Geographia Polonica (2012) vol. 85, iss. 4

Abstract

In the post-war period, the area of the Sudety Mountains (also known in English as the Sudetic Mountains or the Sudetes)has been subject to two main trends regarding the transformation of the landscape in rural areas. In a first phase – intensifyingabove all in the period from the 1950s through to the 1970s – it was possible to observe an abrupt depopulationprocess, most especially affecting the areas at higher elevations. The result of this was the disappearance of manyvillages, or else marked decreases in numbers of both inhabitants and buildings. Knock-on effects from that included theonset of secondary succession on abandoned fields, with the result that new areas of forest have emerged in many partsof the contemporary landscape that were once cultivated fields or pastureland.Equally, from the end of the 1990s, a new trend as regards the management of rural areas in the Sudetes began tomake itself apparent. This entailed an intensive development of single-family building construction, including in the formof summer homes. This development has unfortunately been chaotic in many areas, making no reference to the spatialstructure originating in villages established far earlier; the result being disruption of the spatial order. At the same time,there has been no return to villages’ former functions, and nor is it possible to observe any increase in the area put touse as farmland. Nevertheless, it is true to say that many areas of what had been waste ground undergoing secondarysuccession have now been brought back under management, not least in connection with the implementation of jointagricultural and environmental programmes of the European Union.Various actions are today underway with a view to the typical cultural landscape of the Sudety Mountains (including theJelenia Góra Basin) being reinstated and protected, with the rural aspect to the mountain landscape being promoted asan attribute favourable to further regional development (inter alia of the Kłodzko region).

Keywords: cultural landscape, rural landscape, land-use changes, upgrading and protection of the landscape, Sudety Mountains

Agnieszka Latocha [agnieszka.latocha@uwr.edu.pl], University of Wrocław Faculty of Earth Science and Environmental Management pl. Uniwersytecki 1, 50-137 Wrocław: Poland

Abstract

Shaping of the Mała Wisła (‘Little Vistula’) Valley allowed economic use to be made of it by the early Middle Ages. At first,this took the form of the constructing of many mill streams, but then the system of fish ponds characteristic of the Valleylandscape to this day was also put in place (in the 16th-17th centuries). However, the numerous floods affecting the Valleydown the centuries regularly devastated the ponds, as well as filling in or changing the courses of the mill streams.Archive records, sketches and topographic maps all show that the receding of floodwaters was followed by the rebuildingof ponds albeit mostly with shapes, sizes and layouts of embankments different from those that had been present before.This therefore brought about significant changes in the landscape of the Valley. By the end of the 19th century, floods hadproduced very marked changes in the landscape of the Valley under study. In contrast, floods do not now bring aboutpermanent changes in the Valley because the construction of the Goczałkowice Reservoir led to a lowering in the level ofepisodes of peak high water.

Keywords: Poland, Mała Wisła Valley, changes in landscapes, human impact, floods

Stanisław W. Czaja, 18th-20th Century Flood-Induced Changes In The Landscapes Of The Mała Wisła Valley Within The Oświęcimska Basin

Abstract

This article compares the observed water level changes during a hydrological year, in the two Carpathian reservoirs:the Besko and the Klimkówka. The analyzed reservoirs are located within the same physico-geographical unit – the LowBeskids, but the reservoirs operate on rivers with different hydrological regimes (the Wisłok River and the Ropa River). Theperformed analysis shows that during the year, the analyzed reservoirs are characterized by different water level dynamics.The water level changes of the reservoirs are determined by the management of the reservoirs, and more importantly,by the inflow volume as well as the supply distribution throughout the year. The analysis uses archive material provided bythe Regional Water Management Board in Kraków, Poland. The material pertains to the change of water levels in theBesko and Klimkówka Reservoirs between 1996 and 2011.

Keywords: Besko Reservoir, Klimkówka Reservoir, hydrological regime, the Low Beskids, the Polish Carpathians, the Ropa River, the Wisłok River, water level

Łukasz Wiejaczka [wieja@zg.pan.krakow.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Św. Jana 22, 31-018 Kraków, Poland
Katarzyna Wesoły [kwesoly@krakow.rzgw.gov.pl], The Regional Water Management Board in Kraków Marszałka J. Piłsudskiego 22, 31-109 Kraków: Poland

Abstract

The paper presents a range of geomorphometric analyses of Polish territory using both classical and new approaches.The classical outcomes include maps of hypsometry, relative altitude, angle of slope and exposure, as well as altitudesbroken down into ranges and angle of slopes in percentages broken down by administrative province. The new approachincluded the presentation of land relief through standard deviations of relative elevation in regular geometric fields.Maps of hypsometry, elevation difference, angle of slope, exposure and standard deviation were also presented. Thesurvey involved elevation data from the SRTM-3 satellite with a resolution of 3×3' (60-65×90 m), which were converted forresearch purposes into a grid of 125×125 m and then into hexagons with a surface area of 0.14 and 3 km2. This level ofdetail makes the data particularly useful in morphometric analyses, including in applied research. Certain terrain coverageelements, such as forests, especially in lowland and flatland areas, affected the data and would have to be filteredout in applications requiring even higher accuracy.

Keywords: morphometry, geomorphometry, topographic quantification, land relief, land-surface parameters, SRTM, cartographical analyses, Poland

Przemysław Śleszyński [psleszyn@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland