PNRP 38(1) – 2019 r.

Structure and development of primary and second-growth (transitional)
forest under strict protection regime of the Bia³owie¿a National Park

SUMMARY

The article presents changes in a treestand developed in a former clear-cut area from 1908. The forest formed as a result of spontaneous regeneration, devoid of human intervention. Concurrently, the development of a neighbouring treestand, where there was no previous cutting, is presented. Data used in the analysis come from an inventory performed in 1948, as well as the results of measurements on permanent study plots set in 1990 and performed in the years: 1998, 2003 and 2016.
Collected data were processed and analysed on a BWINPro forest development simulator. This enabled the graphic visualization of treestands using historical data (from 1948) and the results of measurements performed in 2016. It also enabled the calculation of the main assessed descriptive and structural parameters of treestands for all times of measurement.
In the primary forest stand, with hornbeam, maple, lime and spruce as prevailing species, a decrease of maple, oak, elm and spruce was observed, while the share of lime and hornbeam increased. The second-growth forest, formed in the former clear-cut area, and consisting mainly of birch, aspen and goat willow, was becoming gradually dominated by hornbeam and lime. The goat willow receded 80 years after clear-cut logging took place.
The strict protection regime enables the observation of long-term processes of forest regeneration without direct anthropopressure, and comparison with the development of forest stands not subjected to human-caused disturbances. In such conditions regeneration leads to the re-establishment of natural species composition and structure typical of a given habitat type in the second generation. The described treestands (primary forest stand and second-growth forest) present indicator values characteristic of high structural diversity. The presented results confirm previous statements that in Bia³owie¿a Forest the regeneration of oak-hornbeam habitat type takes 300 - 350 years.

New data on the distribution
of Dryad Minois dryas (SCOPOLI, 1763) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)
in south-eastern Poland from 2016-2018

SUMMARY

During the next phase of the investigation of Dryad - Minois dryas (Scopoli, 1763) distribution in the period 2016-2018 in south-eastern Poland the species was found at 77 new localities. The localities are placed in 37 (16 new) UTM squares (10×10 km) and in 12 mesoregions - Olkusz Upland, Strzy¿ów Foothills, Ciê¿kowice Foothills, Przemy¶l Foothills, Dynów Foothills, Bukowsko Foothills, Jas³o Foothills, Pieniny Mts., S±cz Beskid Mts., Low Beskid Mts., Sanok-Turka Mts. and Western Bieszczady Mts. In 2 of them - S±cz Beskid Mts. and Ciê¿kowice Foothills - Dryad was found for the first time. Additionally, in Pieniny National Park and Poprad Landscape Park, Dryad was found for the first time, and in Ojców NP the species was found for the second time, after 53 years of lack of data. A few new localities of M. dryas were found in Bieszczady NP, and in the buffer zone of Magura NP. Moreover, 21 earlier known sites located in 5 mesoregions: Przemy¶l Foothills, Dynów Foothills, Rzeszów Foreland, Low Beskid Mts. and Sanok-Turka Mts. were monitored, but in 2 of them the author did not manage to confirm the presence of Dryad. The current and historical distributions of M. dryas in Poland generalized in the UTM grid were summarized. At the moment Dryad is known in Poland from 191 sites within 74 UTM squares 10×10 km, located in 17 mesoregions. Horizontal and vertical distributions, and the size of the local populations of M. dryas in almost two hundred localities was thoroughly analyzed. At the moment, due to the growing number of known colonies and the increasing area of occurrence, the species is not considered to be threatened with extinction.

Changes in geographical space after
the foundation of national parks - selected examples

SUMMARY

National parks are special areas with unique natural, scientific and cultural values, to name but a few. Their natural or close to natural resources should be preserved. However, the implementation of some changes to these areas is connected with their new status of a national park. The main aim of this article is to present the changes taking place in the geographical space when it is granted the status of a national park. These changes concern various areas, such as tourism, and social and spatial development. The author discusses them, referring to the examples of Polish national parks.

Evaluation of tourist and educational potential of educational trails
of Ojców National Park

SUMMARY

Interpretative trails are used primarily to teach about nature, but also the history and culture of a given place. In Poland, the guidelines for their creation are not regulated by law. However, in the literature one can find studies containing principles as to what educational trails should look like. The study assessed the touristic and educational potential of didactic trails in the Ojców National Park, whose flora and fauna, as well as inanimate nature values, attract hundreds of thousands of tourists a year. National and foreign publications containing guidelines for designing and constructing educational trails were used as the basis for the assessment. The research covered the compliance of four trails with educational, compositional and engineering-technical guidelines collected by Cieszewska (2017). Field work was carried out in February and April 2018. The following parameters of the trails were analysed: dimensions, number and location of stops, transition time, adjustment for the disabled, natural elements, access, environmental impact, landscape elements, as well as the construction and content of information boards. A simple accordance index (WZ) of the investigated trails with the guidelines included in the publications and covering all three categories of the analysed criteria was also calculated. The smallest correspondence occurred with educational guidelines, while the largest characterised compositional requirements. The most in line with the design recommendations were the trails at the Education and Museum Centre (WZ = 63-76%) and the Ciemna cave - Mt Okopy (WZ = 66-75%). The average consistency of the assessed trails with the guidelines and construction recommendations may result from the lack of legal regulation of this issue, and the related freedom of trail creators, and from the fact that interpretative trails in the Ojców National Park were mostly led through already existing tourist routes.

SHORT FLORISTIC, FAUNISTIC AND MICOBIOTIC NOTES

A record of the North American wedge clam Rangia cuneate
in the vicinity of Mewia £acha nature reserve

SUMMARY

The contribution presents a new site of the North American wedge clam Rangia cuneata (G.B. Sowerby I, 1831) in the Baltic Sea. Empty shells were found in the vicinity of Mewia £acha nature reserve in Mikoszewo, Poland (54.349227°E; 18.972424°E) in September 2018. The clam most probably also occurs within the reserve.