Direct applications in agriculture are among the most prospective development lines of geothermal water and energy. In many countries such uses have already been ongoing. Poland also has suitable natural conditions and geothermal waters’ potential for agricultural development as well as for applications related to agriculture. Moreover, such applications in agriculture – if taking place after earlier use of geothermal waters e.g. for energetic or other purposes – would be the realization of the idea of the closed cycle economy. The first research and development works on geothermal waters and energy applications in agriculture in Poland were carried out in the early 1990s. In recent years this subject has once again sparked a growing interest. The paper presents geothermal water resources potential as well as circumstances, rationale, selected relevant estimations and proposed zones in the country for their uses (as raw material and heat source) in the agricultural sector of the country. The use of geothermal waters in agriculture would be an important element in the chain of agricultural production and agri-food processing, contributing to the increase in the use of locally available natural resources, as well as reducing emissions when using these resources for energetic purposes. The topic is presented against the background of a brief review of the state of geothermal water applications in agriculture in the world and in Europe, which convinces the legitimacy and need for the development of such use of geothermal water as a raw material for agriculture also in Poland.

Lignite still plays a key role in the production of electricity in Poland. About one-third of domestic electric energy comes from lignite burned in large power plants that produce megatons (Mt) of bottom ash and fly ash annually. Nearly 11 wt% of the total ash generated by the lignite-fired power industry in Poland comes from lignite extracted from the Konin Lignite Mine. Part of the ash escapes into the atmosphere, and the rest is utilized, which is expensive and often harmful to the environment; hence, geochemical studies of these ashes are fully justified and increasingly carried out. The lignite samples examined in this paper represent the entire vertical section of the first Mid-Polish lignite seam (MPLS-1) mined in opencasts at Jóźwin IIB, Drzewce, and Tomisławice. First, the samples were oxidized (burnt) at one of three temperatures: 100, 850, and 950°C; then the chemical composition of oxides and trace elements was determined according to the ASTM D6349-13 standard. The ashes were rich in SiO2 and CaO; Ba, Sr, and Cu dominated the trace element content. Among the harmful elements found, Pb is of most concern. Only a few elements (Ba, Cu, Pb, Sb) reached values higher than their corresponding Clarke values. Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that the examined ashes are approximately as harmful to the environment as ashes from other lignite used to generate electricity. Moreover, the increased amount of CaCO3 in the MPLS-1 is beneficial in the process of natural desulphurization.

The open-cast nature of deposit exploitation means that apart from the extraction of the main mineral, rocks are also found in its vicinity. Their nature, raw material quality and geological and mining conditions allow them to be used in various branches of the economy. Hence, it seems that more attention should now be given to these rocks. However, the long-term, open-cast mining operations involving Bełchatów lignite ultimately necessitated basic, raw-material-related research on the deposits accompanying the lignite as the main mineral. The presented work shows the state of the recognition of rocks lying in the Mesozoic–Neogene contact zone in the Bełchatów lignite deposit as well as their petrographic nature and possible directions of their use. Attention was drawn to the lithological diversity of the studied rocks and diagenetic processes that contributed to the impact on their physical and mechanical characteristics. Based on the analysis of the literature, the current state of utilization and development as well as the balance of accompanying rock resources in the Bełchatów lignite deposit are presented.

Today, it would seem very important from various economic points of view for utilization and management of the aforementioned rocks encountered as open-cast lignite mining to take place. Natural resources are protected where the area mined is kept in check, and there is economic significance to any increasing in the supply of minerals, or materials made from them. The level of profitability for economic entities that exploit lignite deposits may obviously be raised in this way, and environmental goals can also be served if some of what is extracted can be transformed into environment-friendly materials.

The paper deals with the issue of financial efficiency, measured by the arithmetic rate of return, of indirect financial investments in the area of strategic raw materials (hard coal, copper, crude oil). Two forms of indirect investments were analyzed: shares of natural resources companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and futures contracts for strategic commodities: hard coal, copper and crude oil.

The time of the analysis is the first 6 months of 2019 and 2020. The year 2019 was regarded as an analysis of the period of economic growth, and the year 2020 was the analysis of the period of economic crisis. The comparisons were made in two dimensions. Firstly, it whether indirect commodity investments show the characteristics of efficiency resilience to the time of the economic crisis was checked (by comparing the achieved rates of return in the two analyzed periods). Secondly, which of the analyzed forms of investment (stocks, contracts) gives better investment results during economic growth and economic crisis was compared.

As it was shown in the paper, indirect commodity investments do not show an above-average rate of return neither during economic growth nor economic crisis. The achieved rates of return on shares compared to changes in the WIG20 index in the analyzed first half of 2019 were negative. Only one company showed a positive and significantly higher than the market rate of return. Very similar results were achieved by the analyzed companies in 2020.

On the other hand, the analysis of prices and rates of return on commodity futures contracts showed that in the period of economic growth it is effective to take a long position on crude oil contracts and a short position on hard coal contracts. In a period of economic crisis, the opposite position is profitable due to the observed growth in hard coal prices and a significant drop in crude oil prices.

The answers to the research questions posed in the paper do not provide indications for recommending indirect forms of investment in commodities as an alternative to analogous forms of other sectors of the economy. The analysis shows that the impact of the economic situation on the efficiency of commodity investment is most noticeable for crude oil, and the least (among the analyzed commodities) for indirect copper-based investments.

Securing the certainty of supplies of the necessary minimum energy in each country is a basic condition for the energy security of the state and its citizens. The concept of energy security combines several aspects at the same time, as it can be considered in terms of the availability of own energy resources, it concerns technical aspects related to technical infrastructure, as well as political aspects related to the management and diversification of energy supplies. Another aspect of the issue of energy security is the environmental perspective, which is now becoming a priority in the light of the adopted objectives of the European Union’s energy policy. The restrictive requirements for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the required level of renewable energy sources in the energy balance of the Member States is becoming a challenge for economies that use fossil fuels to a large extent in the raw material structure, including Poland. Poland is the largest producer of hard coal in the European Union and hard coal is a strategic raw material as it satisfies about 50% of the country’s energy demand. In this context, the main goal of the article was to determine the future sale of hard coal by 2030 in relation to environmental regulations introduced in the energy sector. For this purpose, a mathematical model with a 95% confidence interval was developed using artificial LSTM neural networks, which belong to deep learning machine learning techniques, which reflects the key relationships between hard coal mining and the assumptions adopted in the National Energy and Climate Plan for the years 2021–2030 (NECP).

Based on the analysis of the LIDAR terrain Digital Elevation Model (DEM), traces of opencast and underground mining of iron ore mining were located and classified. They occur in the zone of ore-bearing deposits outcropping on the north-eastern and north-western bounds of the Holy Cross Mountains. The DEM of an area covered by thirty-six (36) standard sheets of the Detailed Geological Map of Poland on a scale of 1:50,000 was thoroughly explored with remote sensing standards. Four types of ore recovery shafts with accompanying waste heaps were classified. The acquired data on the extent of former mining areas, covered with varying shafts and barren rock heaps could make a basis for distinguishing, according to historical data and in cooperation with archaeologists, the historical development stages of today’s steel industry. According to general knowledge, the iron industry in Europe instigate dates from the Roman times, in the Ist century BC to the IVth century AD, throughout the earlier and the late medieval times, up to the most recent the 1970ties. The usefulness of the LIDAR method has already been amazingly confirmed in archaeological researches worldwide. Many discoveries of ling forgotten, even large entities resulting from human activities in Asia and Central America especially were discovered owed to the LIDAR DEM. Also, traces of human settlements from various historical periods were discovered that way in Poland. The applicability of DEM based on LIDAR data is, in geological studies of surficial geodynamic processes and in geological mapping in Poland, rather contested.

The paper presents multi-criteria optimization method allowing for selection of the best production scenarios in underground coal mines. We discuss here the dilemma between strategies maximizing economic targets and rational resources depletion. Elaborated method combines different geological and mining parameters, structure of the deposit, mine’s infrastructure constrains with economic criteria such as the net present value (NP V), earnings before deducting interest and taxes (EBIT ) and the free cash flows to firm (FCFF). It refers to strategic production planning. Due to implementation of advanced IT software in underground coal mines (digital model, automated production scheduling) we were able to identify millions of scenarios finally reduced to a few – the best ones. The method was developed and tested using data from mine operation “X” (a real project – an example of a coking coal mine located in Poland). The reliability of the method was approved; we were able to identify multiple production scenarios better than the one chosen for implementation in the “X” mine. The final product of the method were rankings of scenarios grouped according to economic decision criteria. The best scenarios reached NP V nearly 50% higher than the Base Case, which held only 52. position out of 60. According to EBIT and FCFF criteria, 10 scenarios achieved results higher than the Base Case, but the percentage differences were very small, below 2 and 4%, respectively. The developed method is of practical importance and can be successfully applied to many other coal projects.

Most EU member states have taken measures to implement the principles of sustainable development. Mineral extraction in Europe has become more difficult, since most member states have taken measures to implement the principles of sustainable development. The industrial minerals sector provides important mineral commodities for the industries. The general situation of minerals supplying in Europe is provided by a strong position of aggregate sector. The paper evaluates the development of mineral extraction in the Visegrad group of EU countries with the aim to find the position of the mining industry in the V4 countries and its contribution to the European mining industry, regarding the sustainability of mining. A task of sustainability assessment is the evaluation of the V4 mining sector’s contribution to the European economy and finally to assess the risks and obstacles for mining industry development. Due to the mentioned present state of minerals supplying in Europe, this is evaluated with economic and environmental significance of materials, connected with development of mineral production and critical mineral Raw Materials in EU, compared with worldwide situation, followed by the prediction of mineral production. The third part is orientated towards the evaluation of raw materials used in the individual V4 countries. The situation of mineral production is evaluated especially in the V4 region. Thre results show that despite the fact that there is an obvious certain boom and annual growth of mining volumes in the V4 countries, the growth does not mean the mining industry follows sustainable development. There is a vast space for the industry to improve. The further evaluation of state minerals demands the consideration of risks and obstacles in mining business and the environment impact.

Based on the reinterpretation of gravimetric, magnetic, seismic and magnetotelluric studies, new features of the sub-Permian basement in the area between the Dolsk Fault and the Middle Odra Fault, SW Poland, are identified. Among numerous faults and lineaments indicated in the article, those limiting both the Wolsztyn–Pogorzela High and a positive anomaly in the Lower Silesian Basin, as well as the faults in the vicinity of the Odra River are particularly prominent. N-S oriented structural elements are also visible in the gravity image. One of them separates the Pogorzela High from the Wolsztyn High. In light of the obtained results, according to refraction seismic surveys, the Polish equivalent to the Mid-German Crystalline Rise is located farther north from commonly accepted position within the Middle Odra Metamorphic Complex. The study results, supported by data from the neighboring area of Germany, may be important for further prospecting for sediment-hosted Cu and other metal deposits. The reprocessing of archival geophysical data using method of effective reflection coefficients (ERC) enabled the creation of more accurate structural model of ore series within the area of the Nowa Sól deposit in SW Poland. In terms of mineral resource prospects, this creates the possibility of applying new results from the study area to the similar zones in the corresponding part of Germany, which is the area between the phyllite zone and the Harz Mountains hosting very diverse and rich mineralization.

Streamflow modelling is a very important process in the management and planning of water resources. However, com-plex processes associated with the hydro-meteorological variables, such as non-stationarity, non-linearity, and randomness, make the streamflow prediction chaotic. The study developed multi linear regression (MLR) and back propagation neural network (BPNN) models to predict the streamflow of Wadi Hounet sub-basin in north-western Algeria using monthly hy-drometric data recorded between July 1983 and May 2016. The climatological inputs data are rainfall (P) and reference evapotranspiration (ETo) on a monthly scale. The outcomes for both BPNN and MLR models were evaluated using three statistical measurements: Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (NSE), the coefficient of correlation (R) and root mean square error (RMSE). Predictive results revealed that the BPNN model exhibited good performance and accuracy in the prediction of streamflow over the MLR model during both training and validation phases. The outcomes demonstrated that BPNN-4 is the best performing model with the values of 0.885, 0.941 and 0.05 for NSE, R and RMSE, respectively. The highest NSE and R values and the lowest RMSE for both training and validation are an indication of the best network. Therefore, the BPNN model provides better prediction of the Hounet streamflow due to its capability to deal with complex nonlinearity procedures.

Our scientific research is based on oxidation reactions and monitoring of chemical reaction kinetics in the Velekinca groundwaters plant in Gjilan municipality, Kosovo. The GW of this plant contains high concentration of manganese so we need to use potassium permanganate (KMnO4) as one of the most power oxidants in the water treatment plant. In our re-search the high concentration of Mn in groundwaters is 0.22–0.28 mg∙dm–3 and this concentration is not in accordance with the WHO. Chlorine is one of the most common disinfectants used in the water treatment industry because it has a low cost and immediate effect on the destruction of microorganisms, the concentration of chlorine (Cl2) in our research is 0.1–0.32 mg∙dm–3. The speed of chemical reactions in the technology of GW is extremely important because sometimes in the elimi-nation of chemical pollutants using oxidizing agents often form intermediate species. The speed of reactions indicates how fast chemical bonds are formed in the creation of a product, and this depends on the rate of reaction (XA). The focus for the research is to study the potassium permanganate and chlorine gas reactions in water if it forms intermediate products (in-termediate species) due to the high speed of reactions. Scientific research conclusion, intermediate species in the oxidation reactions of Mn and water disinfection with Cl2(g) it is impossible to cause a high rate of chemical reactions from the reac-tion rate (XA = 1%) to the reaction rate (XA = 99%). The maximum speed at the highest XA Cl2 is from 4.405∙10–11 to 8.87∙10–10 mol∙dm–3∙s–1, while at Mn is (2.030–4.034)∙10–7 mol∙dm–3∙s–1.

In this research different methods for measuring water quality indices were conducted to investigate the performance of the newly designed, constructed and operated 9-Nissan water treatment plant, Iraq. Data gathering and implementation took place throughout winter and summer. Water samples were taken periodically, according to the standard method, the re-search was carried out by collecting different random samples for eight months (Jun. 2015–Jan. 2016) and measuring (tur-bidity, total hardness, pH, total dissolved solids, suspended solids, Cl–, Mg2+, Fe2+,NO3–, NH3+) for each sample. Five dif-ferent approaches and methodologies of calculating the water index were applied. The results revealed that the Water Qual-ity Indices varied from 70.55 to 88.24, when applying Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Water Quality Index (CCMEWQI) and British Columbia water quality index (BCWQI) geometric weighted mean respectively. All the results, from the five approaches indicated good water quality, multiple regression analyses were conducted for turbidity, total hardness and suspended solids, they found that these parameters are strongly related to each other and to other pa-rameters.

The use of non-centralised water supply in remote settlements is currently the only possible option. Monitoring the wa-ter quality of such supply sources is a complicated task in such areas, especially when there are active karst processes and difficult groundwater conditions. The application of deterministic analytical models of water supply under the risk of dis-turbance to groundwater dynamics is not efficient. Significant quantitative and even qualitative changes in groundwater conditions may take place between the calculated points, and the underestimation of these changes in expectation-driven computation models may result in serious geoecological issues. This research studied and justifies the use of adaptive dy-namic hydrogeological control in an area of non-centralised water supply based on the identification of key zones of geo-dynamic karst monitoring and the electrical express-monitoring of water resources. The identification of key zones is based on an integrated analysis of available groundwater information that describes changes in groundwater hydrodynamic condi-tions at the time of the karst forecast. The development of karst-suffusion processes is accompanied by more intense dy-namic changes in local areas of geologic environment compared to the general variation in intensity. Information about the occurrence of destructive groundwater processes by means of selective geodynamic monitoring may thus be obtained much earlier than with environmental geodynamics monitoring as a whole. The experimental hydrogeological control of an area of non-centralised water supply was conducted on the right bank of the Oka River in Nizhny Novgorod region, a locality with an active manifestation of karst processes. Structure and algorithms of space-time processing of hydrogeological con-trol data developed by authors have been used. The approach based on multifrequency vertical electrical sounding (MFVES) method has shown good correspondence with direct borehole observation when measuring depth of the first aq-uifer. Zones of unsafe water use have been revealed. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method and the need for further regular observations of destructive groundwater processes by means of selective hydrogeodynamic monitoring.

Round goby (Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas, 1814)) is an invasive species in the Oder River. In this study, age of 147 fish was determined using scales and otoliths, and the Fraser-Lee back-calculation method was used for population structure and theoretical length growth rates with 3 mathematical models of growth: von Bertalanffy, Ford–Walford and 2nd degree polynomial. Fish condition was determined using Fulton, Le Cren and Clark equations. Average total length and weight of fish was 162.00 mm and 83.00 g, respectively. Males were more abundant than females, representing 70% of the fish caught, and achieved greater total lengths and weights. Age 2+ dominated females and 3+ males age groups. Of the three mathematical models used to estimate fish growth, the 2nd degree polynomial model had the best fit to back-calculated lengths. Males had slightly higher growth rates than females in the first two years of life but comparable in subsequent years. The diet consisted of various benthic organisms that varied with fish age. The most frequently occurring food com-ponent was Dreissena polymorpha, which accounted for approximately 70% in the diet of fish with a body length greater than 191 mm.

This study aims to assess the water quality and determine the pollution index of the Bedadung River in the urban-area segment of Jember Regency, East Java. The sampling in the urban segment of Jember was conducted in May 2019 at five different locations, namely Slamet Riyadi Street, Mastrip Street, Bengawan Solo Street, Sumatra Street, and Imam Bonjol Street. The pollution index assessment refers to the Decree of the State Minister for the Environment of Indonesia Republic number 115 of 2003. The analysis showed that the parameters of TDS, TSS, pH, COD, BOD, NH3-N, Co, Cd, Cu, Zn, H2S, Cl–, SO4, oil and fats, MBAS, NO2-N, Fe, Pb, F, Cl2, NO3-N, phenol, and As did not exceed the quality standards. The parameters PO4, CN, total coliform, and faecal coliform were found to breach the quality standards at the 5 water sam-pling points. Total coliform and faecal coliform were the dominant pollutants in this segment. Therefore, the parameters of PO4, total coliform, and faecal coliform were considered as indicators of pollution arising from domestic and agricultural activities. The pollution index values for the five sampling locations ranged from 7.21 to 8.23. These scores indicate that the Bedadung River section that passes through the urban segment in Jember is classified as being in the moderately pollut-ed category. This preliminary rapid assessment is therefore one of the considerations for the management of water quality in the Bedadung River section that passes through the urban area of Jember.

Dry marginal agricultural land (DryMAL) potentially use as an alternative resource for crop production. DryMAL de-fined as land having low natural fertility due to its intrinsic properties and forming environmental factors. This study uses Sentinel-2A imagery to map the spatial extent, compare the result of the classification, and identify the change in DryMAL occupation. The area of study (461.9 km2) is part of Situbondo Regency and is located at the eastern part of East Java, In-donesia. Sentinel-2A image captured in dry-season of 2018 use for this study. Then, supervised image classification using a maximum likelihood algorithm use for image treatment and processing. Furthermore, 450 ground control points for train-ing areas collected during the field surveys. Five bands use in the classification process. The maps produced from the clas-sification process were then compared to the land-use map from the year 2000. The change in DryMAL occupation from 2000 to 2018 was calculated by comparing the classified and land-use map. Supervised classification yielded an overall accuracy of 95.8% and a kappa accuracy of 93.2%. The classification produced six (6) classes of land use: (1) forest, (2) pavement or built-up area, (3) irrigated paddy field, (4) non-irrigated rural area, (5) dry marginal land and (6) water body. Globally, during the last two decades, regional development led by the Regency occupied more DryMAL area for develop-ing plantation. The effort reduces the amount of non-irrigated and converting to the plantation, pavement areas, and irrigat-ed paddy-field.

Infiltration process plays important role in water balance concept particularly in runoff analysis, groundwater re-charged, and water conservation. Hence, increasing knowledge concerning infiltration process becomes essential for water manager to gain an effective solution to water resources problems. This study employed multiple linear regression for esti-mating infiltration rate where the soil properties used as the predictor variable and measured infiltration rate as the response variable. Field measurement was conducted at sixteen points to obtain infiltration rate using double ring infiltrometer and soil properties namely soil porosity, silt, clay, sand content, degree of saturation, and water content. The result showed that measured infiltration rate had an average initial infiltration rate (f0) of 6.92 mm∙min–1 and final infiltration rate (fc) of 1.49 mm∙min–1. Soil porosity and sand content showed a positive correlation with infiltration rate by 0.842, 0.639, respectively, while silt, clay, water content, and degree of saturation exhibited a negative correlation by –0.631, –0.743, –0.66 and –0.49, respectively. Three types of regression equations were established based on type of soil properties used as predictor varia-bles. The model performance analysis was conducted for each equation and the result shows that the equation with five predictor variables fMLR_3 = – 62.014 + 1.142 soil porosity – 0.205 clay, – 0.063 sand – 0.301, silt + 0.07 soil water content with R2 (0.87) and Nash–Sutcliffe (0.998) gave the best result for estimating infiltration rate. The study found that soil po-rosity contributes mostly to the regression equation that indicates great influence in controlling soil infiltration behavior.

The intensive agricultural use of the land affects both quantity and quality of river water in the catchment area. Such impact is visible also in the Szreniawa River catchment in the Małopolskie Voivodeship. The combination of intensive plowing and soil susceptibility to water erosion are the main causes of soil and nutrients depletion during the heavy rainfall. The aim of the study is to determine changes in the water quality in the Szreniawa River catchment compared to the agri-culture use and precipitation level.

The quality of surface water has been analysed in the river catchment area in three sampling points. The concentration of the total suspended soils in the samples collected after heavy rainfall in August 2017 reached a value of 837 mg·dm–3. The average concentrations of N-NO3 in the years of 2016–2019 ranged from 0.16 to 13.46 mg·dm–3, with the highest val-ues in the summer (up to 13.46 mg·dm–3). The concentration of N-NH4 and P-PO4 in the Szreniawa water was affected by precipitation. The highest value of average concentration of N-NH4 3.00 mg·dm–3 was recorded in the autumn of 2019 in the middle section of the river. The highest value of P-PO4 0.90 mg·dm–3 was recorded in the autumn of 2019 mostly due to water erosion of the loess areas. Erosion has been caused by the short-term heavy rainfall. As a result, suspended solids, soluble and insoluble phosphorus compounds leaked to the river.

The paper deals with the digital architecture concept which is trying to introduce a new spatial language into the con-text of water urbanism, using nature as a model, measure and mentor. The first part analyses Biomimetics with its design strategies and methods. The Problem-Based Approach (designers look to nature for solutions) and the Solution-Based Ap-proach (biological knowledge influences human design) are defined here. In the second part of the research, the authors present selected examples to the topic. This case study has demonstrated that a new approach to architectural design is emerging. This approach redefines the process of architectural design, understood not as the traditional shaping of the ob-ject's form, but as a compilation of various factors resulting from changeable climate characteristics and ecology. The con-clusions emphasize that not only the contemporary understanding of ecology should be changed, but also the way architects approach the built environment, especially in the aquatic environment.

This paper investigated the problems and impacts of transient flow in pipeline systems due to pump power failure. The impact of different protection devices was presented to assure surge protection for the pipeline system. A model via Bent-ley HAMMER V8.0 Edition was employed to analyse and simulate hydraulic transients in the pipeline system, and protec-tion alternatives were studied.

Surge protection included using only an air vessel, using an air vessel and two surge tanks, and employing five air ves-sels and vacuum breaker. The obtained results for pressures, heads, and cavitation along the pipeline system were graph-ically presented for various operating conditions. Using five air vessels with vacuum breaker valve as surge protection proved to be more effective and economical against pump power failure.

Changing the flow density did not have a significant impact on the pressures.

For protection with an air vessel; it was concluded that the value 40% of the original diameter for inlet pipe diameter of air vessel, and the value of 2/3 of original pipe diameter were critical values for the transient pressures. Cast iron pipes proved to be the best pipe material for all studied volumes of the air vessel.

For protection with an air vessel and two surge tanks; as the inlet pipe diameters increased the maximum pressures in-creased and the minimum pressures decreased.

Regression analyses were performed obtaining equations to predict the pressures according to the inlet pipe diameter, the area of surge tank, and the pipe diameter.

The aim of the paper is to provide climatic data from the basic elements and characteristics of the energy balance in terms of the current state and in terms of trends and assumptions of their future changes in Slovakia. Climate change affect agriculture and its procedures. Changes in vegetation period in Slovakia of selected vegetables are presented in this study. We used for agro-climatic analysis one hundred climatological stations, which were selected to cover all agricultural re-gions up to 800 m a.s.l. Actual data and predictions were compared with time period 1961–2010. Due to homogeneity in data measurements, was chosen this period. We obtained climate trends and assumed map outputs of future climate chang-es by mathematical-statistical methods for horizons of years 2011–2020, 2041–2050, 2071–2080 and 2091–2100. We ana-lysed vegetation period changes of selected fruit vegetables, Brassica vegetables and root vegetable in field conditions with prediction to year 2100. In our results is shown the earlier beginning of vegetation period in a spring and later end in an autumn in last 30 years. The vegetation period is getting longer about 15–20 days for Capsicum annuum; 15–20 days for Brassica oleracea var. capitate; 10–15 days for Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris with comparation of nowadays situation and period 2091–2100.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is an adequate alternative to treat wastewater generated from fruit and vegetable processing (FVWW); likewise, in recent years, artificial wetlands (AWs) have been applied as a post-treatment process for anaerobi-cally pre-treated wastewater. The objective of this work was to design a sustainable treatment system for FVWW composed of upflow anaerobic reactors (UASB) with phase separation and an AW system that receive the anaerobically pretreated effluent. Using the design methodologies for the UASB reactors and artificial wetlands with sub-surface flow (AW-SSF), the parameters of the combined AD-AW system that treat a wastewater flow of 300 m3∙d–1 were calculated. The UASB acidogenic system was adjusted to a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 10 h and organic loading rate (OLR) of 13.84 kg COD m–3∙d–1; meanwhile, the methanogenic and cascade UASB reactors with OLRs of 10.0 and 3.0 kg COD m3∙d–1, and HRTs of 11 and 10 h, respectively, achieve a high COD removal efficiency (above 94%), and an overall biogas production rate of 1.53 m3 of biogas per m3 of reactor capacity per day. According to the results obtained with the theoretical design, anaerobic-wetland combined system achieves an overall efficiency greater than 98%. The wastewater treated by the pro-posed system will allow the reuse of 30% of the water used in the washing of fruits and vegetables.

The study took place between 2012 and 2014 in Falenty near Warsaw, Poland, as part of a long-term scientific experi-ment (first began in 1987) using the randomized block method. All blocks were irrigated until 2008. In 2009 each block was divided into two areas: irrigated and non-irrigated. The study involved four levels of inorganic nitrogen fertilizer and two levels of mixed inorganic and organic fertilizer in the form of fermented cattle urine. The soil in all experimental plots was characterized by low levels of zinc, ranging from 7.6 to 16.7 mg Zn∙kg–1 dry matter. Much lower Zn content in both soil layers of all irrigated plots was associated with increased yields on these plots, regardless of the level and form of ferti-lizer. The content of Zn in soil and sward in 2014 year was significantly lower compared in 2012. Inadequate levels of zinc for ruminant nutrition were observed in the sward from all plots (15.4–28.8 mg∙kg–1 dry matter). The higher content of zinc was found in sward harvested from the plot, which was not fertilized with phosphorus. The long-term inorganic and fer-mented urine fertilization resulted in very low zinc content in the soil and meadow sward.

The article comprises synthesis of magnetically susceptible carbon sorbents based on bio raw materials – beet pulp. The synthesis was performed by one- and two-step methodology using FeCl3 as an activating agent. X-ray diffraction methods showed an increase in the distance between graphene layers to 3.7 Å in biocarbon synthesized by a two-step tech-nique and a slight decrease in inter-graphene distance to 3.55 Å for biocarbon synthesized by an one-step technique. In both magnetically susceptible samples, the Fe3O4 magnetite phase was identified. Biocarbon synthesized by a two-step technique is characterized by a microporous structure in which a significant volume fraction (about 35%) is made by pores of 2.2 and 5 nm radius. In the sample after a one-step synthesis, a significant increase in the fraction of pores with radii from 5 to 30 nm and a decrease in the proportion of pores with radii greater than 30 nm can be detected. Based on the analysis of low-angle X-ray scattering data, it is established that carbon without magnetic activation has the smallest specific area of 212 m2∙сm–3, carbon after one-stage synthesis has a slightly larger area of 280 m2∙сm–3, and after two-stage synthesis has the largest specific surface area in 480 m2∙сm–3. The adsorption isotherms of blue methylene have been studied. Biocarbon ob-tained by two-step synthesis has been shown to have significantly better adsorption properties than other synthesized bio-carbons. Isotherms have been analysed based on the Langmuir model.