Paweł Franczak

Anthropogenic landforms in Magura National Park (Outer Flysch Carpathians, Beskid Niski Mountains)

Anthropogenic landforms are an important part of the landscape of Magura National Park. Human impact in this region for centuries has led to significant transformations of the local landscape and the local water cycle. The Lemko population, who had lived in the Beskid Niski Mountains until 1945 practiced animal husbandry, agriculture, forestry, rock material processing (stonemasonry), and extracted so-called wood oil. A rapid increase in population density led to intensive residential construction in the 19^th and 20^th centuries and increased human impact in the area. After the end of the Second World War in 1945, most Beskid Niski residents were moved to other parts of the country by the new communist government of Poland. Changes in land use then ensued. Mountain slopes that were previously used for agriculture as pastures and farmland were subjected to afforestation or gradually subjected to secondary plant succession. Despite a presently low population density and dispersed built-up sites in Magura National Park, anthropogenic forms are still very distinct as a result of several centuries of human activity across these lands. Due to their initial purpose, anthropogenic landforms can be distinguished as old residential and farm buildings (mainly stone foundation), remnants of agro-forestry industries, rock material extraction sites, religious sites, and military sites from the first and second world wars. These serve as the background for the effects of economic activity undertaken in this area after the Second World War. The most valuable and interesting anthropogenic landforms and areas were inventoried in this study. Especially important in this regard are concentrations of agricultural terraces in Nieznajowa, Ciechania, Żydowskie, and Rostajne. In the course of field research, evident effects of re-naturalization were observed, and consequently also the disappearance of many anthropogenic landforms in the study area. A full inventory of these sites could leads to the protection of selected sites associated with  anthropogenic geodiversity.

Flash flood as a natural and social event – the case of the flood in Wojcieszów, on July 5th, 2012

By definition, a flood is a natural event with social and economic consequences. These effects can be both direct and immediate as flood losses, as well as indirect and long-lasting, influencing local community’s perception of the geographical environment they live in and of possible local disasters. Flash floods in mountainous areas constitute a particular type of hazard. They appear when intense rainfall over a small area causes violent and destructive flooding. Such an event occurred on July 5th, 2012 in the upper Kaczawa catchment when heavy rainfall formed sudden overflowing in small river and stream catchments in the town of Wojcieszów (Złotoryja county, Dolnośląskie voivodship in Poland). Precipitation was characterized by a very high intensity up to 69 mm·h–1 with the daily sum reaching 94 mm. Such high rainfall occurred on a very small area stretching 25 km in length and 10–12 km in width. It caused a very rapid concentration of flood wave with the culmination reached within 30–40 min. after the most intense precipitation. The flow of Kaczawa river in Świerzawa reached 115 m3·s–1 (qmax = 0,86 m3·s–1·km2), though it did not stand out from historic floods in this catchment. Much higher specific discharges were measured for the Kaczawa catchment in Wojcieszów Dolny (1.95 m3·s–1·km2) and for the Olszanka catchment (2.06 m3·s–1·km2). The overflow of water in smaller catchments was catastrophic and caused considerable damage. The main aim of the paper is to analyse the social memory of the 2012 flash flood in Wojcieszów several years after its occurrence. The research included mental sketch mapping of flooded areas conducted two and four years after the flood happened and an analysis of flood recordings available on the YouTube video-sharing website. The findings show that, despite being surprised by the sudden flood that hit their town, memories about that event are slowly fading away. With time passing by, flood witnesses tend to mark a progressively smaller than actual area covered by flood waters. They are not likely to watch historic flood recordings on YouTube either. The authors believe that the decline of social memories of the flood may translate into lower hazard awareness resulting in inadequate preparedness for a possible future flood.

Outdoor advertising in areas of high natural value. The Tatras surrounding area case study

Outdoor advertising is increasingly being used as a medium in marketing. It allows a simple and effective way to reach potential customers. Outdoor advertising as „the only medium that cannot be turned off” is growing faster than traditional means of marketing communication; it results in an increase in the intensity of its  occurrence in public space. However, it is accompanied by negative consequences such as the degradation of the quality of public space and the aesthetics of the landscape. The aim of the study is to answer the question: Is the quality of the mountain landscape significantly threatened by widespread outdoor advertising? The study area consists of the Tatras on the Polish and Slovak sides. Significant differences were found in the occurrence of outdoor advertising on both sides of the border. Much more advertising media exists in the Polish (northern) part of the study area where they have the highest concentration along major roads and at tourist  destinations. In the Slovak part, the distribution of advertising media has a lower intensity. The final finding is that chaos exists in areas of high landscape value in terms of advertising volume.