Studia Quaternaria

The “Kępa Redłowska” reserve is located in the southern part of Kępa Redłowska. The location of the reserve is quite unique. Its eastern border runs along the coastline of the Baltic Sea, while on the other sides it is surrounded by highly urbanized districts of Gdynia. Its coastal location means that it is exposed to natural factors that operate in the coastal zone, whereas its urban surroundings are a threat to the natural environment through more or less controlled human activity. The landscape of the reserve owes its attractiveness mainly to the cliff coast it encompasses. Diversified geological structure of this area, both in terms of lithology and age, combined with progressive erosion, causes a continuous change in its appearance. It is this part of the reserve that is most exposed to the destructive activity of natural factors, mainly coast erosion as well as aeolian processes. The intensity of these processes is closely related to climate changes over the centuries, e.g. a significant reduction in the number of winters, during which there is ice cover in the shore zone means that cliffs are not protected against erosion by winter storms. A spectacular effect of winter storms in this area was a large landslide in the southern part of the cliff on February 15, 2018. The retreat of cliffs is a common phenomenon, however observations in recent decades clearly indicate its acceleration. The remaining part of the reserve area, not directly connected with the shore zone, is subjected to continuously growing anthropopressure. As mentioned above, the “Kępa Redłowska” reserve is located in Gdynia. The expansion of the Redłowo district has resulted in the housing development being located directly adjacent to the eastern border of the reserve. An additional element of anthropopressure is the creation of interpretive trails and tourist routes within the reserve. On the one hand, this is an attempt to “channel” tourist traffic in this area, on the other hand, it causes an increase in tourist traffic with all the negative phenomena associated with it, mainly for vegetation. Human interference in the reserve began already at the end of the 1930s. At that time, military facilities, such as bunkers and artillery positions, were built there. This process continued uninterrupted until the 1960s. Post-military objects are on the one hand an attraction for tourists, on the other hand they attract the attention of various types of seekers of military remnants who, during their explorations, cause additional damage to the surface of the area and vegetation.

The concept of creation of the geoportal “Environmental Safety of Ukrainian-Polish Transboundary Territories” has been developed. General principles and methodological approaches of spatiotemporal geographically distributed thematic data integration were substantiated. The geoinformation system, which is based on results of monitoring researches of objects of the nature reserve fund in the biosphere reserve “Roztochya”, is considered. The geoinformation monitoring technologies ensure ecological safety management. The proposed geoportal determines directions of information technology implementation for transboundary monitoring of ecosystems in the euroregions.

Mezyn National Natural Park is in the north part of the Korop District of the Chernihiv Region, 310 km2 in area, is characteristic for its strongly dismembered landscape that stipulates presence of varied localities, among them there are exterminated glaciofluvial plains, slopes and super streamside terraces. Aim of research included an expose of the value of the Mezyn NNP in maintenance of forest diversity of vascular plants and forest communities. In the Mezyn NNP there are 772 species of spontaneous flora, 194 species of the cultivated flora and 18 rarity species. The rarest species are concentrated in the centre and the east, prats of the park richer in vegetation cover. In the forest group of the Mezyn NNP 10 species of vascular plants are recordered in the Red book of the Ukraine. The wooden territory of the Mezyn NNP presents 38% and provides the variety of ecotopic terms after they provides a wide spectrum of representation and protection of forest species of vascular plants and corresponding phytocommunites.

The vegetation of the Chernihiv city sands (natural and technogenic origin) has rather high syntaxonomic diversity (17 associations and 5 initial communities) and the ruderal phytocoenoses prevail. Natural phytocenoses are represented to a small extent (Cyperetum flavescentis Koch 1926, Dichostylidi–Helochloetum alopecuroidis (Timar 1950) Pietsch 1973, Artemisia scoparia–Dianthus borbasii community, Kochietum arenariae Fijalk 1978). Synanthropic psammophytes species communities that are more resistant to anthropogenic influence, are formed under urban conditions. The ecological range of vegetation of sandy alluvia varies from xerophytic phytocoenoses in mineral-poor sand (Kochietum arenariae) to the communities, which indicate waterlogged areas with increased mineralization of water and saline bottom sediments (Typhetum laxmannii Nedulcu 1968). Itispossibletoobserve the adventization and apophization of sand vegetation, one of the indicators of which is the rupture of coenotic connections between the species of the community. These phenomena indicate that the process of synanthropization of the vegetation cover of the city keeps intensifying, and first of all, occurs in places of newly formed technogenic ecotopes.

The aim of the research was to study the floristic richness of balks, i.e. uncultivated strips separating fields, and to research the dependence of plant communities there on habitat conditions and adjacent crops. The share of segetal species in those communities was also analysed. In the western part of the Siedlce Plateau 70 balks among intensively cultivated fields were examined in 2016–2018. The balks divided fields with corn, winter cereals and spring cereal mixtures. The research was conducted with the Braun-Blanquet method, with 110 phytosociological relevés results used as study material. The flora specified this way was analysed in terms of biological structure, forms of life, persistence, historical and geographical spectrum, species rarity and presence of invasive species. In addition, the interdependence between the species richness of balks and habitat conditions as well as the type of neighbouring crops was studied. Habitat conditions were established with the Ellenberg indicator values, based on indicative species and taking into account light, temperature, moisture, soil reaction and nitrogen content. The development and floristic diversity of balk plant communities as ecotone areas were largely influenced by a proximity of arable fields and habitat conditions, especially by soil moisture and the amount of nitrogen. Balk flora consisted of vascular plants with 161 species, mainly apophytes. Those were mostly perennial species, hemikryptophytes. Among the most common field weeds from the class of Stellarietea mediae, 25 species were identified in balks. There were 26 rare and endangered species and 14 species having the status of invasive taxa.

Considerable climate changes have been observed in the last 50 years – warming in every spatial scale (global, continental, regional and local), changes in atmospheric precipitation and several weather extremes, shrinking of cryosphere and sea level rise. The warming since the mid-20th century has predominantly been due to greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, in particular the combustion of fossil fuels, farming and other changes in land use. The paper presents the aspects of impact of climate change for farming and food security and the impact of farming for climate change in Polish and global scale. Agriculture holds a meaningful potential of reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and of carbon sequestration. It will be necessary to manage optimally advantageous changes and effectively adapt to adverse changes.