Fabric covering is often used by designers, as it can easily mask acoustic structures that do not match an interior. However, in the case of sound diffusers based on change in the phase of the reflected wave, the use of fabric covering is not without its effect on acoustics. It reduces the effectiveness of these structures and raises acoustic absorption. In the paper, the authors analyzed the acoustical properties of a selected fabric used to cover sound diffusers. Sound absorption and scattering coefficients for a system composed of sound diffusers and a fabric situated at different distances d were measured. The results were compared to the sound absorption predicted on the basis of Kuttruff’s and Mechel’s theoretical models. Analysis of the results indicates that the fabric has a significant influence on the system’s acoustic parameters. It is also observed, that fabric applied directly on a phase grating diffuser, produces higher absorption than when it is at some distance from it.

This article presents an overview of land use mapping work carried out in Poland. The authors discuss major early 20th-century publications and then review projects undertaken since WWII, pointing out the use of satellite imagery as a new source of data for land use mapping. They also discuss contemporary land use mapping programs pursued by international organizations in Europe, including in Poland. The outcome of work performed in Poland under the COR1NE Land Cover program is presented, and also the Land Cover Classification System developed by the FAO for the purposes of land use mapping is discusse

Water is essential for plant growth and development, and the degree of its availability significantly shapes ecosystems in different climate zones. How does an overabundance or deficiency of water affect the flora in Poland and different parts of the world?

The application of hardfacing is one of the ways to restore the functional properties of worn elements. The possibility of using filler materials rich in chrome allows for better wear resistance than base materials used so far. The paper presents the results of research on the use of 3 different grades of covered electrodes for the regeneration of worn track staves. The content of the carbon in the covered electrodes was from 0,5% to 7% and the chromium from 5% to 33%. The microscopic and hardness tests revealed large differences in the structure and properties of the welds. The differences in the hardness of the welds between the materials used were up to 150 HV units. The difference in wear resistance, in the ASTM G65 test, between the best and worst materials was almost 12 times big.

Using colloid water as a covering for explosives can improve the energy efficiency for explosive welding, while its effects on bonding properties remain unclear. Here, by employing titanium/steel as a model system, the effect of covering thickness on microstructures and mechanical properties of the bonding interface was systematically investigated. It was found that all the welds displayed wavy interfaces, and the wave size increased with increasing covering thickness. Vortices characterized by solidified melt zones surrounded by strongly deformed parent materials, were only formed for the welds performed with a covering. Moreover, with increasing covering thickness, both the tensile strength and the elongation of the titanium/steel plate decreased, and the failure mode changed from ductile to cleavage fracture, gradually. In the tensile-shear tests, all the fractures took place in titanium matrix without separation at interface, indicating that the titanium/steel interfaces had an excellent bonding strength. The micro-hardness decreased with increasing distance from the interface, and this trend was more remarkable for a thicker covering. The micro-hardness inside the solidified melt zones was far higher than that observed in strain-hardened layers of the parent metal, due to formation of hard intermetallic compounds.

Properties of a snow cover in the vicinity of Arctowski Station, King George Island (West Antarctica) were studied in 1991. Variations of snow quality and physical transformations were analysed against changes of atmospheric parameters, basing on water equivalent index and repeatable examination of snow pits. Essential dependence of snow cover distribution and snow structure from local climatic features and terrain morphology was found. Thawing occurs in the whole mass of snow, with its contribution of both liquid and gas water phases.

The paper presents experimental research carried out to determine the possible actions to reduce the noise generated by trams in a highly urbanised area. A few design strategies affecting tram ride quality have been presented – especially in the aspect of the acoustic phenomena. Main sources of the noise in trams were characterised. The paper includes selected results of comprehensive studies of tram noise in the pass-by test based on the authors’ research methodology. The tests were carried out on various types of trams to recognise the acoustic phenomena characteristic for the rolling stock in a selected tram system. The results of the measurements were analysed both in the field of amplitudes based on noise maps and in respect to frequencies based on noise spectra. The results indicated the rolling noise as important issue demanding taking some actions in order to reduce its level. In this area, elements for the application of individual attenuation solutions, i.e. at the source and during propagation, were presented. The results of the measurements were used as input data to the assumptions of the noise attenuation passive system, which was the final outcome of the study. Dedicated external dampers were used in the case of wheel and rail pairs, where the dominant power of the noise is emitted. The acoustic properties of the bogie area and the bogie side covers were redeveloped to hamper the noise propagation, which is a novel application. The presented results indicate measurable benefits from the applied solutions on the tram noise reduction.

Recently, Google Earth Engine (GEE) provides a new way to effectively classify land cover utilizing available in-built classifiers. However, there have a few studies on the applications of the GEE so far. Therefore, the goal of this study is to explore the capacity of the GEE platform in terms of land cover classification in Dien Bien Province of Vietnam. Land cover classification in the year of 2003 and 2010 were performed using multiple-temporal Landsat images. Two algorithms – GMO Max Entropy and Classification and Regression Tree (CART) integrated into the Google Earth Engine (GEE) plat-form – were applied for this classification. The results indicated that the CART algorithm performed better in terms of mapping land use. The overall accuracy of this algorithm in the year of 2003 and 2010 were 80.0% and 81.6%, respective-ly. Significant changes between 2003 and 2010 were found as an increase in barren land and a reduction in forest land. This is likely due to the slash-and-burn agricultural practice of ethnic minorities in the province. Barren land seems to occur more at locations near water sources, reflecting the local people’s unsuitable farming practice. This study may provide use-ful information in land cover change in Dien Bien Province, as well as analysis mechanisms of this change, supporting en-vironmental and natural resource management for the local authorities.

Realising the need for improving irrigation system management, the Bahr Sanhoor Canal (BSC) was selected as a case study, and the effect of covering a reach with a concrete box culvert where the irrigation canal passes through a crowded rural area on the efficiency of the canal system was examined. The field inspection of the canal system revealed multiple problems. Two alternatives for improving irrigation management were introduced. A local alternative was offered by applying a suitable numerical model to enhance the efficiency of the current status of the canal system, the water level upstream of the covered part reached 13.54 m, this solution will lower the water levels by approximately 2 m, which is below the bank levels at an affordable cost. Additionally, it will help to avoid the risk of inundating the adjacent residential area. A sustainable and environmental alternative was considered to offer a new path in which the covered reach passed outside the residential area. This alternative is permanent and sustainable. Although the proposed second path to the right of the residential area is the long-term recommendation and is sustainable, any path of flow to either the left or right of the BSC will be associated with initial high costs. The two proposed alternatives may help decision makers improve the performance of irrigation systems.

Quantifying and understanding global land use change and its spatial and temporal dynamics is critical to supporting international policy debates. The main area of transformation of spatial structures nowadays are suburban areas of the largest cities. Constant land development and urbanization, including such forms as urban sprawl, influence significant changes in land use. The aim of this study was to analyse a land use change pattern in a selected rural area which is under pressure of spatial development of a regional city. Data used for a land use change detection was based opensource Urban Atlas dataset for 2006, 2012, and 2018, enriched by recent update from 2021 orthophoto map. Spatial analyses presenting statistics of land use change were conducted in QGIS. Besides analysis of land use change, the paper discusses observed spatial patterns also taking into account changing social, environmental and economic conditions and spatial policies influencing land cover complexity. Understanding these dynamics would help better spatial management of real estates for more sustainable land development.

The article demonstrates the results of a study of the landscape structure of the Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve (Ukr.: Chornobylskyi radiatsiino-ekolohichnyi biosfernyi zapovidnyk – ChREBR). Because of radioactive pollution, a sharp drop in human activity, and the granting of the territory the status of a protected object, the process of area rewilding took on certain characteristics and led to the return of ecosystems’ natural processes. The studies cover a 7-year period from 2016 to 2022, i.e., from the moment this territory was granted protected status. That territory was abandoned by people more than 37 years ago and the former rural and urban landscapes have either already been transformed or are in the process of being transformed into natural ones. The scale of forest massifs has changed during the previous seven years, which has caused increased pasture overgrowth. huge forest massifs have been lost because of enormous forest fires and floods, particularly along the Pripet and Uzh rivers. Semi-natural successions occur in the gardens, and wooden homes are almost extinct. From orbit, a number of communities no longer resemble settlements. They are cloaked in bushes and trees instead. For places that have been ploughed, the same holds true. The last seven years show that change is happening more slowly than in the decades before. The pattern of natural processes in ecosystems, including periodic fires, the blocking of reclamation channels, and other factors, is the primary driver of changes in the composition of the land cover.

Investigations of the snow cover at the end of the winter 1990/1991 were carried out in several areas in West Spitsbergen, namely, Lomonosovfonna, Kongsvegen, Fridtjovbreen, Amundsenisen and that north of the Hornsund Fjord. The physical properties and chemical nature of precipitation and the snow cover were determined. The studies revealed high variation in the precipitation and the thickness of the snow cover: 317 mm w.e. (water equivalent) in the Hornsund area, 659 mm w.e. at Lomonosovfonna, 1076 mm w.e. at Fridtjovbreen and 1716 mm w.e. at Amundsenisen. The salt loads deposited in the snow cover in different parts of West Spitsbergen were also calculated (2.8 t/km2 at Lomonosovfonna, 15.8 t/km2 at Kongsvegen and 43.2 t/km2 at Amundsenisen). An intensive process of demineralisation during the conversion of snow to firn was revealed, reaching as much as 90% during the first summer. An attempt to determine the anthropogenic element content using the pH values for the precipitation and snow cover was also made. A distinct correlation between the physico-chemical characteristic of snow layer and falling snow was found. On the basis of the quality of the precipitation and snow cover, West Spitsbergen has been classified into following provinces: (1) northern situated within Arctic High (Lomonosovfonna and Kongsvegen), (2) southern ndergoing mainly moving air masses from the Arctic High and Greenland Low (Amundsenisen and Hornsund region).

Ethiopia has lost sizable forest resources due to rapid population growth and subsequent increase in the demand for agricultural land and fuel woods. In this study, GIS and remote sensing techniques were used to detect forest cover changes in relation to climate variability in the Kafa zone, southwest Ethiopia. Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images of 1986 and 1990, Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+) image of 2010 and Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI-8) image of 2018 were acquired at a resolution of 30 m to investigate spatial-temporal forest cover and land use changes. A supervised image classification was made using a maximum likelihood method in ERDAS imagine V9.2 to identify the various land use and land cover classes. Both spectral (normalised difference vegetation index – NDVI) and post classification change detection methods were used to determine the forest cover changes. To examine the extent and rate of forest cover changes, post classification comparisons were made using ArcGIS V 10.4.1. A net forest cover change of 1168.65 ha (12%) was detected during the study period from 1986 to 2018. The drop in the NDVI from 0.06–0.64 in 1986 to (–0.08)–0.12 in 2018 indicated a marked forest cover change in the study area. The correlation of NDVI values with climate data indicated the forest was not in a stable condition. The declining of the forest cover was most likely caused by climate variability in the study area.

The aim of this study is to examine the importance of the decision in Engelhart CTP (US) LLC v Lloyd’s Syndicate 1221 with regard to the insurance of economic losses and non-existent goods in the context of all-risks cover. It also strives to analyse to what extent the principles of construction described in this decision are applicable to the interpretation of all risks cover in marine insurance disputes subject to Polish law. Assureds and beneficiaries of cargo policies are defrauded into taking up false documents for non-existent goods yet Polish law fails to address the questions which arise in such situations. It is thus important not only to investigate and evaluate the answers provided by English law but also to explore if and how Polish law may employ them. It follows from this study that Engelhart may be used in construction of all-risks policies subject to Polish law in most scenarios.

Effective use of energy in various branches of economy is one of world trends in development of power engineering. Relevant energy consumption occurs during exploitation of buildings, so there is still potential to diminish it as far as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning are concerned. Particularly in summer season, the choice of respective roofing colour can play a decisive role for the heat flux transferred to the inside of the object. Decrease of heat flux causes a lower heat burden to the building and lower power consumption by the air conditioning systems. In winter, on the contrary, heat flux transferred to building’s interior should be higher, as a result, demand of energy for heating will be lower. However, calculations of the heat flux require that energy balance must be made for the object. Unfortunately, not all producers of roofing covers inform about the values of reflectivity and thermal emissivity of their products, which is, in turn, necessary for calculations. In the present paper, research methodology elaborated by authors is proposed for determination of thermal emissivity of roofing covers. The paper presents test stand, methodology, and research results for roofing paper in blue colour (as an example) for which the thermal emissivity is an unknown parameter.

The international community affirms the critical role of forests in climate change mitigation, which includes reducing emissions from degradation and deforestation, carbon stock conservation, sustainable forest management, and increasing carbon stocks in developing countries. It relates to land use and land cover changes. This study aims to review land use and land cover changes (LULC) in two decades, namely 2000–2010 and 2010–2020, and the impact on carbon stocks. Landsat satellite imagery in 2000, 2010, and 2020 are classified into six categories: built-up area, cropland, forest, water body, bareland, and grassland. This classification uses supervised classification. The accuracy kappa coefficient values obtained for the LULC 2000, LULC 2010, and LULC 2020 maps were 89.61%, 83.90%, and 87.10%, respectively. The most dominant systematic LULC change processes were forest degradation in 2000–2020; the transition of forest to cropland (349.20 ha), forest to bareland (171.19 ha), and forest to built-up area (661.68 ha). Loss of using the forest for other uses was followed by a decrease in carbon stock. There was a high decrease in carbon stock in the forest category (11,000 Mg C∙y–1). The results showed a significant change in land use and cover. The decline in the area occurred in the forest category, which decreased from year to year. Meanwhile, the built-up area increases every year. Carbon stocks also decrease from year to year, especially forests as the most significant carbon store, decreasing in the area.

The objectives of developing oil palm plantations should feasible economically and without causing massive erosion. This research proposes soil and water conservation strategies that are ideal and optimal for oil palm cultivation depending on land capability class. The conservation test for plants was performed according to land capability classes on a plot measuring 22 m × 4 m. Runoff and erosion rates were measured using Multislot Divisor Method. Nutrient leaching was analysed based on the content of C-organic (Ctot) (Walkley–Black method), total nitrogen (Ntot) (Kjeldahl method), P-available (Bray-1 method) and K2O (extraction with 1N NH4OAc at pH 7.0). From the results, land capability class III, cover crops (soybean) + manure (P3) treatment effectively reduced runoff and soil erosion (22.63 m3∙ha–1∙y–1 and 13.04 Mg∙ha–1∙y–1), as well as nutrient leaching, compared to other treatments. Furthermore, sediment trap + cover crop + manure (P3) controlled runoff, erosion and nutrient leaching on land capability class IV, producing the lowest runoff (129.40 m3∙ha–1∙y–1), soil erosion (11.39 Mg∙ha–1∙y–1), C-organic (1.3%), and P (1.95 mg kg–1). Soil conservation treatment significantly reduced erosion and runoff (p < 0.05) on land capability class VI. The bench terrace + cover plants + manure treatment-controlled runoff, erosion, and soil nutrient leaching.

Human activities on land have grown significantly changing the entire landscape, while most of the changes have occurred in the tropics. The change has become a serious environmental concern at the local, regional and global scales. The intensity, speed, and degree of land use / land cover (LULC) changes are nowadays quicker compared to the past because of the development of society. Moreover, the rapid increase in population resulted in disturbing a large number of landscapes on the Earth. The main objective of this study was to detect historical (1990– 2020) and predicted (2020–2050) LULC changes in the Welmel River Watershed, which is located in the Genale-Dawa Basin, South Eastern Ethiopia. The dataset of 1990, 2005, and 2020 was generated from Landsat 5, Landsat 7 and Landsat 8 respectively to determine the historical LULC map. The result of this study revealed that agriculture/ settlement increased by 6.85 km ²∙y ^–1, while forestland declined by 9.16 km ²∙y ^–1 over the last 31 years between 1990 and 2020. In the coming 31 years (by 2050), if the existing trend of the LULC change continues, agriculture/settlement land is expected to increase from 290.64 km ² in 2020 to 492.51 km ² in 2050 at the rate of 6.73 km ²∙y ^–1, while forestland is expected to shrink from 690.48 km2 in 2020 to 427.01 km ² in 2050 by a rate of 8.78 km ²∙y ^–1.

A flood occurs for many reasons, such as excessive rainfall, runoff coefficient, or an insufficient river channel capacity. The discharge flowing through the floodway depends on the maximum main river dimension that can be normalized. LU/LC changes are affected by runoff discharge, and runoff discharge is affected by the floodway design. The study dis-cusses the effect of land use (LU) or land cover (LC) changes and the design of floodway channel dimensions in the Kali Kemuning watershed, East Java Province, Indonesia. The Nakayasu synthetic unit hydrograph has been used to analyse the runoff discharge, and the Hydrologic Engineering Center’s River Analysis System software analysed the hydraulic proper-ties of river and floodway channels. Results show that the floodway channel design is determined by LU/LC conditions, and the river channel is normalized toward its maximum dimensions. Normalized channel depths and widths vary from 4 to 7 m and 16 to 46 m, respectively. The floodway channel is rectangular, with a bottom width of 10 m and depth of 4.5 m. With the runoff coefficient equal to 0.75, these normalized channel and floodway dimensions are suitable for the flood up to the 100-year return period runoff discharge.

Despite many studies on the hydrological responses to forest cover changes in micro and mesoscale watersheds, the hydrological responses to forest cover alterations and associated mechanisms through the large spatial scale of the river watershed have not been comprehensively perceived. This paper thus reviews a wide range of available scientific evidence concerning the impacts exerted by the forest removal on precipitation, water yield, stream flow, and flow regimes. It is concluded that there is no statistical correlation between forest cover and precipitation and water yield at the micro and mesoscale. In contrast, there is a relative correlation coefficient ( r = 0.77, p < 0.05) between forest cover and water yield at large scales (>1000 km2). These findings help our understanding of the hydrological response to forest disturbance at large and regional scale and provide a scientific perception to future watershed management in the context of human activities and natural hazards.

The subject of the article is a comparison of two types of concrete carbonation models: self-limited carbonation and infinite carbonation. The results of the research on the progress of carbonation during six years of sample exposure in natural atmospheric conditions were used to determine the detailed models for a set of concretes with different w/c and different types of cement, and two scenarios of initial curing. It has been established that the model of self-limiting carbonation (i.e. hyperbolic) is more adequate for describing laboratory tests results in natural conditions.

The aim of the research is laboratory investigation of aluminium brackets employed to fasten lightweight curtain walls to building facilities. Tensile loads perpendicular to end plates (vertical) were applied here. The author focused on the solutions intended to increase the load-carrying capacity of aluminium brackets applying the plain washer form A (DIN 125; ISO 7089), plain washer with an outer diameter about 3d (DIN 9021; ISO 7093) and additional cover plates (straps) in the location of bolt anchoring on the base plate. The aluminium brackets were tested on a steel base and concrete substrate. The flexibility of anchoring strongly affects the increase of the end plate middle point displacement and movable crosshead displacement.

Many countries, including Indonesia, face severe water scarcity and groundwater depletion. Monitoring and evaluation of water resources need to be done. In addition, it is also necessary to improve the method of calculating water, which was initially based on a biophysical approach, replaced by a socio-ecological approach. Water yields were estimated using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model. The Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and geographic weighted regression (GWR) methods were used to identify and analyze socio-ecological variables for changes in water yields. The purpose of this study was: (1) to analyze the spatial and temporal changes in water yield from 2000 to 2018 in the Citarum River Basin Unit (Citarum RBU) using the InVEST model, and (2) to identify socio-ecological variables as driving factors for changes in water yields using the OLS and GWR methods. The findings revealed the overall annual water yield decreased from 16.64 billion m3 year-1 in the year 2000 to 12.16 billion m3 year-1 in 2018; it was about 4.48 billion m3 (26.91%). The socio-ecological variables in water yields in the Citarum RBU show that climate and socio-economic characteristics contributed 6% and 44%, respectively. Land use/Land cover (LU/LC) and land configuration contribution fell by 20% and 40%, respectively.The main factors underlying the recent changes in water yields include average rainfall, pure dry agriculture, and bare land at 28.53%, 27.73%, and 15.08% for the biophysical model, while 30.28%, 23.77%, and 10.24% for the socio-ecological model, respectively. However, the social-ecological model demonstrated an increase in the contribution rate of climate and socio-economic factors and vice versa for the land use and landscape contribution rate. This circumstance demonstrates that the socio-ecological model is more comprehensive than the biophysical one for evaluating water scarcity.

The article discusses the physical and chemical mechanisms of the carbonation phenomenon itself, as well as points out the synergistic effect of frost destruction and concrete carbonation on reinforced concrete elements. Examples of structural damage from engineering practice in the diagnosis of reinforced concrete structures are presented. Two cases of frost and carbonation damage of precast reinforced concrete elements are analyzed. It was noted that the most common cause of damage to concrete structures is the lack of frost resistance. Carbonation of concrete leads to deprivation of the protective properties of the concrete lagging against the reinforcing steel. The examples cited include precast elements that, for technical reasons, had a relatively small lagging thickness. The first one relates to the thin walled elevation elements, which are exploited during 60 years and the second relates to the energetic poles with very advanced concrete corrosion damage. The examples given of corrosion of concrete and reinforcement of elements indicate that synergistic environmental interactions can intensify the destruction of elements.