The aim of the paper was to identify groundwater runoff in small mountain catchments draining crystalline rocks and compact sedimentary rocks. The research consisted of field measurements taken in the hydrogeological year 2013 in four test catchments (Machowski Stream, Inflow at the foot of Mount Grodziec, Podgórna, Mostowy Stream) with  areas up to 4.5 km2. The measurements were the basis for the calculation of total, underground and spring runoff, the ratio of spring runoff in groundwater runoff, groundwater recharge coefficient and spring recharge coefficient. The results indicate that crystalline rocks have a lower storage capacity but a higherconductivity than compact sedimentary rocks. The subsurface runoff coefficient was from 11 to 20% of precipitation and 57% of groundwater runoff is directed towards river beds (linear drainage). At the same time, small mountain catchments are the recharge area. The calculated values show that ca. 20% of groundwater is present in deeper circulation (in the regional circulation process) and recharge the lower located river systems. Groundwater renewable resources for the whole area (14.9 km2) were 5974 m3·d–1.

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.

The High Tatra Mountains are the highest mountain chain of alpine landforms in Central Europe to the east of the Alps. The northern (windward) part of the mountains is mostly located in Poland while the southern (leeward) part is in Slovakia. The article presents the first analysis of daily precipitation (10 stations) and discharge (7 catchments) data
covering the entire territory of the mountains. Data from the period 1961–2010 were used in the analysis. The precipitation data confirmed significant differences between the windward and the leeward sides. We found an increase in the number of days with precipitation amounts 40 to 60 mm in the season from May to October in the decade 2001–2010 compared to previous decades. More frequent long wet periods in the decades 1991–2000 and 2001–2010 were found as well. Runoff from the catchments located on the windward side of the mountains is higher than on the leeward side. It reflects higher precipitation on the windward side, but also a higher mean elevation of the catchments. The statistical analysis revealed inhomogeneities in 5 of 7 runoff data series. An increase in the number of events classified as small and large floods found in several catchments on both sides of the mountains in the decade 2001–2010 can be attributed to the increase of the number of days with daily precipitation 40–60 mm
and a higher frequency of the long-term wet periods.

Water circulation in flysch mountains is characterized by a substantial role of runoff due to the mountain topography and thin slope covers, which result in low retention rates. Climatic conditions determine streamflow and runoff regime, thus changes in precipitation and temperature could affect water circulation patterns. Stream runoff analysis in the  upper San catchment up to Solina Lake is interesting due to semi-natural features of the catchment (minimum human impact) and potential climate changes affecting streamflow. However, the investigation of stream runoff in the High Bieszczady Mountains has not yet been studied extensively with the use of the longest data series. The research objectives were to (1) characterize stream runoff in the High Bieszczady Mountains; and to (2) identify and assess changes in stream runoff for two periods: 1961–2015 and 1986–2015 on the example of the San river (Dwernik stream gauge) and the Solinka river (Terka stream gauge). Runoff variability was assessed using monthly flow coefficients and coefficients of multi-year variability of monthly flows. Minimum, mean and maximum streamflow records were analysed for trends with the nonparametric Mann-Kendall test in different time intervals: months, half-years and years. Streamflow regime of the San and Solinka rivers is characterized by the highest runoff values with low variability over a long period in spring months (March, April) due to snowmelt, whereas the lowest runoff occurres in August. Mean streamflow trends in the period 1961–2015 were not significant and indicated runoff fluctuations. However, the second period (1986–2015) revealed significant increase in mean and minimum runoff in the winter half-year (mainly January–March) and slight decrease in runoff in the summer half-year (particularly September). These changes are similar to trends observed in other mountain catchments in Europe, which have been explained by recent changes especially in Prace Geograficzne temperature but also in the type and sum of precipitation. Trends identified in the selected catchments as well as more frequent water deficits indicate a high demand for streamflow trends assessment in the other parts of the Polish Carpathians in the context of potential changes in groundwater resources.

In order to analyse discharge regimes in the middle course of the Sava River (Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina), three hydrologic stations were chosen, having homogenous as well as continuous data in the observed 1931–2010 period. Those stations are Rugvica at the beginning of the middle course of the Sava River, station Jasenovac located just forehead of the Una River mouth and all the other large tributaries from Bosnia and Herzegovina and station Županja near the end of the middle course of the Sava River. At all three stations, there are notable negative trends of annual mean (all stat. significant) and minimum discharges for the whole period. At the same time, only in the upper part of the middle course of the Sava River maximum annual discharges have a positive trend, contributing to more unfavourable regime characteristics. At all three stations a cyclic variation of mean annual discharges is observed, likely to be linked to the cyclic variation of annual precipitation in the area of the basin. According to the latest discharge regime typology of the region the discharge regime at Rugvica is of Peripannonian pluvial-nival type, while the discharge regimes downstream, at Jasenovac and Županja fall into Pannoninan pluvial-nival type. A comparison of discharge regimes established for two past climatological standard reference periods 1931–1960 and 1961–1990 as well as for the contemporary 30-year period 1981–2010 lead to a conclusion that important changes in mean monthly discharges yearly course already occurred in the climatological standard reference period 1961–1990 compared to the previous one. In 1961–1990 period the autumn season discharge decreased, which is almost solely a result of a large fall in the November mean monthly discharge at all stations. Furthermore, in the same 1961–1990 period a transition of the primary maximum in the annual course of mean  onthly discharges from November to December and of the secondary maximum from March to April occurred, which is preserved in discharge regimes in the middle course of the Sava River. Discharge regimes in the middle course of the Sava River in the contemporary period are characterised by decreased summer and even spring time discharges, which is linked to the trend of raising air temperatures, an increase in potential and real evapotranspiration and to a slowly decrease in annual precipitation, particularly in the summer season as established in spatially relevant previous climatological research.

Knowledge about water flow and contaminant transport in the unsaturated zone is crucial for groundwater resource estimations and groundwater vulnerability assessments. Large field lysimeters are commonly used as physical models of the unsaturated zone. Tracer experiments conducted in lysimeters are generally applied to investigate the time  scale of leaching processes in the unsaturated zone. In this paper the preliminary results of using penetrometer-based electrical resistivity profiling to follow tracer transport through the soil in a lysimeter. The measurements were made in two lysimeters (Liz A and Liz I) filled with the same sandy soil. A tracer solution was injected only into lysimeter A. The measurements in lysimeter I were treated as a benchmark reflecting the influence of temporal soil moisture variations on the soil electrical resistivity. Additionally, temperature profiling in the soil next to lysimeter column was conduceted to consider the impact of the temperature fluctuations on soil resistivity. The obtained soil resistivity profiles for lysimeter A clearly reflect the tracer breakthrough curves in the 7th and 22nd day after injection. The analysis of the curves yielded the approximated velocity of tracer transport.

The paper discusses chosen results of the third part of long-time, interdisciplinary studies on Hutsul summer farming in the Chornohora mountains, published in a book titled Pasterstwo w Czarnohorze (the English title: Shepherding in the Chornohora). Janusz Gudowski (the book’s editor) claims that the representativeness of the research carried out by his team in a small part of the Chornohora (Mt Kukul), is high, which is a matter of discussion here. The paper’s author argues with the applied research approach, which does not take into consideration a possible variation of economic relations in different grazing seasons and its influence on summer farming change. Examples of changes investigated during this research, and caused by such a variation, are discussed in the paper as a separate category of interdisciplinary study results, which cannot be extrapolated outside the study area. Treating such results as representative could give a false view of summer farming changes. Above all, the study area used in this interdisciplinary research cannot be recognized in author’s opinion as representative, when only relatively small secondary grasslands were investigated, resulting, among others, in overrepresentation of cattle farms as well as a lack of secondary succession symptoms. Among the most important features of the Chornohora summer livestock farming, not represented in the study area, and not described in this book, are sheep grazing in general (despite the English title of this book, only cattle grazing was investigated during this research) and communal grazing, both sheep and cattle. A different view on the role of long-time pasture ownership changes (1999–2014) and relations between the nature protection and summer farming in the Chornohora (two protected areas with different protection zones) is also presented in this paper.

Tekst stanowi odpowiedź na artykuł Mateusza Trolla pt. O reprezentatywności długoletnich, interdyscyplinarnych badań pasterstwa w Czarnohorze zamieszczony w tym tomie.

Odpowiedź nie była recenzowana, a w jej treść redakcja nie ingerowała.

Autor jest ekonomistą, pracuje w Wyższej Szkole Ekonomii i Innowacji w Lublinie