Natural Environment Monitoring 2011, No 12, 69-83
GEOECOSYSTEMS POLISH STATE – AN ASSESSMENT BASED ON SELECTED GEOINDICATORS IN THE INTEGRATED MONITORING OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME
Andrzej Kostrzewski, Józef Szpikowski, Grażyna Szpikowska
Summary
Assessment of current status, trends, threats and protection of the geographical environment is the primary purpose of research carried out since 1994 under the Integrated Monitoring of the Natural Environment. Quantitative and qualitative geoindicators, compiled on the basis of stockpiled IMNE database, allow for a fuller and more comprehensive assessment of the Polish geoecosystems. In the hydrological year 2010 the IMNE research program was conducted in eight Base Stations representing different landscape zones Polish, subjected to varying degrees of changes of natural and anthropogenic pressures. The year 2010, like the previous one, was a favorable period for delivery of water to the environment, which consequently led to the reconstruction of disturbed water retention deficient rainfall in 2002–2006. Applied geoindicators confirm a number of significant changes geoecosystems improvement: reducing pollution and increasing the pH in precipitation and a decrease in sulphate concentrations in rain waters, groundwater and surface water. Present in the atmosphere nitrogen oxides increase their participation in the acidification of precipitation by decreasing the role of sulfur dioxide. Still remain the problem of nitrogen compounds in groundwater in agricultural areas, which remained after the period of intensive fertilization, and whose removal from geoecosystem may be extended for many years. Weak trends indicating decrease of nitrogen concentrations in groundwater and surface water may mean that they are potentially a risk of eutrophication of waters in the studied geoecosystems. The presented results of a proposal to develop a quantitative methodological observed landscape changes based on long observational series obtained in IMNE. The obtained results have theoretical and practical significance for the study of planning and decision-making at different levels of environmental management.
