Spatial Differentiation of the Socio-Economic Development of Poland–“Invisible” Historical Heritage

The analysis aims to identify spatial variations of socio-economic development in Poland at the local level and to determine their correlation with conditions resulting from the historical political divisions of today’s areas of the country. The research procedure helps to verify the hypothesis that spatial differentiation of socio-economic development in Poland is permanent and does not show significant changes during periods of economic growth and crisis. We can emphasize at the same time the persisting differences between cities and their functional areas on the one hand and rural areas on the other. The study applied an innovative procedure of determining the synthetic index. The procedure of classifying local units presented in the text was based on the original random forest method. The outcomes confirm that contemporary spatial diversification at the level of socio-economic development in Poland is still strongly conditioned by history, especially by the socio-economic consequences of the partition of Poland between the three superpowers (Russia, Prussia and Austria). This is evident in the synthetic presentation of the level of socio-economic development. However, in the case of certain socio-economic phenomena, the values of indicators describing them no longer directly relate in their diversity to historical borders, particularly the former partition borders.

The Influences of Local Glacitectonic Disturbance on Overconsolidated Clays for Upland Slope Stability Conditions: A Case Study

Reliability of equilibrium state evaluation about settlement slopes in the context of natural and human-made hazards is a complex issue. The geological structure of the vicinity of the upland slope in the urban environment of Warsaw is characterised by a significant spatial diversification of the layers. This is especially due to the glacitectonics in the Mio-Pliocene clays, which are located shallowly under the sandy tills’ formations. With substantial variability in the clay roof surface, point recognition by drilling is often insufficient. The use of electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) in the quasi-3D variant provides accurate images of the real ground conditions, which is crucial in optimal geotechnical design. In forecasting the behaviour of the slope, it is necessary to quantify the impact of spatially differentiated systems of disturbed layers on changes in the safety factor (SF), which corresponds to the observed landslide activity of the Warsaw Slope. This study concerns numerous calculation model analyses of the optional clay position in the context of slope stability conditions. A wide range of soil properties variability was taken into account, resulting from both lithogenesis and subsequent processes disintegrating the original soil structure. Regarding the geological conditions of the slip surface, the use of classical computational methods and numerical modelling (FEM) was considered for comparative purposes. The results indicated that local changes in equilibrium conditions were affected by the different morphology of the clay roof surface of the slope and the alternation in strength characteristics on the slip surfaces. The findings of the study contribute to sustainable spatial planning of near-slope regions.

Mapping of EU Support for High Nature Value Farmlands, from the Perspective of Natural and Landscape Regions

Decoupling economic growth from the exploitation of natural resources, protecting vulnerable ecosystems, restoring habitats and species, and supporting areas used for organic farming are, along with achieving climate neutrality, key tenets of the European Green Deal (EGD)—the EU’s new sustainable economic strategy. One direction of activities to implement several of these goals simultaneously is the provision of financial support for agricultural activities aimed at protecting valuable plant and animal habitats and species. This study aims to present research results that include an analysis of the spatial diversification of EU support for nature value habitats in Poland against the background of physico-geographical regions. To date, no such studies have been conducted; instead, analyses of the spatial differentiation in how selected forms of EU funding are taken up in Poland and other European countries have mainly referred to regional or local territorial divisions, and not to regions distinguished based on natural environmental features. Payments from Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funds to support farms using nature value habitats were selected for the analysis. The analysis employed data from the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture (ARMA), as a disburser of EU funds for agriculture in Poland; the data related to two packages (No. 4 and 5) of Agri-Environment-Climate Measures (AECM), which constitute one of the measures of the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014–2020. The spatial and statistical analyses not only supported a general description of EU support for the protection of nature value habitats in Poland but also allowed a detailed evaluation of the distribution and areal coverage of nature value habitats subsidised by RDP funds to be presented, and a comprehensive assessment of the scale of support for the natural habitats covered by the programme.

The diversity and spatial polarisation of own incomes of the Polish gminas

Own incomes are considered one of the most important sources of financing for local governments in Poland. Although own incomes have been the subject of numerous analyses, extensive research focusing on their spatial aspect is rarely conducted. This article aims to identify the changes in the spatial diversification and polarisation of gminas (communes’) own incomes. Data from the Local Data Bank of Statistics Poland, the National Bank of Poland and the World Bank were used. The analysis covered the years 1995–2019. The study used the global spatial autocorrelation coefficient and the LISA method to identify the process of spatial dependence and to determine the degree of spatial polarisation. The Gini coefficient was applied to assess the level of diversity. The results of the analysis confirmed that an increasing spatial autocorrelation occurred in the studied period, leading to the spatial polarisation of the Polish gminas in terms of their own incomes. Gminas with a high level of own income formed spatial clusters within large urban agglomerations, in regions where natural resources were exploited, along the western border and the coastal belt. The findings show that the area of these clusters was expanding. On the other hand, low-own-income gminas were located in eastern and south-eastern Poland. The analysis has not confirmed that the dynamics of the gross domestic product or the level of inequality in gminas’ own income per capita had any effect on the changes in the spatial autocorrelation coefficient, nor, consequently, on the process of spatial polarisation.

Ice Melt-Induced Variations of Structural and Functional Traits of the Aquatic Microbial Community along an Arctic River (Pasvik River, Norway)

The effects of climate change-induced ice melting on the microbial communities in different glacial-fed aquatic systems have been reported, but seasonal dynamics remain poorly investigated. In this study, the structural and functional traits of the aquatic microbial community were assessed along with the hydrological and biogeochemical variation patterns of the Arctic Pasvik River under riverine and brackish conditions at the beginning (May = Ice-melt (−)) and during the ice-melting season (July = Ice-melt (+)). The microbial abundance and morphometric analysis showed a spatial diversification between the riverine and brackish stations. Results highlighted different levels of microbial respiration and activities with different carbon and phosphorous utilization pathways, thus suggesting an active biogeochemical cycling along the river especially at the beginning of the ice-melting period. At Ice-melt (−), Gammaproteobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria were dominant in riverine and brackish stations, respectively. Conversely, at Ice-melt (+), the microbial community composition was more homogeneously distributed along the river (Gammaproteobacteria > Alphaproteobacteria > Bacteroidetes). Our findings provide evidence on how riverine microbial communities adapt and respond to seasonal ice melting in glacial-fed aquatic ecosystems.

Changes in the spatial patterns of industrial innovativeness in Dolnośląskie Voivodeship (Poland) in 2009–2019

This article aims to identify changes in the industry’s patterns in innovativeness and show its spatial diversity based on the example of the largest urban centres in Dolnośląskie Voivodeship. An assessment of the level of concentration of industrial activity was used as the basis for identifying these processes. The range of issues used for analysis depended on data availability, especially at the local level. The analysis of industrial activities’ location was carried out based on entities registered in Section C (Manufacturing) of the Polish Classification of Economic Activities. The spatial patterns of industrial innovativeness were presented using the classification of manufacturing according to R&D levels. The research results indicate significant changes between 2009 and 2019 in the spatial patterns for both the voivodeship and its urban areas regarding the industry’s concentration and specialisation. At the same time, this was accompanied by a decrease in industrial production. Dolnośląskie Voivodeship shows a significant spatial diversification in such concentration and specialisation. The patterns identified indicate the growing role of the area surrounding Wrocław as one of intensive infiltration of industrial activities from the main centre. These processes are also found in smaller urban centres of the voivodeship; however, this infiltration is selective.

Scottish Islands Interconnections: Modelling the Impacts on the UK Electricity Network of Geographically Diverse Wind and Marine Energy

To meet climate change goals, the decarbonisation of the UK electricity supply is crucial. Increased geographic diversity and resource use could help provide grid and market stability and reduce CO2 intensive balancing actions. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of geographic diversity and Scottish island renewable energy on the UK network. This has been done by using the energy market modelling software PLEXOS with results validated using data for 2017/18. The model considers spatial diversification and forecasting errors by modelling day-ahead and intra-day markets with nodes for each distribution network operator region and island group. It was concluded that Scottish island renewable capacity could have a stabilising effect on the variability of renewables in terms of electricity generated, prices and forecasting errors, from the timescale of the entire year down to hours. The ability of geographically diverse generators to receive a higher price for electricity generated was shown to decrease with increased island capacity. Instances of negative prices were reduced with supply diversity (wind and marine) but not geographic diversity. Day ahead errors showed most clearly the impact of diversity of supply, particularly given the predictability of tidal stream generation.

Conditions for the Growth of Developers’ Activity on the Example of Poland and France

<p><strong>Theoretical background:</strong> Developers’ activity shows strong spatial diversification. These differences can be observed both between individual countries and within them - between cities. This means that developers’ activity is affected by a number of diverse factors of a national and local nature, which is also confirmed by the literature on the subject. This is a particularly important conclusion for developers operating at an international level. They have to make decisions in which country, and then in which city, development projects will bring the best results.</p><p><strong>Purpose of the article:</strong> The aim of this article is to identify nationwide barriers to the growth of developers’ activity, especially those that are evident in periods of recession, as well as solutions that should be taken to facilitate the functioning of such entities in Poland.<strong></strong></p><p><strong>Research methods:</strong> To achieve this aim, the desk research method and comparative analysis were used. A country which, apart from Poland, has been analyzed is France, which is also struggling with a housing deficit.</p><p><strong>Main findings:</strong> The conducted research showed that the main nationwide barriers to the growth of developers’ activity are insufficient purchasing power of the population resulting from the lower wealth of the Polish society, different regulations regarding the protection of buyers of developer dwellings, a smaller level of government support for both the demand and supply side of developers’ activity. Especially, the last one barrier should be taken under consideration. In the near future, due to the cyclical nature of the real estate market, a drop in demand for dwellings should be expected. Therefore, aid instruments for developers should be introduced to avoid a wave of bankruptcy. They could consist of training enabling retraining of activities into commercial or increasing the involvement of these entities in the implementation of housing for rent for people with lower incomes.</p>