<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Digital relief models deliver a valuable information about the morphology of a particular area. They are useful in structural geomorphology analysis. However, their correct generation requires knowledge of geostatistic methods, including cross-validation. This article presents the importance of cross-validation, using the example of the Grodziec area (Silesian Upland, southern Poland). The choice of the test area was determined by its geomorphology – high altitude differences (140 meters maximum) and the co-occurence of landforms of different rank, genesis and size. This area includes some towering hills – monadnocks, which are Middle-Triassic cuesta remainders. These forms clearly dominate in the surrounding area incised by river valleys. Besides the large forms sculptured by erosion and denudation processes, there are also anthropogenic landforms – stone pits – of much smaller size. We asked the question whether and to what extent they will be “visible” on digital relief models depending on the variogram model setup. Two digital relief models were generated (one with a deliberately incorrect and one with the correct variogram setup) and verified using the cross-validation method. The results of this experiment show that correct digital model carries only slight overestimation of mean squared standardized error while the incorrect model shows substantial underestimation of sampling points values. The correct model is more vivid – it clearly shows most of the relief details while the DTM (digital terrain model) generated by the incorrect setup is misrepresented and blurred. This indicates that conclusions based on incorrect relief models may be subject to high errors.</abstract>

The validity of cross-validation usage in generating digital relief model of an anthropogenically transformed area

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The UK conurbation of Birmingham and the Black Country has recently been surveyed for a new Flora, on the basis of a 1 km square grid. The present paper uses the data to describe the ecological network of the conurbation. The total number of taxa per 1 km squares is shown to be moderately but significantly correlated, and the number of native taxa more strongly correlated, with the area of the previously-established network of protected sites. Nevertheless coincidence maps of total numbers or numbers of native species per 1 km square give only poor representations of the ecological network compared with maps of protected sites. Axiophytes are defined as plant species 90% restricted to conservation habitats and recorded in fewer than 25% of 2km × 2km squares in a county. Applying the concept to 1 km squares in Birmingham and the Black Country creates a list of 256 axiophytes. Numbers of axiophytes are shown to be more strongly correlated with areas of protected sites than total taxa or native taxa and a coincidence map of the axiophytes is found to provide a useful quantitative assessment of the ecological network. Maps of axiophytes are used to divide the network into core and linking areas and their use in consolidating and improving the botanical ecological network is explored.</abstract>

Biology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Wolverhampton, Wulfruna Str., WV1 1LY., Great Britain

EcoRecord, 16 Greenfield Crescent, Birmingham B15 3AU, Great Britain

The use of the axiophyte species concept to describe the ecological network of the Birmingham and Black Country of the UK West Midlands

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The common dandelion (<italic>Taraxacum officinale</italic> Web.) is considered to be a good indicator species due to its wide spread and high tolerance to harsh environmental conditions. It was used in this study to assess contamination with selected heavy metals (Zn, Pb, Cd) within urban habitats of the city of Katowice (southern Poland). Samples were collected from outside the forest regions. Content of heavy metals was determined using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (F-AAS). The soil mineralization was conducted using 50,0 cm3 10% HNO3. Determination of elemental concentrations in the plant material was carried out with the “wet” method using heating blocks for a period of 7-10 days. The following concentration ranges for individual elements in soil were found: 14,03–2049,50 mg kg−1 (Pb), 17,91–4118,00 mg kg−1 (Zn), 0,25–52,93 mg kg−1 (Cd). Concentrations within the leaves of common dandelion were: 5,52–93,04 μg g−1 (Pb), 71,71–807,15 μg g−1 (Zn), 0,10–15,69 μg g−1 (Cd). Plants from the most heavily contaminated soils were characterised by the lowest bioaccumulation coefficient. The most contaminated areas were the districts: Szopienice-Burowiec and Wełnowiec-Józefowiec, while the least contaminated were the southern districts of Katowice (i.e. Zarzecze, Podlesie). There is also a clear link between the content of heavy metals in soils examined in this study and the land use.</abstract>

An assessment of urban habitat contamination with selected heavy metals within the city of Katowice using the common dandelion (<italic>Taraxacum officinale</italic> Web.) as a bioindicator

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Allotment gardens are a characteristic feature of the industrial landscape of Upper Silesia. The purpose of the study has been to present various aspects of allotment location in the urban landscape. A more than a 100-year-old development process has shaped the contemporary structure of the allotments which constitute a multi-functional part of the development. In the historical development, there have coexisted the following functions: economic, recreational, ecological, landscape and socio-educational. Under the existing administrative restrictions, they were developed as a result of an unfavourable economic situation and focused on food production. Allotment gardens usually developed without the interference of urban planners, which had, and still have, many organizational consequences. Distance from the centre is the main factor influencing the spatial distribution of allotment gardens in urban areas. The detailed location is determined by the environmental conditions and administrative decisions that are usually taken, albeit under pressure, due to the high demand for allotments. Distance-related profiles demonstrate the relationship between the distance from the centre and the share of allotments in the land surface as well as the size of the time-space changes resulting from the development of the city. In many cities, there are concentric concentration zones at a certain distance from the centre. Analysis has shown that allotments are quite clearly linked to the structural units of the city. Larger concentrations are formed on the outskirts of residential multi-family buildings. The results of the research confirm compliance with the design recommendations that the distance should not cause too much time loss for users.</abstract>

Allotment gardens and spatial development – two case studies from the Katowice conurbation, Poland

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The article is devoted to the issue of accessibility of public transportation in the area of the Katowice conurbation. The scope of the research was local mass transit, that is tram, trolleybus and bus transportation. The research area, was established on the basis of the shape created by the transport network, and included 48 communities located in the central part of the Silesian voivodeship. In its model depiction, public transportation accessibility was treated as one of three interconnecting aspects, along with the infrastructural development and the offer level. In research on spatial accessibility, the method of model equidistances that replace the isochrones of distance to a stop was applied. The best accessibility to this service was observed in Siemianowice Śląskie, while the worst was in the community of Wielowieś. The research results have revealed significant discrepancies between public transportation accessibility itself, and the level offered. Research on the time of transit to the centre was performed with the use of an indicator constructed with the help of the point and rank method and this showed that the best accessibility to the centre was observed in Chorzów. The research on the time of transit between community centres was performed for all the communities with the use of direct connections and transfers. The shortest average time of transit was characteristic for Katowice, whereas the longest was in the community of Pilchowice. The research on transportation connections of public transportation completed the picture of accessibility. A measure of these connections was established as an average total number of inter-community connections for all days of the week. Katowice was characteristic of the best spatially developed network of connections whereas the most developed connections were observed between Katowice and Chorzów. The comparison of public transportation accessibility in the system of communities was performed with the quality classification method, on the basis of four previously characterized meters. According to the synthetic indicator, the best accessibility was in Katowice and the worst in the rural community of Bobrowniki. The results of the conducted research have confirmed the presence of dependence between accessibility and population density – the higher the population, the better the accessibility. They also indicate that in the research on accessibility, the role of time is not to be neglected – the research area being an example, where despite the transportation network covering a territory of almost 3 thousand km2, the real possibilities for moving are much lower due to the time of transit.</abstract>

Public transportation accessibility in the Katowice conurbation, Poland

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Nature’s resources having a usability attribute are nature values – if they are able to provide for human demands that are being exploited. This article relates to the environmental potential of mining and post – mining areas as well as possibilities of its use in the development of tourisms and recreation. An original typology of the nature value and the assessment of the tourist usability of environment of chosen mining towns of the Rybnik Coal Area – Wodzisław Śląski, Radlin, Rydułtowy, and Pszów are presented in this work. The Rybnik Coal Area is situated in the southern Poland, in a south-west part of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin. A geological substratum consists of Carboniferous rocks with a hard coal layer exploited from the end of 18th century, but more intensively in the last half-century. In all of the researched towns, hard coal mining is still running and anthropogenic processes changing the environment are taking place. An inventory of natural resources was performed during the direct field work in the years 2010-2011. The nature values were catalogued in a typological way according to the elements of the environment from which they result, focusing on the mining character of the research areas. Therefore, geologic, geomorphologic, hydrologic and biotic (of flora and fauna) have been highlighted, while climatic values have been omitted intentionally due to the vast issue of the assessment of the bioclimatic zone potential. Additionally, natural and anthropogenic elements were distinguished in each group of the values. Due to a significant degree of anthropogenic transformations of the environment, the analysed area is characterised by low environmental attractiveness; tourism and recreation play a marginal role there. Among the nature values of the analysed towns, the geologic qualities are the most significant ones. Therefore, geotourism is the form of tourist activity suggested to revive the region. The greatest potential for the development of geotourism is shown by Pszów, Radlin, Rydułtowy. The development and popularisation of geoturism should be included in the planning documents of the towns mentioned above. In order to increase tourist movement, it is suggested to mark up so-called academic-didactic paths and to mark geotourist object with appropriate information signs and more importantly with the development of infrastructure serving tourism and recreation.</abstract>

Department of Regional Geography and Tourism, Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia Będzińska Str. 60, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland

Department of Tourism and Health Resort Management, Institute of Geography and Spatial Management, Faculty of Biology and Earth Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa Str. 7, 30-387 Kraków, Poland

The typology of the nature values in the mining towns on the examples from the region of the Rybnik Coal Area

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