sediments lying below the volcanic rocks (six samples). This work determined the age of the covering volcanic rocks at the 24.9–32.7 million years BP, and therefore, the lignite-bearing rocks may have been deposited no later than the Late Oligocene. Although the results of palynological studies did not allow detailed determination of the age of the sedimentary rocks lying below the volcanites, but the superposition of the latter shows evidently that they are older than the Late Oligocene. They could not have been deposited later than in the Early Oligocene and are probably a stratigraphic equivalent of the Turoszow Formation. Thus, the results move the beginning of sedimentation of the coal-bearing layers in the basin Zittau Basin at least to the Late Paleogene.

Abundance and distribution of larval herring, Clupea harengus (Actinopterygii: Clupeiformes: Clupeidae) in the Pomeranian Bay, Baltic Sea as an indicator of spawning sites

Herring, Clupea harengus Linnaeus, 1758, is one of the most important fish species in the Baltic Sea ecosystem. In the Polish part of the Baltic, it spawns along the entire Polish coast, predominantly in the Gdansk and Pomeranian bays, and in the Vistula Lagoon (Popiel 1955, Strzyzewska 1969, Fey 2001, Krasovskaya 2002). Baltic herring predominantly occurs in two forms depending on the spawning period. These are spring-spawning and fallspawning herring (Parmanne et al. 1994). Although spawning in the Pomeranian Bay occurs particularly in spring, some autumn spawning is noted in the area as well. For assessment purposes, a spatial stock separation based on ICES subdivisions (SD) is implemented. Five stocks are distinguished in the Baltic Sea (Anonymous 2012). Variable mixing of stocks is frequent due to migrations, for example between the spawning and feeding grounds. In the southern Baltic, two stocks are present: western Baltic spring-spawning herring (WBSSH; ICES Division IIIa and SDs 22–24), and central Baltic herring (CBH; ACTA ICHTHYOLOGICA ET PISCATORIA (2014) 44 (4): 309–317 DOI: 10.3750/AIP2014.44.4.05

Flow and sediment size variability near gravel bars in the Beskidy Mountains in the Polish Carpathians

The purpose of the paper is to identify differences in hydraulic conditions in the areas closest to already-developed gravel bars situated in a small, mountain stream in the area of the Polish part of the Carpathian Mountains. Basic hydraulic parameters of flowing water, including velocity, shear stress, Froude number, Reynolds number and flow resistance coefficient were examined within the region of two different gravel bars in a mountain stream. At the same time, sediment samples were drawn from the riverbed in the area in which the hydraulic measurements were taken. After analysing the data, several conclusions were presented concerning sedimentation of gravel and hydraulic parameters within the cross section of a mountainous stream. The study was undertaken on Skawica-Jalowiecki Stream in the Polish part of the Carpathian Mountains called the Beskidy Mountains.

Spatial variability of close-to-primeval Fagus–Abies–Picea forests in the Western Carpathians (Central Europe): a step towards a generalised pattern

The research objective was to provide a generalised model of spatial variation in the basal area of live and dead trees in primeval beech–fir–spruce forests in the Western Carpathians region. The study was carried out in three primeval stands located in the Polish part of the massif. In each research area, small sample plots (0.015 ha) were localised in a regular 20 × 20 m grid covering approximately 10 ha. In each sample plot, the diameters at breast height (d 1.3) and species of all live and dead trees were recorded. The spatial pattern was tested statistically using a variance-to-mean ratio on a single sample plot scale (0.015 ha) and a paired-plot approach for the distance range between 20 and 200 m. Simulation techniques were then used to model variation in the basal area of live and dead trees dependent on spatial scale. The spatial patterns of live and dead canopy trees (d 1.3 > 50 cm) were regular when analysed on a single sample plot scale (0.015 ha) but most often random at distance lags ≥20 m. The spatial variability in the basal area of live and dead trees also tended to be random. These results suggest that the patch-mosaic assumption is inapplicable to the primeval beech–fir–spruce stands in the Western Carpathians. In all three stands studied, the basal area recorded on the plots 0.015 ha in area had a very similar pattern of variation, which could be generalised as either a truncated normal distribution (live trees) or a negative exponential distribution (dead trees). The bell-shaped frequency distribution of the basal area of live trees suggests a dynamics model in which extreme values of biomass accumulation are rare and disturbances frequent but quickly balanced by stand increment.

Oil industry in the carpathian area — an outline history, current state and development prospects

The article presents an outline history, current state and development prospects of oil industry of the Carpathian area in Poland as compared to the Carpathian petroleum province. Polish part of The Carpathian Flysch Belt is considered to be a cradle of oil industry, the beginnings of which are related to mass distillation of oil and its industrial extraction. After dynamic development at the turn of 19th and 20th centuries there was a period of regression, which lasts till the present day. It was related to the exhaustion of old deposits and lack of discovery of the new ones. The prospects of further development of the industry depend on identifying deeper beds of the Carpathian orogen and of eastern and southern part of the Carpathian Foredeep, and on the development of exploration and extraction methods of the so-called unconventional deposits of hydrocarbons.

The influence of environmental factors and management methods on the vegetation of mesic grasslands in a central European mountain range

We examined how environmental factors combined with the diverse ways of the extensive management of mesic mountain grasslands affect species composition and diversity in the Polish part of Central Sudetes Mts. Based on the data from 100 research plots altitude, organic matter content and exchangeable magnesium in the soil, as well as the maximum soil water capacity and amount of sand fraction significantly affected species composition. Among the management methods, a significant effect on the differentiation of species composition was observed following the cessation of usage and mowing. Mown meadows had the highest share of forbs in the biomass, whereas those abandoned ones were dominated by tall and expansive grasses, mainly Calamagrostis epigejos. The species richest grasslands occurred in areas with soils of high water capacity, containing high concentrations of calcium and low amounts of total nitrogen. No significant effect of management methods on the total number of species as well as on the number of forb species was observed. Mown pastures had the highest mean value of the Shannon–Wiener diversity index.

Tree rings as an indicator of atmospheric pollutant deposition to subalpine spruce forests in the Sudetes (Southern Poland)

In spite of their moderate altitude (1000–1600ma.s.l.), the Western Sudety Mountains belong to areas with the most efficient fog precipitation in Europe. Intense industrial activity in the area of windward western foothills caused an exceptional intensification of atmospheric pollutant deposition via precipitation and fog to take place since the 1950s. In the second half of the 1970s a massive spruce forest dieback began affecting around 42% of coniferous forest in the Polish part of the Sudety Mountains. As the result of emission abatement in the region, gradual improvement of forest health status has been observed in the last decade. In October 2010 there were 70 dendrochronological samples collected from Norway spruce (Picea abies) stems at 7 different locations using an increment borer. It was documented for six sites that lowest annual growth rates took place between the early eighties and the early nineties which coincides with the highest pollutant deposition rates. Only one site representing the lowest parts of leeward slope showed gradual decrease of tree rings as a result of increasing tree age rather than due to an increase in ecological stress conditions. Tree ring widths were then compared with spatial distribution of fog frequency in the Western Sudety Mountains. The achieved results document a strongly negative dependence of tree ring widths on fog deposition rates. Spruce forest ecosystems have an ability to respond quickly to both negative and positive stimuli, related to increasing and decreasing environmental contamination.

The spatial production of a border-crossing civil society in Görlitz and Zgorzelec. A German point of view

Abstract After decades of uncertainty and continuous change to the border regime since the split-up of Görlitz into a German part west of the river Neisse, and a Polish part called Zgorzelec after the Second World War, both towns established the self-designated European City Görlitz-Zgorzelec in 1998. Although journalists and politicians maintain that Görlitz and Zgorzelec are a case model for European integration, there are obvious differences between the visions connected to the project ‘European City’ and the everyday life. Following the key research question, whether the ‘European City Görlitz-Zgorzelec’, in its attempts to develop a border-crossing civil society, is also constructed from below by citizens on both sides of the border, my contribution to the field of border studies uses a qualitative micro-level approach to these processes in the fields of culture, leisure and education. For that aim, an ethnographically inspired socio-geographical research design has been linked to Henri Lefebvre’s theoretical framework of the double triad of spatial production developed in The Production of Space (1991). From the perspective of actors in civil society in both towns, who are active in constructing, shifting and deconstructing borders, the article aims to illuminate both territorial and social bordering processes. Borderwork is embedded in and connected to transformation and peripheralisation processes, as well as to the discourses on and the funding instruments of European Integration in the context of the complex history of the Polish-German border.