Wood storage in a wide mountain river: case study of the Czarny Dunajec,Polish Carpathians

Storage of large woody debris in the wide, mountain, Czarny Dunajec River, southern Poland, was investigated following two floods of June and July 2001 with a seven‐year frequency. Within a reach, to which wood was delivered only by bank erosion and transport from upstream, wood quantities were estimated for eighty‐nine, 100 m long, channel segments grouped into nine sections of similar morphology. Results from regression analysis indicated the quantity of stored wood to be directly related to the length of eroded, wooded banks and river width, and inversely related to unit stream power at the flood peak. The largest quantities of wood (up to 33 t ha^?1) were stored in wide, multi‐thread river sections. Here, the relatively low transporting ability of the river facilitated deposition of transported wood while a considerable length of eroded channel and island banks resulted in a large number of trees delivered from the local riparian forest. In these sections, a few morphological and ecological situations led to the accumulation of especially large quantities of wood within a small river area. Very low amounts of wood were stored in narrow, single‐thread sections of regulated or bedrock channel. High stream power facilitated transport of wood through these sections while the high strength of the banks and low channel sinuosity prevented bank retreat and delivery of trees to the channel. Considerable differences in the character of deposited wood existed between wide, multi‐thread channel sections located at different distances below a narrow, 7 km long, channellized reach of the river. Wood deposited close to the downstream end of the channellized reach was highly disintegrated and structured into jams, whereas further downstream well preserved shrubs and trees prevailed. This apparently reflects differences in the distance of wood transport and shows that in a mountain river wider than the height of trees growing on its banks, wood can be transported long distances along relatively narrow, single‐thread reaches but is preferentially deposited in wide, multi‐thread reaches. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Albian and Cenomanian planktic Foraminiferida from the Trawne Beds (Pieniny Klippen Belt,Polish Carpathians)

Eighteen Albian and Cenomanian planktic Foraminiferida from the Pieniny Klippen Belt of Poland are discussed. A local biostratigraphic zonation (six zones) is proposed and certain problems of palaeoecology are reviewed. The lithostratigraphical element is the so-called Trawne Beds, a Cretaceous flysch in the Pieniny Klippen Belt.     

A comparison of results from geomorphological diversity evaluation methods in the Polish Lowland (Toruń Basin and Chełmno Lakeland)

Geomorphological diversity is part of geodiversity. Study and evaluation of geodiversity, including geomorphological diversity, is often conducted in uplands and mountains, despite the fact that lowland areas are of equal importance. This paper evaluates geomorphological diversity in a small area of the Polish Lowland, using a variety of methods that have been applied in recent times for evaluating geodiversity, and presents the results on maps. By comparing these maps and analyzing the correlation coefficients of the results obtained, it was possible to identify the two methods that were best suited to indicating areas with the greatest geomorphological diversity in the lowlands. These two methods are least affected by the choice of elementary fields and data classification methods applied. The study identified the two areas with the greatest relief diversity and showed that they distinctly differ from one another. They demonstrate the major influence of processes, not only on the topographic parameters and landform types, but above all on identifying and defining total geomorphological diversity. These methods, which can be used to identify the areas with the greatest total geomorphological diversity, could readily be used in applied studies relating to abiotic ecosystem services and landscape management.     

New friends in new places: Network formation during the migration process among Poles in the UK

This paper contributes to on-going work that seeks to understand the dynamic nature of immigrant social network formation. We explore three propositions, derived from the literature, that might be expected to characterise the ways in which migrant associational ties evolve during and immediately after arrival in their destination country. Evidence is drawn from 42 interviews conducted between January and December 2008 with predominantly Polish migrants to the UK (28) as well as domestic service providers (14). In agreement with the existing literature on immigrant social network formation we find that weak associational ties between migrants are locally dense and rapidly formed. More surprisingly, we also find that the Poles in our sample from lower socio-economic groups tended to rely heavily upon weak associational ties while higher socio-economic group Poles tended to rely on associations made through their employing institutions. This illustrates the importance of socio-economic status in framing co-ethnic migrant network formation. This is significant because we also find that weak associational ties are not unambiguously beneficial to lower socio-economic group migrants who tend to (have to be) more compromising about, and therefore more compromised by, the social ‘friendships’ that result.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Books Reviewed in this article: Lob Trees in the Wilderness . Clifford and Isabel Ahlgren . Satellite Microwave Remote Sensing . T. D. Allan , ed. Sunbelt Cities: Politics and Growth Since World War II . Richard M. Bernard and Bradley R. Rice , eds. Legacy of Minneapolis: Preservation Amid Change . John R. Borchert , David Gebhard , David Lanegran , and Judith A. Martin . Bloomington, MN: Preparing a Historic Preservation Ordinance. Richard J. Roddewig . The Mountains of Northeastern Tasmania, A Study of Alpine Geomorphology . Nel Caine . Introductory Cartography . John Campbell . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Changing Climate . Manual of Remote Sensing, Second Edition . 2 Vols. Robert N. Colwell , ed.-in-chief; David S. Simonett and John E. Estes , vol. eds. Remote Sensing in Meteorology, Oceanography and Hydrology . A. P. Cracknell , ed. Multidimensional Scaling . Mark L. Davison . Environmental Karst . Percy H. Dougherty , ed. The Urban Environment . Ian Douglas . Geomorphology of Europe . Clifford Embleton , ed. An Introduction to South Asia . B. H. Farmer . Great Geological Controversies . A. Hallam . Hazardous Waste Management: In Whose Backyard? Michalann Harthill , ed. Energy for Subsistence . Margaret Haswell . Perspective on Ratzel's Political Geography . James M. Hunter . Economic Deposits and their Tectonic Setting . Charles S. Hutchison . Energy Risk Assessment . Herbert Inhaber . Discovering the Vernacular Landscape . John Brinckerhoff Jackson . Climate and Energy Systems: A Review of Their Interactions . Jill Jäger . Dilemmas in Regional Policy . Antoni Kuklinski and J. G. Lambooy , eds. California Farmland: A History of Large Agricultural Landholdings . Ellen Liebman . The Spatial Organization of New Land Settlement in Latin America . Jacob O. Maos . Dark Continent: Africa as Seen by Americans . Michael McCarthy . Westport, CT: Climatology: An Introduction . John E. Oliver and John J. Hidore . Columbus, OH: The Geography of Warfare . Patrick O'Sullivan and Jesse W. Miller . The Expanding City. Essays in Honour of Professor Jean Gottmann . John Patten , ed. Scotland's Environment During the Last 30,000 Years . Robert J. Price . Integrated Urban Models . S. H. Putman . Development and the Environmental Crisis: Red or Green Alternatives? Michael Redclift .     

Abiotic typology of Polish lakes

According to the requirements of the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC, all member states of the EU have to establish the typology of their surface waterbodies. The typology is aimed at defining the type-specific reference conditions against which the ecological state of waters can be assessed. The abiotic typology of Polish lakes of an area greater than 50 ha was established based on morphometric, hydrographic and physico-chemical data taken from the Polish national monitoring dataset. The current dataset comprises 749 out of a total of 1042 lakes with an area greater than 50 ha in Poland. Lake types were identified based on a combination of abiotic characteristics of lakes specified in Annex II of the Water Framework Directive such as ecoregions, size, altitude, mean depth, geology and an additional factor – Schindler's ratio. Altogether 13 abiotic lake types were established.     

Crustal structure across the TESZ along POLONAISE''97 seismic profile P2 in NW Poland

The POLONAISE'97 (POlish Lithospheric ONset—An International Seismic Experiment, 1997) seismic experiment in Poland targeted the deep structure of the Trans-European Suture Zone (TESZ) and the complex series of upper crustal features around the Polish Basin. One of the seismic profiles was the 300-km-long profile P2 in northwestern Poland across the TESZ. Results of 2D modelling show that the crustal thickness varies considerably along the profile: 29 km below the Palaeozoic Platform; 35–47 km at the crustal keel at the Teisseyre–Tornquist Zone (TTZ), slightly displaced to the northeast of the geologic inversion zone; and 42 km below the Precambrian Craton. In the Polish Basin and further to the south, the depth down to the consolidated basement is 6–14 km, as characterised by a velocity of 5.8–5.9 km/s. The low basement velocities, less than 6.0 km/s, extend to a depth of 16–22 km. In the middle crust, with a thickness of ca. 4–14 km, the velocity changes from 6.2 km/s in the southwestern to 6.8 km/s in the northeastern parts of the profile. The lower crust also differs between the southwestern and northeastern parts of the profile: from 8 km thickness, with a velocity of 6.8–7.0 km/s at a depth of 22 km, to ca.12 km thickness with a velocity of 7.0–7.2 km/s at a depth of 30 km. In the lowermost crust, a body with a velocity of 7.20–7.25 km/s was found above Moho at a depth of 33–45 km in the central part of the profile. Sub-Moho velocities are 8.2–8.3 km/s beneath the Palaeozoic Platform and TTZ, and about 8.1 km/s beneath the Precambrian Platform. Seismic reflectors in the upper mantle were interpreted at 45-km depth beneath the Palaeozoic Platform and 55-km depth beneath the TTZ.

The Polish Basin is an up to 14-km-thick asymmetric graben feature. The basement beneath the Palaeozoic Platform in the southwest is similar to other areas that were subject to Caledonian deformation (Avalonia) such that the Variscan basement has only been imaged at a shallow depth along the profile. At northeastern end of the profile, the velocity structure is comparable to the crustal structure found in other portions of the East European Craton (EEC). The crustal keel may be related to the geologic inversion processes or to magmatic underplating during the Carboniferous–Permian extension and volcanic activity.     

Bankfull discharge in mountain streams: theory and practice

The results are presented of an investigation of bankfull discharge in two Polish Carpathian streams: Skawica and Krzyworzeka. Existing definitions of river bankfull were reviewed and applied in tests carried out on selected cross‐sections of the streams. The Woodyer method was given special attention, with a correspondingly detailed survey of plants characterizing river benches. Riley's bench index method and the methods of Williams, Wolman, Schumm and Brown, and Woloszyn were tested. The report concludes that bankfull discharge value for a mountain stream should not be reported as a single number, but rather as a range of discharges within which one could expect the bankfull value to lie. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Identifying and Removing the Silences of Roma Culture in Polish School Texts

The Roma are the largest and, some scholars would argue, the most marginalized group in Europe, an observation evident in an examination of school texts for Polish children. Using the concept of the “geographies of silence,” we discuss the nature of text and graphical silences and the reasons behind the paucity of text, photo, and map coverage. We conclude by presenting photos that could be used in future texts to better inform Polish youth about a much-neglected part of their culture.     

The influence of river training on mountain channel changes (Polish Carpathian Mountains)

The purpose of this paper is to explain the influence of river training on channel changes in mountain rivers. Also considered are the causes of failure of different training schemes. The research was conducted on the regulated Mszanka and Porębianka Rivers, belonging to the Raba River drainage basin in the Polish Flysh Carpathian Mountains. Channel mapping carried out in 2004 drew attention to the contemporary morphology of the channels and the development of their dynamic typology. General changes in channel morphometry and land cover were identified by comparing cartographic sources from various years. Archive material from Cracow's Regional Water Management Authority (RZGW) was used to analyse the detailed channel changes caused by each regulation structure. The material consisted of technical designs of individual training works, as well as plans, longitudinal profiles and cross-sections of trained channel reaches. A series of minimum annual water stages at the Mszana Dolna gauging station was used to determine the tendency of channel bed degradation over 53 years. During the first half of the 20th century, the middle and lower courses of the Mszanka and Porębianka Rivers had braided patterns. The slopes, mostly covered with crops, were an important source of sediment delivery to the river channels. Today, both channels are single-threaded, narrow and sinuous. Downcutting is the leading process transforming the channels. They cut down to bedrock along about 60% of their lengths. The main type of channel is an erosion channel, which occurs also in the middle and lower courses of the rivers. The channel sediment deficit is an important cause for river incision. Sediment supply to the channels was reduced after a replacement of crops on the slopes by meadows or forests. Gravel mining has also caused channel downcutting. The rapid channel changes began after 1959, as systematic training was introduced. Channel regulation seems therefore to be a major factor determining channel adjustment. Debris dams and groynes were built before 1980 and these caused the greatest change of channel pattern, increase of channel gradient and magnitude of river incision. After that date the measures mostly involved drop structures. From then on, the rate of downcutting decreased considerably, but has not ceased. The rivers continued to incise until bedrock was exposed or training structures were destroyed. After that, a tendency to lateral migration and local braiding were observed in the deepened channel. The channels displayed a tendency to return to their morphology and dynamic from before the training. The results demonstrate that river training distorts the equilibrium of channel systems. A channel becomes divided into artificial reaches, which later follow different evolutionary patterns. Most training schemes on mountain channels are ineffective in the long term, as river managers seem to consider a channel at a reach scale only. Individual channel reaches, however, are not independent but rather form a system that must be managed at the entire channel scale.