Western Part Of Poland Research Articles

Assessment of Climate Change Impact on Flood Hazard Zones

AbstractThere have been many destructive pluvial and fluvial floods in Poland and the projection of increasing flood hazards in the future is a reason of considerable concern. The maps of river hazard zones are changing over time, and understanding these changes is of primary importance for flood risk reduction and climate change adaptation. This article aims to assess the impact of climate change on the spatial extent and depth classes of flood hazard zones for a selected reach of the River Warta in the western part of Poland. To this end, we integrated the Soil & Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological model of the Warta River Basin with the 1D hydraulic model HEC-RAS of the selected reach. The climate change effect was quantified based on the coupled model simulations forced with bias-corrected projections from the EURO-CORDEX project. Flood hazard maps were developed for two townships along the River Warta (Oborniki and Wronki), three greenhouse gas concentration scenarios (one for the baseline scenario in the reference period, 1971–2000; one for RCP 4.5 and one for RCP 8.5, for the time horizon 2021–2050) and for three return periods (10-, 100- and 500-year floods). Based on the ensemble mean, the increase in the flooded area projected in the future is more pronounced for RCP8.5 than for RCP4.5. This unique combination of software and data enabled the transformation of climate change impact into the land surface part of the hydrological cycle and assessment of changes in flood hazard and opens the way to assess the potential increases in the economic losses in the future.

Wood Quality of Pendulate Oak on Post-Agricultural Land: A Case Study Based on Physico-Mechanical and Anatomical Properties

Oak is one of the most economically important hardwood tree species in Europe, and its prevalence will increase due to progressing global climate change, according to predictive models. With the increasing demand for timber and with the need for a balance between carbon emissions and sequestration, it is essential to address the afforestation of agricultural land. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate the physico-mechanical properties and anatomical structure of pendulate oak (Quercus robur L.) wood—specifically focusing on the trunk’s cross-section—in post-agricultural areas compared with the forest land in the western part of Poland. Wood density, bending strength, modulus of elasticity, and other parameters were analyzed from 1626 wood samples. The analysis of physico-mechanical properties reveals that, historically, agricultural land use has an almost negligible impact on wood quality. Despite significant differences in small vessel diameter and fiber length favoring trees from post-agricultural land, the physico-mechanical properties remain consistent. Large vessel measurements show comparable diameter and length in both land types. These findings suggest that post-agricultural land can serve as an effective alternative for high-quality pendulate oak wood production for industrial purposes. However, wood from post-agricultural land may exhibit a decrease in modulus of rupture by over 30% and potentially lower density above the trunk’s halfway point. This observation hints at the fact that oak trees in post-agricultural areas could be cultivated in shorter rotation periods compared to forest land.

Time perspective and attitudes towards preventive mastectomy

Introduction and objective: Breast cancer is considered to be the most common cancer among women and a significant challenge for prevention. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the time perspective (focus on the past, present or future) and attitudes towards prophylactic mastectomy as one of the methods of breast cancer prevention available in healthy people who are predisposed to the disease because of factors including mutations in the BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 genes. Materials and methods: The study was conducted from June to July 2019 and included only women over 18 years old. The project was implemented in public and generally accessible spaces in the western part of Poland. The Temporal Perspective Inventory by Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd in the Polish adaptation by Aneta Przepiórka and the author’s Anonymous Questionnaire for Respondents were used for the analysis, with a view to deepening the knowledge about the subjective life situation of the respondents and their awareness in the field of cancer prevention, and identifying their attitudes related to preventive mastectomy. Results: The results of the study revealed that the level of knowledge of the surveyed women increased with an increase in their positive orientation to the past and future. It was noted that time orientations differed depending on the presence of cancer in the family of the examined woman. Women with a negative focus on the past were slightly more ready to undergo prophylactic mastectomy. Conclusions: It seems reasonable to include the diagnosis of women’s individual temporal perspectives in the development of personalised programs and activities in the fields of oncological prevention and social psychoeducation.

Spatial Differentiation of Agricultural Biomass Potential in Polish Voivodeships

The main aim of the article is to assess the potential of agricultural biomass and the possibility of its use for energy purposes in Polish voivodeships. Five sources of agricultural biomass were analyzed: straw, hay, waste wood from orchards, perennial energy crops, and natural fertilizers. For the purposes of the research, the theoretical and technical potential of agricultural biomass was estimated. The potential of agricultural biomass was estimated for Polish voivodeships based on the data of the 2020 Agricultural Census. The conducted research shows that Polish voivodeships have a significant theoretical potential for agricultural biomass. However, due to the fact that biomass is widely used in plant production (as a natural fertilizer) and animal production (as fodder or bedding), only about 40% of the identified theoretical potential can be used for energy purposes. The research also shows that the dominant source of agricultural biomass that can be used in Poland is straw from cereal crops. Moreover, a significant part of the identified potential is located in the western part of Poland (Wielkopolskie, Dolnośląskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Zachodniopomorskie voivodships) and partly in the east (Lubelskie voivodship). Although the possibility of using natural fertilizers for energy purposes has not been identified, the theoretical potential of which is very high, an increase in the importance of renewable energy from agricultural biogas plants should be expected in the near future. This is due to the changes taking place in the storage and management of natural fertilizers.

Nowe stanowiska Evernia divaricata (L.) Ach. w zachodniej Polsce

A new locality of a rare fruticose lichen species Evernia divaricata in the western part of Poland was found in the vicinity of two cities: Gubin and Twardogóra. Single specimens of this epiphytic lichen, grew on larch and birch. The thalli were healthy and well developed. Evernia divaricata is under strict legal protection and considered an endangered species in Poland (the CR category in the „Red List of Polish Lichens”). In the last dozen or so years, over a dozen new localities of E. divaricata have been found in the country, which usually grew in the company of other lichens very sensitive to air pollution, e.g. from the genus Usnea. These taxa are a testimony to the increasing process of recolonization.

Effect of Water Level Reduction on the Littoral Zone in Terms of Its Efficiency in Lake Protection

Decreased water levels due to climate change cause many negative effects on lake ecosystems. The aim of this study was to (a) assess the effect of the reduction of water levels on nutrient availability in the sediment in the littoral zone; (b) evaluate the effect of changes in water level on biomass productivity and nutrient concentrations in the aboveground biomass of four emergent species: Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud., Typha angustifolia L., Carex acutiformis L., Glyceria maxima (C. Hartm.) Holmb; and (c) assess the efficiency of the littoral zone in the reduction of nutrient pollution. The study hypothesis was that water level reduction has a positive effect on the plant biomass of high productive species. The study was carried out in the littoral zone of Tomickie Lake, situated in the western part of Poland. This lake is located in the protected area—the buffer zone of Wielkopolska National Park, and at the international level—Natura 2000. Six transects, perpendicular to the shoreline, were selected at two subzones—permanently and seasonally flooded. Analyses of nutrient concentrations in sediments and plant species were performed. The results show the higher productivity of reeds in the zone where water occurs seasonally at the site through the year, which reached 1193 g dry weight/m2. The decline of the water level may lead to the increased growth of highly productive species as emergent vegetation with a broad ecological scale in terms of nutrient concentrations and changes of water depth, i.e., Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. Species that prefer growth in the deeper part of the lake will be characterized by lower productivity, despite the high availability of nutrients. Changes in the availability of nutrients may cause the intensification of lake overgrowth by very productive species, which may affect biodiversity, which is particularly high in protected areas.

Current Problems of Forest Protection (25–27 October 2022, Katowice Poland)

Forestry is one of the sectors particularly affected by the threats posed by changing climatic conditions. This is reflected in the deterioration of the health status of stands due to the synergistic effect of numerous abiotic and biotic factors. Current forest health problems are due to dynamic, negative changes in the forest environment. While the amount of precipitation remains at a similar level, its distribution varies throughout the year and, in particular, the lack of soil moisture during the growing season leads to the weakening of trees, including the main forest-forming species in Poland such as Pinus sylvestris. The weakening of trees, in turn, leads to species of insect pests that were previously considered secondary becoming primary pests, such as Ips acuminatus. It is likely that weakening of trees also favours increased occurrence of parasitic plants such as Viscum album ssp. austriacum or Loranthus europaeus. Infestations of the hemiparasitic, xylem-secreting pine mistletoe are of great interest because they are spreading rapidly throughout Europe. Drought in forests is not only a long-term water shortage, but also a situation in which plant-fungal relationships are disrupted. Reduced water availability leads to a number of negative changes in the soil and the mycobiota that live there, affecting entire ecosystems. The effects of climate change and increased international trade are leading to the spread of pathogenic fungi and other harmful organisms whose range was previously restricted to the south of our continent. Unfavourable abiotic and biotic factors leading to weakening of oak stands in the western part of Poland have resulted in activation of new pests like Mediterranean oak borer. Intensification of transport and shortening of its duration, as well as climatic changes, favour the introduction of various organisms, including bark beetles (Scolytinae). In Poland, cyclic insect outbreaks are one of the most important problems in forest protection. Developing methods to monitor, prevent outbreaks and control the density of insect populations below harmful levels can be a challenge to consider. Finding an innovative system for applying insecticides to control spruce bark beetle could also be an interesting solution, where insects attracted to pheromones die after contact with the insecticide. Contact with the insecticide has a dual effect: either directly when the tree is treated, or when the bark beetle attempts to invade the tree. Opportunities for the use of biostimulants in forestry and is an attractive way to regenerate plants after negative stressors such as frost, drought or damage caused by improper use of pesticides, as well as the negative effects of diseases and pests. It acts indirectly by stimulating leaf, stem and root development and improving nutrient uptake. The effects of chemical treatments on fungal biodiversity in forests should be studied using powerful molecular tools such as NGS.

Heavy metals in lake surface sediments in protected areas in Poland: concentration, pollution, ecological risk, sources and spatial distribution

This paper presents the state and spatial distribution of surface sediment contamination of 77 lakes in Poland by Cr, Ni, Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cu. The analyzed lakes were located within a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union (EU). Spatial distribution of the heavy metals (HMs), factors favoring the delivery/accumulation of HMs in surface sediments, and pollution sources were analyzed. The results indicate the contamination of lake sediments by HMs, but the potentially toxic effects of HMs are only found in single lakes. The spatial distribution of Cr indicates predominant impacts of point sources, while for Pb, Ni, and Zn, the impact of non-point sources. The analysis showed the presence of areas with very high values of particular HMs (hot spots) in the western part of Poland, while a group of 5 lakes with very low values of Ni, Pb, and Zn (cold spots) was identified in the central part of Poland. Principal component analysis showed that presence of wetlands is a factor limiting HMs inflow to lakes. Also, lower HMs concentrations were found in lake surface sediments located in catchments with a higher proportion of national parks and nature reserves. Higher HMs concentrations were found in lakes with a high proportion of Special Protection Areas designated under the EU Birds Directive. The positive matrix factorization analysis identified four sources of HMs. High values of HMs concentrations indicate their delivery from industrial, urbanized, and agricultural areas. However, these impacts overlap, which disturbs the characteristic quantitative profiles assigned to these pollution sources.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the SED-BIO System in Reducing the Inflow of Selected Physical, Chemical and Biological Pollutants to a Lake

The aim of this study was to assess the efficiency of the innovative SED-BIO system in limiting the inflow of pollutants to Jelonek Lake. The analyses were conducted in the Gniezno Lake District in Greater Poland (the western part of Poland). Physical and chemical analyses were conducted in the years 2016–2019. The results demonstrate that the system is highly effective in the reduction of such nutrients as nitrogen (NO3−—63%; NH4+—14.9%) and phosphorus (PO43−—19.3%). Although the presence of cyanobacteria was confirmed practically throughout the whole monitoring period of the system (2016), the specimens found in most samples were not toxigenic genotypes with a potential to produce microcystins. Microcystins (3 µg·L−1) were detected only once, immediately after the SED-BIO system had been installed in the river and pond, which demonstrates that this natural toxin was eliminated from the additional pool of contaminants that might be transported to Jelonek Lake.

Sheep mastitis caused by staphylococci and streptococci and their influence on oxidative status

Article Details: Received: 2020-10-14 | Accepted: 2020-11-27 | Available online: 2021-01-31 https://doi.org/10.15414/afz.2021.24.mi-prap.53-57 Abstract The objectives of this study were to determine the relationship of oxidative product levels, using malondialdehyde (MDA) as a marker on occurrence of mastitis and its causing pathogens in two dairy flocks of ewes situated in east and north of Slovakia. The diagnosis of mastitis was performed on the basis of clinical examination of the udder, macroscopic evaluation of milk, with the evaluation of Californian mastitis test (CMT) and bacteriological analysis of individual raw milk samples. From total 537 and 444 halves ewe’s milk samples were 16.6% and 23.2% positive to CMT, respectively. The prevalence of mastitis caused by bacterial pathogenes in the monitored herds was 14.3% to 19.1%, respectively. In all monitored sheep flocks were confirmed predominantly subclinical forms (SM) of intramammary infection (IMI). The highest of etiological agents in all monitored herds had coagulase negative staphylococci and coagulase positive staphylococci especially Staphylococcus aureus . Except for staphylococci were Streptococcus uberis and Streptococcus spp. most frequently pathogens isolated from mastitic sheep. The highest MDA level was observed from clinical cases of mastitis however, increased MDA levels were detectable from subclinical cases. Bacterial isolates from mastitc halves milk samples are different in levels of MDA. In this study, we found that milk samples infected with S. aureus were higher compared to other pathogens. In conclusion, differences in both severities of IMI and mastitis pathogens were associated with differences of MDA in infected udders. Keywords: sheep, milking, mastitis, lipid peroxidation, S. aureus , coagulase negative staphylococci References Contreras, A. et al. (2007). Mastitis in small ruminants. Small Ruminant Research, 68(1-2), 145–153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2006.09.011 Fthenakis, G. C. (1995). California mastitis test and White side test in diagnosis of subclinical mastitis of dairy ewes. Small Ruminant Research , 16(3), 271–276. https://doi.org/10.1016/0921-4488(95)00638-2 Hariharan, H. et al. (2004). Bacteriology and somatic cell counts in milk samples from ewes on a Scottish farm. Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research, 68(3), 188–192. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1142138/ Malinowski, E. et al. (2008). Etiological agents of dairy cows’ mastitis in western part of Poland. Polish Journal of Veterinary Sciences, 9(3), 191-194. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17020014/ Mork, T. et al. (2007). Clinical mastitis in ewes; bacteriology, epidemiology and clinical features. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica , 49(1), 23. https://dx.doi.org/10.1186%2F1751-0147-49-23 Pyorala, S. and Taponen, S. (2009). Coagulase-negative staphylococci - Emerging mastitis pathogens. Veterinary Microbiology , 34(2), 3–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2008.09.015 Sharma, N. (2011). Oxidative stress and antioxidant status during transition period in dairy cows. Asian-Australian Journal of Animal Science , 24(4), 479–484. https://www.ajas.info/upload/pdf/24-58.pdf Suriyasathaporn, W. (2006). Higher somatic cell counts resulted in higher malondialdehyde concentrations in raw cow´s milk. International Dairy Journal, 16(9), 1088–1091. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idairyj.2005.11.004 Turk, R. et al. (2017). The role of oxidative stress and inflammatory response in the pathogenesis of mastitis in dairy cows. Mljekarstvo, 67(2), 91–101. https://doi.org/10.15567/mljekarstvo.2017.0201

Dwa kościoły. Budownictwo kultowe w międzywojennych Niemczech jako przestrzeń modernistycznych eksperymentów

The time between WW I and II was a period of intensive development of church architecture in Germany. In the new situation after the defeat in WW I on the wave of Christian renewal movements, the concept of the church as a building corresponding to its functions, as an object expressing the character of religion and the vision of a congregation as a community in modern society was re -formulated. The dynamically developing church architecture was an area of intense experiments (especially in the 1920s.), creating new forms, as well as devising new iconography by Rudolf Schwartz, Otto Bartning, or Dominikus Böhm. The paper draws attention to a certain community of the main antagonized Christian and Protestant denominations on the example of two buildings erected on the eastern periphery of the then Germany (from 1945 constituting the western part of Poland): the Catholic Church of St Anthony in Schneidemühl (now: Piła, Hans Herkommer, 1928–1930) and the Protestant Cross-Church in Stettin (now: Szczecin, Adolf Thesmacher, 1929–1931). The first was built in a small town as a representative seat of the Prelature, a branch of the Catholic Church in the Protestant region, near the then border with (revived again) Poland. The building is a continuation of an innovative and conservative concept realized by Herkommer at the Frauenfriedenskirche in Frankfurt am Main (1927–1929), and is a testimony to the search for forms expressing the rationalist aspirations for the renewal of the Catholic Church, however without abandoning the main principles of the Tradition. For this purpose, Herkommer applies ‘industrial’ forms used in the Bauhaus circle, creating a clearly avant-garde building: not only in the local context of a small border town of eastern Germany, but also in the Catholic tradition of sacred architecture. Hiring an avant-garde architect and using modernist forms was the decision of one man: Monsignor Maximilian Kaller, the leader of the Prelature. The Church of the Cross in Szczecin was raised in a luxurious district of a great Protestant city, so it was the parish church of the Protestant elite. Although built of brick and clearly referring to the tradition of the Gothic architecture of this region, the Church of the Cross also reveals its striving for the maximum reduction of forms and the use of the language of abstraction. When building a Protestant church, Thesmacher resorted to forms applied primarily in Catholic architecture, especially to the forms used by Herkommer. Thesmacher created a facility expressing attachment to the local tradition and manifesting the modernity of the Evangelical church in Pomerania. As a result, both churches are a testimony to functionalist aspirations, although, of course, the functions differed from those on which, for example, the founders of the Bauhaus were focused.

Regional Structure of Tractor Market in Poland

Abstract There are ca 1,492 thousand tractors currently used in Poland, with the average power of 45.3 kW. There are 9.8 ha of agricultural land per one tractor, their average age is ca 25 years and the degree of wear 77%. There are between 20 to 30 thousand tractors newly registered per year, however, these are both new and used tractors imported from abroad. These new registrations, which also reflect new purchases, are diverse depending on the region. Based on the 2018 records of the Central Register of Vehicles and Drivers (CEPiK), the paper establishes essential parameters of the registered tractors, such as price, power, age, depending on the region. There were 25,422 records under analysis, as some of the original records were dismissed as errors after verification. It was established that in the western part of Poland, with farms twice or three times bigger than in the rest of the country, the purchased tractors were characterized by higher power and lower age and, consequently, higher prices (81-95 kW, 14-18 years, PLN168-186 thousands). In contrast, the tractors in south-east Poland, where the dominant farms are of agricultural land below 10 ha, had worse parameters (76-86 kW, 14-18 years, PLN76-86 thousands).

Analysis of Corylus pollen season in Poland in 2020

In Poland hazel is one of the earliest flowering plants and in phenology it belongs to indicator plants that mark the beginning of early spring. Hazel pollen grains contain allergens that are a cause of pollen allergy during the early spring period. The aim of the present study was to compare Corylus pollen seasons in 2020 in the following 11 cities located in different regions of Poland: Szczecin, Bydgoszcz, Zielona Gora, Wroclaw, Opole, Sosnowiec, Piotrkow Trybunalski, Warsaw, Lublin, Olsztyn, and Bialystok. This research was conducted using the volumetric method and Burkard or Lanzoni pollen samplers. Pollen season duration was determined by the 95% method. This study analyzed the specific parameters of the pollen season (start, end, peak value, peak date, annual total) and also determined the number of days with a concentration exceeding the threshold values at which the first allergy symptoms in people sensitized to hazel pollen and symptoms in all allergic patients occur, respectively. The hazel pollen season in 2020 began relatively early, between January 11th and February 2nd. The season start was recorded earliest in Opole and latest in Olsztyn and Bialystok. The study found that the pollen season started earlier in the western part of Poland than in the eastern regions. The highest maximum Corylus pollen concentration was recorded in Lublin (388 P/m3), whereas the lowest one in Bydgoszcz (48 P/m3). The maximum daily concentration of Corylus pollen grains was recorded in different periods in the individual cities, while the peak concentration values occurred between January 31th and March 4th. The highest risk of allergy in people sensitive to the pollen of this taxon was found in Lublin since the most days with a pollen concentration exceeding the threshold value were observed in this city. Lublin was found to have the highest annual total values and they were 1.6–5.6 times higher than in the other cities. The highest annual pollen sums and peak values as well as the highest number of days with a concentration exceeding the threshold value had also been recorded in Lublin previously.

The materials to determine the eastern range border of acidophilous oak forestCalamagrostio arundinaceae-Quercetum petraeaein Poland – two new stands of the association in the southern part of Mazovian Voivodeship

AbstractAcidophilous oak forestsCalamagrostio arundinaceae-Quercetum petraeae(hartm. 1934 scam. et Pass. 1959) are mostly known from the western part of Poland, while its eastern border has not been determined accurately. in order to address this issue, we performed a phytosociological analysis of two newly identified stands of acidophilous oak forest located in the southern part of the Mazovian Voivodeship near Kiedrzyn (vicinity of Nowe Miasto nad Pilicą) and Mikówka (vicinity of Białobrzegi). For comparison, we also examined the distribution of known patches in the region (Łódź and Mazovian Voivodeships) against this association’s background of the eastern range border.Within the identified sites, a total of 10 phytosociological relevés were taken and soil samples were collected from a depth of 10 cm. the content of organic matter, soil ph and sieving analysis were performed in the laboratory. the phytosociological material was ordered and numerically classified which gave two groups of relevés: typical for this association (seven relevés) and a degenerated form (three relevés), which has an increased share of pine in the stand. All our relevés were similar to acidophilous oak forests from the Wielkopolska region and thus different from oak-pine forests of eastern Poland. habitat conditions of the patches and the bonitation of oak were analogous to patches of this association from other parts of Poland. Furthermore, the sites we studied are located between known locations from the Bolimowska and Kozienicka Forests and are therefore connecting these two previously known areas of occurrence. this indicates that the range of theCalamagrostio-Quercetumassociation is at least a few dozen kilometers wider in this part of the country than the assumed range.

Physical Education and School Sport of the German Minority in Poland in the Interwar Period of the 20th Century

In the interwar period of the 20th century, 30% of the total population of Poland was comprised of national minorities. Among them, the German minority of 740 thousand people played a very prominent role. The Germans lived mainly in the western parts of Poland: Pomeranian, Poznań and Silesian voivodeships, as well as in the district of Lodz. The German community was wealthy and influential thanks to the economic traditions and support provided by the German state. In order to stop the process of polonization, the Germans established and developed numerous forms of economic, cultural and social activity. They were very active in the area of physical culture. Their activities included taking great care of the development of physical education and sport in German schools at both primary and secondary education level. Physical education classes were taught and school sports competitions were organized. Physical education was one of the most popular school subjects and was intended to preserve the “German spirit” among pupils. The majority of German schools had a curriculum in place that included two hours of physical education per week and some of them even four hours of PE classes per week. The best teaching staff and sports facilities were to be found in private schools, especially secondary schools, where physical education and school sports enjoyed a very prominent status.

BgHSt 20, 22 und die Neubürger-Klausel des deutschen Strafanwendungsrechts – ein deutsch-polnischer Fall schreibt Rechtsgeschichte bis heute

In its judgment of the 4th September 1964 the German Federal Court of Justice had to deal with a German-Polish case of murder. The accused persons were members of the German minority in Poland and lived in the Western part of Poland, when German troops occupied that territory in the autumn of 1939. Short after the invasion they killed the members of a Jewish family living in the same territory. Both, the perpetrators as well as the victims were Polish nationals, when the crime was committed. The perpetrators have got the German nationality in the following. It is not clear, whether they have been naturalized by German authorities during WW II, but if not, they were seen as German nationals with the Getting-into-Force of the German Basic Law (Constitution), because they were refugees from Poland to Germany. Therefore, Article 116 § 1 Basic Law naturalized them as German nationals. For the criminal case it was crucial whether the later naturalization can give the German Justice system jurisdiction over a case which happened before the perpetrator has reached the German nationality, as it was (and still is) stated in section 4 (resp. today section 7) of the German Criminal Code. The paper should deal with the implications of this so-called "New Citizenship Clause" and with the circumstances of the case and the following cases at Western German Courts against German people for committing murder in the occupied Polish territories during WWII. Shortly after the named case, the Auschwitz trial started in Frankfurt. On that background, the paper reflects on the situation between West and East Germany as well.

Rola przemysłu spożywczego w gospodarce Polski

The purpose of the work was to indicate the role of food industry enterprises in Poland. The paper presents comparative analyses over time, using the longest time horizon possible in terms of access to data. The work used statistical data published by the Central Statistical Office of Poland and Eurostat. A comparative analysis of the size of the food industry to the size of industrial processing was also used. When determining the physical availability of food that is provided by agriculture and the food industry, agricultural balances were used and the food self-sufficiency ratio calculated (i.e. the relation between domestic production and domestic use). The supply approach was used in line with the theory of industry structure. History confirmed that the agricultural raw material processing industry is more often located in the central and western parts of Poland. The production sold by over 17,000 entities (243 billion) constitutes over 1/5 of sold production of industrial processing. Every sixth employee in industrial processing is employed in the food industry, and their number has increased in recent years to 422,600. Despite the decrease in the number of enterprises, the value of sales of their products is growing, which is influenced partly by increasing production volume. The number and importance of large enterprises is growing. Although they constitute less than 2%, they are responsible for almost 56% of the value of sales, employing 46% of the employees. The phenomenon of food industry concentration has been growing in recent years. The degree of food self-sufficiency is maintained in most products. Apart from a few products, domestic consumption decreases when domestic production increases. The limited absorbency of the internal market, with growing imports, forces food industry companies to develop exports.

Przesiedleńcy ze wschodnich obszarów II Rzeczypospolitej po II wojnie światowej – w relacji podróżnika rowerowego

The author presents three excerpts from the reports of cycling travel in Poland in the years 2008–2011, contained in the “Bicycle Journals”. They contain descriptions of meetings with Poles who, as a result of political change in the areas of eastern Poland after 1945, were forcibly resettled in central, or north-western and western parts of Poland within its current borders. The direct accounts of the participants of the events show the complicated political background of Poland, Europe and the world after the Second World War, as well as the dramatic fate of the individuals.

Forecasting experiences associated with supercells over South-Western Poland on July 7, 2017

On July 7th, 2017 numerous supercells affected the south – western part of Poland. Significant hail, severe wind gusts and one – tornado of estimated F2 intensity on the Fujita scale were reported. Thunderstorms developed in a warm sector within the low pressure trough. Moderate to high – shear and low to moderate buoyant environmental conditions led to rapid formation of supercells. The main aim of the study was to examine meteorological conditions which result in severe storms and to validate their projections in meteorological models. Supercells were detected with the use of the Polish radar system “POLRAD” run by the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management – National Research Institute (IMGW). Additionally, geostationary and polar satellite data were used in the study. The data were provided by NOAA and METEOSAT. Surface and upper air meteorological conditions were obtained from hourly observations from synoptic stations in Poland and atmospheric soundings from Lindenberg, Prague, Wroclaw and Prostejov. High – resolution models AROME, COSMO and the mesoscale model ALARO were analysed. The examination of the radar and satellite data yielded an abundance of sharp and classic severe convection signatures as a bounded weak echo region (BWER), hook echo and radial velocity couplets. The most intensive supercells lasted >2.5 h, with tops reaching 12 km, and reflectivity up to 67 dBz. Operational runs of ALARO, AROME and COSMO showed favourable for severe convection values of instability and wind shear. However, the models incorrectly simulated convection as multicellular and displaced it significantly.

TENDENCIES OF CHANGES IN THE LEVEL OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF NORTHERN POLAND

The aim of the analysis was to determine the trends of changes in the level of economic development in four voivodships: West Pomeranian, Pomeranian, Warmian-Masurian and Podlaskie. The study discusses the genesis of economic development, using the example of countries with oil deposits. The thesis presents the approach of development by Adam Smith, John S. Mill, Paul Krugmann and others. The research was carried out based on secondary data obtained from the Local Data Bank of the Central Statistical Office. The publication applies, among others, an analysis of sources of domestic and foreign literature as well as an index analysis, the results of which were presented in tabular form. For the purpose of this publication, the author used an analysis of sources of domestic and foreign literature as well as an analysis of secondary data expressed in real terms, the results of which have been presented in tabular form. The publication uses current quality data. The assessment of changes in the context of development covered the years 2004-2017. The analyses made indicate an increase in the level of economic development in individual voivodships in the examined period. The research has shown a growing trend in the value of analysed economic values (including GDP per capita). The Pomeranian Voivodship achieved the greatest growth. A divergence in the level of economic growth of voivodships located in eastern and western parts of Poland is visible. The voivodships located at the eastern Polish border, i.e. Warmian-Masurian and Podlaskie, show a significant slowdown, achieving the lowest development parameters.