Podatność środowiska przyrodniczego na wybrane czynniki presji - studium przypadku polskiej części zlewni Białki

Susceptibility of the natural environment to selected pressure factors - case study of the Polish part of the Białka river catchment

Summary: The diagnosis of the state of the natural environment is a frequent task of both theoretical researchers as well as teams of experts from a variety of institutions focused on environmental protection and management. This type of planning document serves as a key tool in natural environment and landscape protection. Diagnostic documents cover the identification and characterization of the state and functioning of the environment, critical analysis of the state of the environment, analysis of primary predispositions to generate spatial and functional structure, and evaluation of applicability to various forms of land management. In Poland, the identification of pressure factors and evaluation of environmental susceptibility could find an applied purpose in methods used to produce strategic planning documents. Political, economic, and social change in Poland in the 1990s produced a number of changes in the magnitude of various environmental processes. An example of an environmental system experiencing change is that of the Białka river catchment, which is a valuable natural area in southern Poland, an area affected by human impact to some degree. The scientific literature includes a number of works on the functioning and structure of this natural system. It covers several additional areas of inquiry including changes in the Białka environmental system, the presence of threats thereto, and the effects of human activity on the local environment (Balon 1993, 2001, 2002a; Kukulak 1994; Krąż, Balon 2010; Duda, Ziaja 2010; Krąż 2012a, b). The natural environment in the Białka catchment is susceptible to the effects of a number of pressure factors. The concept of susceptibility in the environmental context is defined as the yielding to pressure factors by a natural environment. The more susceptible the environment, the less stable it is, and vice versa. Less susceptible areas are more stable. However, it is also noteworthy that areas susceptible to a given type of change may not experience that particular type of change (Balon 2001). The study area consists of Polish part of the Białka river catchment, with an area of 127 km2. It is located in the Central Western Carpathians. The study area was divided into a set of square fields (side: 700 m). Each square was analyzed for the presence of selected pressure factors. Most data were acquired directly in the field, while data for less accessible locations were obtained from topographic maps and aerial photographs. The following environmental pressure factors were used in the study: abiotic degradation of forests, biotic degradation of forests, evolution of river channel systems, slope evolution, and renaturalization. Human impact factors included mostly tourism, agriculture, settlement, roads and associated infrastructure. In this study, several indexes were calculated: (1) environmental pressure susceptibility index, (2) human impact index, (3) comprehensive susceptibility index, which is the sum of those. The spatial distribution of comprehensive susceptibility index values varied. Test squares with the highest index value (7) were located along the axis of the Białka Valley. Index values of 5 and 6 were also quite common in the valley. This suggests an accumulation of environmental and anthropogenic functions in the study area, which now experiences a significant amount of functional conflict. At many locations across the valley, the natural environment is resilient enough to effectively resist the effects of pressure factors. This is not merely a reference to human impact, which is usually negative, but to all the studied pressure factors. The research method used in this study can be modified and used in a large variety of applied contexts. It can be used to identify potential conflicts between the needs of human society and the natural environment. The results of this study provide added value to planning documents. They can also be employed to support a frequently inadequate system of spatial planning and environmental protection in Poland.

Słowa kluczowe: podatność środowiska, czynniki presji, antropopresja, dolina Białki

Słowa kluczowe (w języku angielskim): environmental susceptibility, pressure factors, human impact, Białka valley

Franczak P., Krąż P., Liro J., Liro M., Listwan-Franczak K. (red.), 2016, Współczesne problemy i kierunki badawcze w geografii, t. 4, IGiGP UJ, Kraków, s. 117-138.

Instytut Geografii i Gospodarki Przestrzennej UJ

ISBN 978-83-64089-28-2

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