The „Academia” magazine was founded on the initiative of Professor Andrzej B. Legocki, a President of the Polish Academy of Sciences in 2003 – 2006. In the beginning it was published only in English as a reply to the growing demand for a current information on the Polish Academy of Sciences` activities, expressed by foreign scientists and Poles living abroad and interested in Polish science.
Since 2005 the magazine is published both in Polish and English.
The „Academia” is an exceptional - on the Polish market - scientific magazine for the general public, propagating achievements of Polish scientists here and abroad. Authors of articles in „Academia” explain their subject in a way that is accessible not only for all sorts of academics but also for students, pupils and all other readers interested in scientific topics for the general public.
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?
On a few examples of aquatic metaphors that invoke some of the most important philosophical concepts.
If we throw something into a river, how long will it take to reach a certain location downstream? We talk to Prof. Ian Guymer from the University of Sheffield about our increasingly complex models of this deceptively simple problem.
Poland is among the countries that are facing water stress, although we largely remain accustomed to having water always there when we need it. Should we take this unrestricted access for granted?
We can hardly imagine the Earth without majestic trees and omnipresent shrubs. But not all of us realize that these plants owe their success to ubiquitous yet often unnoticeable fungi. What links these two types of organisms together is life-giving water. It is the reason why trees and fungi have been inseparable for hundreds of millions of years. How do droughts affect trees and their evolutionarily ancient symbiosis with fungi?
Prof. Tomasz Okruszko explains what role wetlands play in the environment and how they are affected by human activity.
Floodplains are highly valuable, but highly endangered ecosystems. Restoration programs need to carefully consider their multifunctionality, ecological value and the provision of ecosystem services. The example of the Danube River illustrates the impacts of various restoration measures.
Environmental hydraulics is a sub-branch of environmental fluid mechanics that deals with the movement of water and transport processes in both natural water bodies and engineered waterways. Techniques developed to evaluate flow resistance in man-made conduits can be successfully applied to natural waterways.
Prof. Monika Kalinowska and Dr. Agata Goździk of the PAS Institute of Geophysics talk about ways to bolster public awareness of water issues.
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