Some results of analyses and forecast studies conducted by IBMER on development of sustainable agricultural production integrated with multifunctional development and protection of rural areas were presented in the paper. Good quality plant and animal production must be intensified on decreasing arable lands (AL) with changing structure of material, energy and production service outlays to make possible leaving the agricultural and rural development to the next generation in a better condition than now. Quantitative and substitute changes in man power expenditure, material and investment outlays and in direct energy carrier expenditure in agriculture and its infrastructure influence not only the level of unit production costs of agricultural raw materials for foodstuff manufacturing, but also affect the progress of rural multifunctionality and the rate of implementation of agro-environmental programmes. Using the methodology of research, updated by the IBMER, on the current state and forecasts concerning cumulated material and energy expenditure computed by the rolling costs method we find that: – unit energy consumption in agricultural production calculated by the number of energy units (EU) per assumed corn unit (CU) decreases systematically and will further decline owing to rationalization of employment and the use of agrochemicals, utilization of durable means and reducing ...
The paper presents some results of Author’s own studies and field research, as well the model research conducted by IMBER on agricultural holdings transformation from extensive and intensive conventional organization of production to sustainable systems of agricultural production integrated with the rural environment. Such evolutional restructuring will involve almost all commercial farms covered by the obligations stated in the European Union Directives and requirements of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The main objective of the organizational, technological and ecological transformations in the activities of development agricultural holdings remains and will remain obtaining increasingly safer (healthy) raw materials and food products under conditions of better energy and the environment saving in rural areas. The development of organic agricultural production, i.e. conducted without the use of any agrochemicals, was viewed critically. A necessity for practical utilisation of the latest achievements of agrochemical industry and biological progress, including genetically modified organisms (GMO) was indicated. It was recommended that a precise, sustainable production should be developed using organic methods and modern technical means. The standards and methods of checking the supply of safe food to the market were assessed. It was found that not all parameters applied for certification of agricultural raw materials and ...
Rural areas are of great importance both for the natural environment and for economic life in Poland. Increasingly greater importance is assigned to their non-agricultural functions, such as: residential function, water management, regeneration of people’s strength and health, conservation of the natural environment, forestry, etc. The necessity for reconstruction of farming structures, regulation of processes related to the circulation of water and water erosion, and the need to protect water resources and natural biocenoses, will require formulation of a new usage model in those areas, and introduction of thorough changes in the area of agricultural management. Poland’s accession to the European Union in 2004 has allowed for taking long-term, very costly but necessary actions implementing the most important general social objectives, such as flood prevention and regulation of water relations, protection of the resources and valours of the natural environment and its partial renaturalization, shaping of the required climatic and landscape advantages of the rural areas, extension of the agricultural function of farms (apart from manufacturing activities) with ecological activities (related to conservation and protection), as well as conservation of cultural and ethnographic properties of the rural areas. Due to organizational reasons and their pro-social nature, such activities should be ...
The degradation of the Odra river bed is observed mainly below each last barrage of the channelized river sector Koźle - Wrocław. The mean river bed level is decreasing of some 4-8 cm yearly, causing the corresponding drop so of water surface in the river as of the ground water level in the valley. This degradation causes great problems so for navigation, as for agriculture and environment. The construction of successives last barrages Wrocław (1897), Rędzin (1922) and Brzeg Dolny (1958) had only a temporary effect. Below each of these barrages the river bed erosion continued, concerning a river reach of some 50-60 km. In 1994 Parzonka has proposed the conception of the "feeding" of the Odra just below the new barrage Malczyce (km 300,0), entering in action probably in 2012. The ad-ministration has decided in 2008, that this barrage can enter in work only after the accomplishment of important restoration works, taking in account the needs of environment, of navigation and agriculture and of the human population. The programme of restoration works provides two steps:- Step I: the elevation of the Odra bed level on the sector Malczyce-Ścinawa (km 300 - km 335) minimum by the half on the eroded ...
A forecast of socio-economic changes in agricultural holdings and sustain-able agriculture until 2030 was presented against the background of necessary energy and ecological changes occurring in rural areas and in the whole Poland.Results of Agricultural Census of 2010 (PSR'10) and initial results of Na-tional Census (GUS) of 2011 were used to determine the trends of changes in rural areas and in agriculture. It was forecasted that by 2030 about 39% of the population of Poland will live in rural areas constituting 33.0% of individual households. Farmer population in agricultural holdings over 1.0 ha AL will con-stitute 13.3% of rural communities and 5.2% of the whole country population. There will be about 530 thousand commodity farms (agricultural enterprises) which will supply to the market almost all commercial output of food raw materials. Introducing sustainable production and new technologies based on modern machinery aggregates will diminish unit labour and energy outlays, simultaneously contributing to an improvement of ecological requirements for soil, water, air, plants animals and human protection in rural areas. Agriculture will reduce methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission to the atmosphere, among oth-ers through increased use of renewable energy sources (RES). A critical and re-served attitude should be adopted ...
Out of all the people who visit Polish forests, not even one would fail to no-tice the trash, so often hidden here and there between the trees. Nature 2000 area is not free of it either. Is is essential to define how much and what kind of litter is in these forests. Operations where carried on in 2010 on the grounds of the Ostrów Mazowiecka community forests in order to determine the trash location and its amount. Data gathered thanks to the GPS techniques where inserted into the GIS system. This greatly helped in carrying out spatial analysis of the phenomenon under investigation. ...
Carpatian Mountains are the region of great significance for proper func-tioning of natural environment and of economic life of Poland as well. Scientific studies carried out and co-ordinated by the Mountain Areas Management Commitee of Polish Academy of Science show clear, that the preference functions of mountain areas should be: water man-agement, health and strength recovery of population, protection of natu-ral environment values, forestry and farming. Necessity of rebuilding of agrarian structures, control of processes related to water circulation and water errosion and the need of protec-tion of water resources and natural biocenosis, possible thanks to finance support of structural funds of the European Union, will require creation of a new land use model on the area under study, and introduction of thor-ough changes in agricultural land management directions. To put these tasks into practice, consolidation of land may be used as an effective tool of rebuilding of spatial structures of rural areas, after introduction of appropriate changes in regulations and procedures. ...
The objective of the paper was to learn about behavioural consumer preferences with regard to organic products distribution on the area of Małopolskie Voivodeship. The research studies covered purposefully selected a 100-person group of respondents. On account of the growing awareness of consumers concerning healthy food, they will even more often reach for organic products. Thus, the process of their distribution should be properly prepared so that the demand for this kind of food is the highest. The investigated respondents use a previously prepared shopping list and carefully read available products while shopping. Majority of them look for loose products. A proper quality of products and form of sale may increase the consumers' interest and consequently their distribution ...
The main purpose of the paper was to determine the influence of catchment management on the bottom sediments quality of small water reservoirs as well as to determine toxic metal content in rushes. Samples of bottom sediments were collected in winter 2013 year, form 4 sediment layers (0-5, 5-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm) at three points along the body of water. The 48 samples were collected. Soil material was prepared according to the procedures used in soil science, the analysis was performed for the fraction with a particle diameter of less than 1 mm. Plant samples from single species aggregations were randomly cut from 5 to 10 locations of 20-50 m2 area. From these samples the average composite sample was prepared. The total content of such elements as Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry (using the Thermo Scientific iCE 3000 series spectrometer) after prior digestion in the mixture (5:1) of concentrated acids HNO3 (65%) and HClO4 (60%). Total Hg content was determined by the AMA 254 analyzer. Between the small water reservoirs adjacent to the areas where organic farming is used, and the reservoirs adjacent to the areas with mineral fertilization ...
The main purpose of this work was to determine the degree of negative impact of heavy metals accumulated in the water sediments to aquatic organisms. Samples of sediments were collected in winter 2013, from 4 layers of sediment (0-5, 5-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm) at three points along the water reservoir. Sediments were prepared for analysis in accordance with the procedures applied in soil science. The analysis was carried out for the fraction with a particle diameter less than 1 mm. The total content of such elements as Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn, was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry (using the Thermo Scientific iCE 3000 series spectrometer) after digestion in a mixture (5:1) of concentrated acid HNO3 (65 %) and HClO4 (60%). The total Hg content was obtained by using the AMA 254 analyzer. Only the lead content in the analyzed samples of bottom sediments exceeded the contamination value given by polish law (the Regulation of the Minister of Environment). According to the classification of PGI samples of sediments are classified mainly as medium polluted sediments (Class II), with the exception of zinc and lead concentrations (Class III). Due to the value of the indicator ...
Mamar is an artificial oasis that provides a base for natural resource conservation in West Timor. The uniqueness of Mamar is its application in arid natural environments through a sustainable local leadership system, and it has a positive impact ecologically, economically, and socially. However, the Mamar system needs to receive more attention from the government in conserving natural resources. Such studies like Mamar's have been conducted elsewhere in Indonesia under different names, but they were applied in areas with wet and relatively fertile climates. Also, research on Mamar has been carried out by several parties related to the function of Mamar economically and the condition and structure of Mamar physically and biologically. However, research on Mamar related to the Construction of Environmental Leadership with local community behavior in Mamar based natural resource conservation has never been done. This research aims to analyze the construction of environmental leadership in natural resource conservation practices based on the Mamar system. This research was conducted through qualitative methods and critical interpretive approaches, with data collection techniques in the form of observation and interviews.The results indicate that Mamar based natural resource conservation in West Timor has positively and significantly impacted social, economic, and ecological aspects ...
