<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> Starczynów „Desert” is located in the eastern part of the Silesian Upland (southern Poland) and makes a compact area with the occurrence of aeolian sands, which till the 1960s. were intensively blown. Its flat surface is diversified by many dunes of different shapes and sizes. Aeolian coversands are formed here as a cover of changing thickness. The „desert” is not a typical dry climatic area. The term Starczynów „Desert” refers to the area of occurrence of bare sands and aeolian processes and makes a geographical name that can be found on topographic maps. Its development was conditioned by human activity, where since the Middle Ages dense forest areas have been cut to obtain timber for the needs of contemporary mining and metallurgy of lead and silver ores causing the activation of aeolian processes at sandy substratum, built from the Vistulian proluvial-deluvial deposits. In the formation of the aeolian relief of Starczynów „Desert” it is possible to distinguish some stages of intensive wind activity: the 13th-15th centuries, the 16th-17th centuries, the turn of 18th and 19th centuries, the turn of 20th and 21st centuries. In present times human interference in the environment of Starczynów „Desert” consists of fixing sandy areas to protect them from deflation. Human damage exists here in the aeolian relief through terrain levelling and building fire escape roads. In the north-eastern part of the „desert” sand was exploited, therefore a sandpit appeared. This area was subject to the activity of mining for Zn-Pb ores, which caused numerous collapsed cones. In the last few years this part of the „desert” was properly reclaimed.</abstract>

Human activity and aeolian relief of Starczynów “Desert”, Poland

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Investigations on the ice phenomena were carried out on a small water reservoir located in the northern part of Katowice, at A4 motorway, in terrains of the Shopping-Service Centre “3 Ponds” (“Trzy Stawy”). Observations on the course of ice phenomena were performed in the winter season 2011/2012. Measurements were started in the moment occurrence of the first forms of the ice phenomena and were finished after their complete disappearance. The investigations had a character of systematic, daily observations and consisted in the mapping of ice phenomena. Among basic research aims should be numbered as follows: evaluation of the ice phenomena course, the identification of the ice phenomena forms, determination of changes in the range of ice cover and its characteristics in terms of recreational use as well. The first effects of low air temperatures occurred on the 19th November of 2011. At the beginning the ice phenomena in a form of so-called shore naledi and shore ice appeared. The formation of a compact ice cover happened not before than after nearly two months. Permanent ice cover formed on 16th January 2012. At the end of ice cover occurrence its crashing followed, reflecting in a form of numerous fissures in the ice. The complete disappearance of processes and forms ice phenomena happened on the 21st March 2012. Ice phenomena in the winter season 2011/2012 occurred for 124 days from the 18th November 2011 till the 21st March 2012, including uninterruptedly for 65 days. Ice cover in the initial stage had an ephemeral character. Safe recreational use of ice cover at the reservoir (e.g. walking, fishing, ice skating) was possible only for about 20 days, when its thickness exceeded 15 cm and ice composition had a homogenous (crystalline) structure. The course of ice phenomena indicates their quasinatural character, resulting from the natural conditions.</abstract>

Course of ice phenomena in small water reservoir in Katowice (Poland) in the winter season 2011/2012

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> The Water Framework Directive introduced an ecological approach to the assessment and classification of waters. The part of the assessmentare macrophyte - based methods used in the evaluation of the ecologicalcondition of rivers in respect of biodiversity. The Macrophyte Method for River Assessment has been used in Poland since 2007 and provides us with an information about ecological state of the rivers. Presented analyses were aimed to describe macrophyte development in the sandylowland type of river in the Silesian Upland. The assessment was made for lowland Pszczynka River (45.8 km total length, total catchment area 368.3 km2), which is a left-bank tributary of Vistula River. At the selected 10 research sections of the river (100 m each) the composition of macrophytes and abiotic conditions of the river were described. The paper presents the results of preliminary assessment of ecological condition of Pszczynka River on the background sources of substances discharged to the riveralongits course. Macrophyte Index for Rivers (MIR) was calculated based on the results of the research - river bed surface coverage by the particular plant species. The MIR limit values were used to determine the class of water quality in the examined river. Overall, the ecological status of Pszczynka River was rated as moderate and its water classified as Class III of water quality.</abstract>

Macrophytes in the assessment of river ecological condition on the example of Pszczynka River (Silesian Upland)

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The post-industrial landscapes represent a legacy of the industrial revolution. There have been gradually formed numerous enterprises of various industry branches on the territory between Czech-Polish border in the North and Moravian-Silesian Beskydes Mts. (a part of Carpathians) in the South (the western border follows the foothills of Hercynian Bohemian Highlands). In the given study, there are demonstrated examples of the post-industrial landscape in the concerned area of Ostrava, which is a part of the so called Upper Silesian industrial corridor that is intensively linking industrialized region of Upper Silesia in Poland and the Czech Republic with other developed regions of Europe to southwest through the Moravian Gate to the Danube region. This paper demonstrates the procedure for defining the post-industrial landscapes in general, their classification and standardization using the available data sources and GIS technology. For the processing the data of the deployment of brownfields, contaminated sites, industrial constructions of architectural heritage, mining points and areas, human made landforms, industrial and landfill sites etc. were used. They document the genesis, the territorial shape and the geographic position of the post-industrial landscape in the study region. In the concerned area of Ostrava four “rural” post-industrial landscapes were identified and classified into three different genetic types. This paper also presents a methodology for identifying, mapping and classification of post-industrial landscapes on the basis of publicly available and state-managed databases.</abstract>

Institute of Geonics, Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic, Ostrava, Brno branch, Drobného Str. 28, 60200 Brno, Czech Republic

Department of Geoinformation Technologies, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University, Zemědělská Str. 3, 61300 Brno, Czech Republic

Institute of Geonics, Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic, Ostrava, Studentská Str. 1768, 70800 Ostrava, Czech Republic

Department of Regional Development and Public Administration, Faculty of Regional Development and International Studies, Mendel University , tř. Gen. Píky Str. 7, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic

Delineation of post-industrial landscapes of the Upper Silesian corridor in the Basin of Ostrava

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Motorway construction poses various problems, both in green fields, mainly because of concerns about the natural environment, as well as in brown fields, for technical reasons and due to disturbing residents. The Silesian voivodeship is one of the particularly problematic areas. The construction of the A1 motorway is not an easy task there. It is not only because of the potential changes in the environment or difficulties in conducting construction work in mining areas, but also because of the highly urbanised area, requiring both the compulsory purchase of land, as well as demolition of housing infrastructure. The aim of the study is to present the most serious conflicts related to the construction of the A1 motorway in the Silesian voivodeship. The method used in the study was the analysis of documents related to its construction from the websites of the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (Generalna Dyrekcja Dróg Krajowych i Autostrad - GDDKiA), the Voivodeship Office in Katowice and evaluation of information from the websites of communities in which the motorway investments were carried out. Moreover, voivodeship electronic editions of magazines and daily newspapers from the years 2006-2013 on the disputes arising from the construction of the A1 motorway were reviewed. As a result of the study it was found that for different sections of the motorway social conflicts occurred. They were diverse in nature, extent and the course. The analysis of the results shows that the implementation of this type of investment requires not only financial expenses and studies on the environmental impact, but also activities involving their social environment.</abstract>

Social investment conflicts related to the construction of the A1 motorway in the Silesian voivodeship (Southern Poland)

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> The 90s of the twientieth century carried a restructuring of the industry which involved the adaptation of enterprises to operate in a market economy, the workforce reduction and privatization of industrial facilities. Economic transformation has contributed to the socio-economic changes in industrial and mining towns. It affected the changes in the employment structure, changes in the number of population, migration decisions, the quality of medical care and municipal institutions support. Ruda Śląska is a typical mining town, history of which for nearly 200 years has been a consecutive period associated with the mining and heavy industries. This work is based on statistical data and approximates the effects of restructuring evident in Ruda Śląska. The presented characterization indicates that the situation prevailing in the city refers to the conditions of life in the most traditional mining regions of Central and Eastern Europe. Despite the significant reconstruction in the employment structure, Ruda Śląska retains partly its mining character. Population of the town is trying to cope with the need to adapt to new economic realities, among others, by changing the sector of economy to work in. Employment reductions have contributed to the increase of population migration. In conjunction with the natural loss it resulted in a decrease of the number of population and population aging. The support of the cities and sanitary facilities offered, among others, by social assistance centers and employment has great importance in overcoming the negative effects of the economic transformation.</abstract>

Socio-economic problems in a mining town during the economy restructuring period on the example of Ruda Śląska, Poland

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Environmental & Socio-economic Studies

 Environmental &amp; Socio-economic Studies is an international, peer-reviewed journal publishing original research papers, review articles and scientific communications concerning the interactions between human activity and the environment in urban and industrial areas, and the functioning of society and nature, both in periods of urban growth and economic development, and in periods of the restructuring of the economy and the development of post-industrial space. The research attention is focused on cities, metropolitan areas and their associated suburban and rural areas, industrial and mining districts, and other areas under human impact. The journal also presents research results across the fields of physical geography, economic and human geography, the biology of organisms, ecology and nature conservation, environmental protection and natural resource management, geology, environmental engineering, environmental law and social sciences.   The journal is indexed in Scopus and Web of Science - Clarivate Analytics Emerging Sources Citation Index.   Environmental &amp; Socio-economic Studies publishes the results of research across a wide variety of interests in the following fields:    Human impact on the environment   Biomarkers used in monitoring the environment   Urban ecology   Landscape and urban planning   Environmental protection and restoring nature   Environmental management   Reclamation of post-industrial and post-mining areas   Economic development   Urban growth, living conditions and social conflicts   Conflicts around the use of natural resources   Legal aspects of environmental protection and spatial planning   Sustainable development   Environmental education   Physical geography and geology      Archiving   Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.   Plagiarism Policy   The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process.   Charges   The journal does not have article processing charges (APCs) nor article submission charges. 