and Gamasa (GG), in Egypt as gene pool for biodiversity conservation and afforestation. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers investigated the population pattern and structure. A total of 129-amplicons oscillated from 145 to 1505 bp and a total of 19-amplicons were specific markers with an average of nine bands for each population. The Shannon index (I) scored at an average of 0.3. The diversity (h) oscillated from 0.11 to 0.25. The similarity matrices based on Jaccard coefficient recorded positive values. A higher correlation (r = 0.83) was between the combined Qalabshu (QQ) and Mutubas (MM) matrices using the Mantel test with 1,000 permutations. This species has higher adaptability for their regions. This gene pool is a valuable reservoir for enriching genetic diversity and provides basal information for the biodiversity conservation of a dominant species. The dominant species can be utilised in afforestation in the same region or another region which has the same environmental conditions.

forest regeneration and silviculture activities (forest regeneration, afforestations and thinning) in all forests, state-owned forests and privately-owned forests. Voivodships were compared using the arithmetic mean, the indicator of structure, the average rate of change, principal component analysis and cluster analysis. Principal Component Analysis, revealed that state-owned forest area, forest regeneration in state forests, total forest regeneration, and thinning in state-owned forests had the greatest share in the multivariate variation among voivodships analysed in terms of forestry. Cluster analysis yielded two groups of voivodships. The voivodships in the first group had a higher average total forest area, area of state-owned forests, total area of forest regeneration and forest regeneration in state-owned forests, area of natural forest regeneration and thinning in state-owned forests. On average, forests of voivodships which formed group 2 included less privately-owned forests in which fewer forest regeneration and afforestation activities had been conducted. Opolskie and Śląskie Voivodships as well as Łódzkie and Świętokrzyskie Voivodships were the most similar in terms of all the analysed characteristics.

defined. The plant species best used for biological reclamation of disturbed lands were determined.

zwróceniem uwagi na okresy: 1990-2000, 2000-2006 oraz 2006-2012. Analizy zostały wykonane na podstawie danych zgromadzonych w bazach CORINE Land Cover. Podstawowym celem badań była ocena zmian pokrycia terenu, które są następstwem zmian sposobu użytkowania ziemi w Polsce w okresie transformacji systemowej na przełomie XX i XXI wieku. Szczegółowo przeanalizowano przejmowanie gruntów rolnych i leśnych na budowę dróg oraz powiększanie terenów zabudowanych. Otrzymane wyniki pokazują, że powierzchnia zmian była stosunkowo niewielka i w żadnym z analizowanych okresów nie przekroczyła 1% powierzchni kraju. Zaobserwowano, że od 1990 roku następuje systematyczne zwiększanie terenów antropogenicznych głównie kosztem terenów rolniczych (gruntów ornych, sadów i plantacji oraz łąk i pastwisk) i zalesionych.

1990-2000, 2000-2006 and 2006-2012. The analyses base on CORINE land Cover data. The main objective of the study was to analyze the urbanization and accompanying land take of agricultural lands and forest for the construction of roads and the spread of built-up areas. The results show that the area of land cover changes was relatively small and it does not exceeded 1% of the country's territory. Since 1990 a systematic increase in anthropogenic areas is observed which is accompanying with afforestation, and decrease of arable lands.

w litych drzewostanach: sosny zwyczajnej, modrzewia europejskiego, brzozy brodawkowatej i olszy czarnej. Badane próchnice charakteryzowały się przewagą węgla kwasów fulwowych (CKf) w stosunku do węgla kwasów huminowych (CKh) w składzie frakcyjnym puli węgla związanego (Cog) oraz stosunkowo niskim stosunkiem ekstynkcji kwasów huminowych (E465/E665). Czynnik gatunku zadziałał na właściwości próchnicy glebowej najsilniej w przypadku olszy czarnej. Gleby pod olszą charakteryzowały się większą zawartością węgla organicznego ogółem (Corg) i węgla związanego z kwasami huminowymi i fulwowymi (CKh+CKf) w porównaniu do pozostałych gatunków drzew. Potwierdza to duże zdolności fitomelioracyjne i przydatność do rekultywacji olszy czarnej.

different species: pure stands of Scots pine, European larch, common birch and black alder. The examined humus were generally characterized by predominance of fulvic acids (CKf) in relation to humic acids (CKh) and relatively low optical density of humic acid (E465/E665). Black alder in comparison to other species, most significantly modified the properties of soil humus. Soil under alder were characterized higher content of soil organic carbon (SOC) and carbon associated with humic and fulvic acid (CKh+CKf). The results confirm high phytomeliorative effect and usefulness of black alder to reclamation.

increase of forest rate growth in Podlaskie Voivodship, which is classified as a less economically developed region. When compared to Wielkopolskie Voivodship, Podlaskie Voivodship received higher subsidies; nevertheless, the average sum obtained (in thousand EURO) per beneficiary was lower in Podlaskie than in Wielkopolskie.

forest management assumes all of its tasks as equally important. Moreover, its effects are important factors in the nature and environment protection. The paper presents legal conditions related to the definitions of forest management concepts and sustainable forest management. Authors present a historical outline of human’s impact on the forest and its consequences for the environment. The selected aspects of forest management (eg. forest utilization, afforestation, tourism and recreation) and their role in the forest environment have been discussed.

racjonalna gospodarka leśna uwzględniać ma wszystkie postawione jej zadania jako równorzędnie ważne, a jej efekty są ważnym czynnikiem ochrony przyrody i środowiska. W pracy przedstawiono związane z tym uwarunkowania prawne. Przypomniany został rys historyczny wpływu człowieka na las i jego konsekwencje dla środowiska. Przybliżono problem istnienia lasu jako składnika infrastruktury przestrzennej. Omówiono wybrane aspekty gospodarki leśnej i ich znaczenie dla środowiska leśnego.

bogactwem gatunkowym oraz dobrą żywotnością. Skażenie siarką gleby wystąpiło tylko w nielicznych punktach. Pewien niepokój wzbudza natomiast niska przeżywalność 3-letnich upraw wprowadzonych na badany teren.

lands where the existing secondary biocenoses were used. The ongoing forest reclamation on the post-mining lands of the "Osiek" Sulphur Mine was assessed as generally appropriate. The trees that entered the area under the evaluation through succession displayed lower quality, though considerably higher viability when compared with those introduced in the scope of reclamation treatments. While the initial soils in the areas subjected to the full cycle of reclamation treatments were characterised by more favourable granulation, higher pH value and higher carbonate con-tent in relation to the soils where the biocenoses formed through succession were left.

większą różnorodność, powinny stanowić uzupełnienie rekultywacji leśnej.

should be complementary in the forest reclamation process because of their bigger diversity.

The data used in the study cover the years 2004-2015, and were collected from the reports of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Polish Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture (ARMA), Polish Central Statistical Office (CSO), with special consideration given to normative acts concerning the Rural Development Plan 2007-2013 and 2014-2020, and the results of a study on different aspects of rural development conducted at the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation – State Research Institute in Puławy (IUNG-PIB). Our study clearly shows that aforementioned measures differ significantly in terms of the level of implementation in Poland. Thus, the spatial development operation, one of the most important activities in relation to the sustainable development of rural areas, has not been introduced in RDP as s separately task. Additionally, the initiatives regarding water retention were also not fully implemented under the RDP 2007-2013 because of the shortage of time. The process of land consolidation has contributed only to very little change in land use, from about 1% in “classical” method to 4% in “complex” method of land consolidation in the total area. On the other hand, a decline in reforestation has been observed in comparison of RDP 2004-2006 and RDP 2007-2013, which is considered to be appropriate and should lead to the target rate of afforestation of approximately 33%. The village renewal measure was entirely introduced and has a very positive effect on the agricultural environment. Agri-environmental programme plays an important role for both ecological and economical aspects of the agricultural environment and its realization covers a very wide range of actions. In conclusion, all the analysed measures have a very positive effect on the agricultural environment. However, they should be implemented more quickly and comprehensively which should lead to a more sustainable development of rural areas in Poland.

initially determined in the post-mining areas: category D – degraded, i.e. ineffectively reclaimed and unsuccessfully afforested plots, with low cover-abundance or complete lack of vegetation, pine stands category, category (P) – birch stands and category (B) – successfully afforested. Afterwards, four circular plots were defined within each of the determined categories (4 replications, i.e. a total of 12 plots). For each plot, cover-abundance (according to the Braun-Blanquet scale) and dominant herbaceous vegetation species, tree species and stand density were determined. Height (Ht) and diameter at breast height (DBH) measurements were taken, and a vitality assessment was completed, according to the IUFRO classification. Soil samples were collected at each plot, in five points, at two different depths (0–5 cm and 5–40 cm). Finally, laboratory analysis was undertaken. Soil properties such as texture, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), hydrolytic acidity (Hh), the contents of soil organic carbon SOC, total nitrogen TN, total sulphur TS, and exchangeable cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Na+) were determined. Soils from the D plot category were characterised by high sulphur contamination, excess salinity (EC) and strong acidity in top soil. These parameters indicated that completed neutralization was not performed effectively at certain sites. Pine (P) and birch (B) stands categories showed good growth rates and soil parameters, indicating that the reclamation treatments were completed successfully.

continuous forest cover. Proportion of protected area for each soil trophic group was also calculated. Patterns of recent forest development differed between soil trophic groups. Afforestation occurred mainly on wet and poor soils in the 19th and 20th centuries, while the proportion of woodland area on fertile soils typical for nemoral forests was fairly stable. Only 1% of the fertile soil area has been covered by continuous forest for more than 220 years, and only 11% of them are protected. Nemoral deciduous forests cover only 15% of their potential natural vegetation area of forested eutrophic soils. Therefore, in regard to habitat protection that is representative of natural distribution of ecosystems, priority in conservation should be given to forests on fertile soils.

establishment on abandoned farmland, the naturally regenerated silver birch stands produced on average approximately 75 tons of dry biomass per hectare. The major (50–70%) part of this biomass was stored in the tree stems and this share increased with age. The fractions of biomass in the foliage and roots decreased over time, while the share of biomass in the branches remained rather constant. The significant age-dependency of the allometric relationships suggested the need to use age-sensitive biomass expansion factors to estimate the biomass from the stem volume.

kwot pieniędzy w obszary leśne nie wydaje się być działaniem niewykonalnym. Jedną z możliwości obniżających koszt takiego działania mogłoby być przekazywanie przez agencję rynku rolnego części nieużytków do zalesiania na określony czas, po którym obszar ten jako użytek leśny stawałby się terenem o określonej wartości dodanej. Wykazano, że koszty inwestycji w naturalny sposób pochłaniania CO2 mogą być nawet dziesięciokrotnie niższe od kosztów budowy instalacji wychwytywania CO2 ze spalin i magazynowania. Lasy o odpowiedniej strukturze drzewostanu uczestniczą w kształtowaniu poziomu stężeń tego tlenku w atmosferze. Pod względem ekonomicznym inwestowanie w takie źródła wymaga znacznie mniejszych nakładów w porównaniu z proponowanymi metodami sekwestracji dwutlenku węgla. Obecnie wielkość naturalnych źródeł absorpcji CO2 oraz wysiłki podejmowane w kierunku zwiększenia ich efektywności nie są brane pod uwagę przy doborze kryteriów przydziału limitów emisyjnych poszczególnym krajom Unii Europejskiej. Polska posiada znaczne obszary nieużytków możliwych do zagospodarowania pod uprawy leśne. Zaistnienie odpowiednich przepisów mogłoby stworzyć szansę dla polskiego przemysłu w zakresie dotrzymania zobowiązań proekologicznych przy możliwych do zaakceptowania nakładach finansowych. Problem wymaga dalszych wnikliwych badań.

amounts of money in forest areas does not seem to be an impossible action. One possibility to lower the cost of such action would be forwarding uncultivated by an agricultural market agency for afforestation for a limited time, after which the forest terrain would become an area of a specific added value. It has been shown that the investment cost of natural way CO2 absorption can be up to ten times lower than the cost of plant construction to capture CO2 from the flue gas and storage. Forests of suitable stand structure take part in the level of concentration of the oxide in the atmosphere. In economic terms, investing in such sources requires much less effort compared with the proposed methods of carbon dioxide sequestration. Currently, the volume of natural sources of CO2 absorption and efforts to increase their efficiency are not taken into considered when selecting the criteria for the allocation of emission limits to individual countries of the European Union. Poland has vast areas of wastelands possible to development under plantation forestry. The occurrence of the relevant provisions could create an opportunity for the Polish industry in terms of its commitments under the environmental acceptable cost. The problem requires further in-depth research.

Commune and Guidelines concerning the determination of the agricultural use-forest use boundary. Moreover, the aim of the study was to compare area developed according to the concept with the afforestation area resulting from the Study for the conditions and directions of spatial management and the Programme for Afforestation of the Poznań Commune. The subject matter of the study comprised identification of environmental trends in the Tarnowo Podgórne commune, based on which the afforestation arrangement was developed. The spatial scope of the study covered the administrative area of the Tarnowo Podgórne commune, taking into consideration forest complexes found in the neighbouring communes, lying directly at the boundary of the study area. The study used source materials collected from the Department of Spatial Management of the Tarnowo Podgórne commune and the Regional Directorate of the State Forests in Poznań. For the purpose of the analyses of the study area, resulting in the development of the afforestation concept together with its detailed analysis, a GIS system was created using the ArcGIS programme, incorporating information collected from different sources and concerning the Tarnowo Podgórne commune. Individual information layers in the GIS database facilitated analysis of the source materials: the Study of Conditions and Directions for Spatial Management of the commune in the 1:25 000 scale and the Programme for Afforestation in the Poznań county in the 1:50000 scale. Based on the analysis of a soil map, a map of nature value, a map of water conditions and a map of the cultural environment in the 1:10000 scale, constituting an element in the eco-physiographic study of the area from 2004, obtained from the Office of the Tarnowo Podgórne commune the value of animate nature, hydrographic conditions, soil conditions and selected anthropogenic conditions of the commune were determined, the latter being the most significant for the development of the afforestation concept. Based on the collected GIS information concerning the commune layers of areas recommended for afforestation were isolated in view of general principles and ecological and functional conditions required of the planned afforestation, contained in the Guidelines concerning the establishment of the boundary between the agricultural and forest use from 2003, such as afforestation of forest land and farmland of classes V and VI, afforestation of wasteland, afforestation of water course margins, water reservoirs, watersheds, protection zones for underground water intakes, afforestation forming ecological corridors and afforestation of buffer zones. The developed afforestation concept was analysed in the spatial aspect according to calculations performed in the Excell programme based on values collected from the GIS data base of the prepared project. Analysis of area calculation results made it possible to specify the percentage shares of individual afforestation areas following the guidelines as well as percentage changes in the forest cover of the Tarnowo Podgórne commune, which would be observed as a result of implementation of the developed concept. Based on the analyses the following conclusions were formulated: The final result of the developed concept comprised the design of a spatial afforestation system: of 2324 ha in area, which accounts for approx. 22.9% commune area and together with the existing afforestation areas it increases the forest cover share from 7.8% to 30.7%. which is bigger in area from the concept proposed in SUiKZP and PZLPP by approx. 1400 ha in accordance with the spatial requirements resulting from the allocation to the metropolitan zone, i.e. the trend of a dynamic increase in the urbanization level and an increase in the number of production plants and service workshops taking into consideration the area required for agricultural production. Under present-day socio-economic conditions the developed afforestation concept may not be realised due to the allocation of land to more profitable purposes (building development, industrial purposes …) in relation to the forest land use. The designed afforestation concept was developed in view of the source materials in an approximate 1: 10 000 scale and for this reason it may be used when preparing spatial management plans. Results of the design project need to include socio-economic criteria.

szaty roślinnej (fitosfery), tak jak bez szaty roślinnej nie ma gleby (pedosfery). W warunkach naturalnych obie wymienione sfery tworzą względnie stabilną (w czasie) biosferę, stosowną do jakości powierzchniowych utworów geologicznych (petrochemicznych), strefy klimatycznej (w tym klimatu lokalnego) i rzeźby terenu. Antropogenizacja powierzchni ziemi bezpośrednio i pośrednio zniekształca naturalne warunki środowiska. Likwidacja trwałej szaty roślinnej ba potrzeby uprawy roślin odsłania glebę na erozyjne działanie wód opadowych i wiatru oraz nasila dynamikę powietrza atmosferycznego i spływy powierzchniowe wód opadowych. Modyfikuje warunki klimatu lokalnego. Techniczna uprawa gleby czyni ją bardzo podatną na erozyjne działanie wody i wiatru. Techniczna zabudowa trwale niszczy biologicznie czynną powierzchnię ziemi, z daleko idącymi skutkami ekologicznymi. W rolniczej przestrzeni Polski dominują archaiczne struktury gospodarstw chłopskich, o niebywałym rozdrobnieniu powierzchni działek, daleko idąca degradacja systemów melioracji wodnych. Niezbędne scalenia gruntów są realizowane w znikomym zakresie. Leśna rekultywacja nieużytków i nieefektywnych gruntów rolnych, to główny czynnik wzrostu lesistości kraju, począwszy od roku 1949. Dzięki temu lesistość kraju zwiększyła się z około 20% do około 30% w roku 2010. Potencjalne możliwości zwiększenia lesistości są jeszcze bardzo duże, tym bardziej, że znaczna część nie użytkowanych gruntów rolnych została już samoistnie zadrzewiona (zalesiona) i zakrzewiona, czego nie ujmuje geodezja i statystyka.

vegetal cover (phytosphere), and likewise, without vegetation there is no soil (pedosphere). Under natural conditions, both spheres aforementioned constitute the biosphere, relatively stable over time, and adapted to the quality of geological material at the land surface (petrochemical conditions), climatic zone (including local climate) and local relief. Anthropogenic impacts on land surface have direct and indirect effects visible as the deformation of natural conditions. Removal of vegetal cover without subsequent crop cultivation exposes soils to wind and water erosion and enhances the dynamics of atmospheric air and runoff of precipitation waters. It also modifies local climatic conditions. Technical cultivation of soils renders them vulnerable to erosive action of wind and water. Technical build-up irreversibly destroys the biologically active land surface leading to the far reaching environmental consequences. In the agricultural space of Poland there prevail both archaic structures of farmland with an unusual fragmentation of agricultural lots and advanced degradation of water melioration systems. Activities required to perform land merging have only been made to an invisible extent. Forest reclamation of waste land and non-effective agricultural land has been the main factor contributing to an increase in the country's forest rate since the year 1949. It is owing to that activity that the country's forest rate increased from some 20% to about 30% in the year 2010. Potential for increasing the forest rate remains very high still, the more that a considerable part of set aside farmland has been subject to spontaneous afforestation (woods and shrubs), what has not been registered by geodetic and statistical services.

catchment water regime can be quantified and attributed to differences in catchment characteristics. Frequency analysis of low and high flows and a number and duration of flows over a threshold value are used to look for the differences in flow regime in both catchments. Low flow conditions are modelled using the Wittenberg nonlinear store approach. A rainfall-runoff process is modelled using a Data Based Mechanistic approach. The results indicate that the differences in the catchment response to external climatic factors outweigh the influence of land use apart from the low flows, where the changes in the response might be attributed to afforestation.

las.

where performed using terraced with subsoiling, so the existing scrub vegetation was removed and Pinus halepensis was planted. The main conclusion is that human action developed in this semi-arid territory, perhaps because the technique applied was not the most suitable for afforestation, has led to the geomorphological activation of the slopes and the emergence and large development of gullies.

properties, there is only limited knowledge on the trace metals behayior in response to such a shift of land use. This study presents the results concerning the effect of afforestation with Scots pine (Pinus syhestris L.) of rusty (Distric Arenosols) post-arable soils formed on water-glacial sands on Zn and Pb solubility measured by their concentration in soil solution and a share in this phase in relation to the total content in soil. Soils under 14-17 years and 32-36 years old stands were compared with neighboring arabie soils, five pairs each group. The soil samples were takcn from the whole thickness of master horizons and, in the case of the A horizon of the afforested soils, from three layers: 0-5 (Ao-5), 5-10 (A5_10) and 10-20 cm (A10-20). Zinc concentration in soil solution, both in mg o dm-3 and in percent in relation to the total soil content proved to be higher in the afforested soils than in the respective arable soils and was soil pH-dependent. The differences increased with the stand age. As for Pb, no such clear relationships were found.

na właściwości gleb, mało wiadomo o skutkach takiej zmiany użytkowania na zachowanie się pierwiastków śladowych. W pracy przedstawiono wyniki badań wpływu zalesienia sosną zwyczajną gleb rdzawych porolnych wytworzonych z piasków wodnolodowcowych na rozpuszczalność Zn i Pb mierzoną zawartością tych metali w roztworze glebowym i ich udziałem w tej fazie w stosunku do całkowitej zawartości w glebie. Porównywano gleby pod drzewostanami 14-17- i 32-36-letnimi z sąsiadującymi z nimi glebami uprawnymi, po pięć par w każdej grupie. Próbki glebowe pobierano z każdego głównego poziomu genetycznego, z całej jego miąższości, przy czym z poziomu A gleb zalesionych z trzech warstw: 0-5 (Ao_5), 5-10 (A5-10) i 10-20 cm (A1o_2o). Stwierdzono, że stężenie Zn zarówno w mg o dm-3, jak i w procentach w odniesieniu do całkowitej zawartości w glebie, było większe w glebach zalesionych niż w glebach ornych i było zależne od pH gleby. Ponadto różnice zwiększały się wraz z wiekiem drzewostanu. W przypadku Pb nie zaobserwowano takich wyraźnych prawidłowości.