The conservation of environmental resources is aimed at ensuring the continuity of ecosystem services for future generations and maintaining ecosystem integrity. Given the extensive reliance of agriculture on the environment, it is crucial to identify factors that impact the quality of ecosystem services (ESs), which can be regulated at large and heterogeneous national or European scales. This research, conducted within the Polish use case of the AGRICORE project, aims to demonstrate the feasibility of establishing indicators depicted in three ES categories, which can be shaped under the actions of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The study was conducted based on national sources, mostly the database of the Central Statistical Office. The analyses of regression showed a significant impact of selected agricultural productivity factors on the key performance indicators (KPIs) assessing the level of selected ESs. The yield of cereal grains, which quantitatively expresses the potential of current crop production, depended to the greatest extent (r = 0.81) on a comprehensive indicator of the agricultural production space suitability, as well as on the rise of the level of nitrogen fertilization (r = 0.68), and also on the reduced share of permanent grassland in the agricultural area (r = −0.53). It was proved that in territorial units, in which the level of nitrogen fertilization per 1 ha was greater, the share of soils with favorable pH > 5.5 was also greater. The gross nitrogen balance had a positive and significant correlation with the level of investment subsidies (r = 0.86), the share of agricultural land in the total area (r = 0.67), and the level of nitrogen fertilization (r = 0.66). Notably, there were positive correlations between the level of environmental subsidies and the increase in forestation (r = 0.68) and also between air quality and the share of cereals in the sowing structure (r = 0.86). Additionally, the impact of agricultural productivity factors on cultural eco-services was found, e.g., the share of ecological land had a positive impact on the number of natural monuments, the area of nature reserves, the number of agritourists, and agritourism nights, while the share of cereals in the sowing structure negatively correlated with the most of analyzed cultural indicators. These results are useful for the development of a module for the ABM model that employs the desired environmental parameters to provide different assessments of the impact of selected agricultural productivity factors and ecosystem services on the economic farm status.

This paper presents the results of a survey conducted electronically in the years 2020-2022 within the framework of the AGRICORE Horizon project. It concerned the Agri-Environment-Climate Measure M10 within the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 and aimed to quantify the impact of its effects...

Industry 4.0 and 5.0 technologies have made industrial environments data-rich, yet a persistent cognitive gap remains: operators face substantial difficulty interpreting and acting on this data in unstructured, time-critical situations. This paper presents an architecture that integrates the Asset Administration Shell (AAS), OPC UA, and a Large Language Model (LLM)-based agentic AI within a mandatory Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) framework. The AAS acts as a semantic grounding layer through Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), supplying the LLM agent with ECLASS-referenced technical parameters that reduce the risk of hallucination. OPC UA Methods form a deterministic execution layer that keeps agent actions within PLC-validated safety boundaries. The HITL mechanism enforces a cryptographic approval gate so that no physical machine action can occur without documented human authorization. This requirement was motivated by an industrial survey ($n=117$), in which 47% of employees stated that human oversight is irreplaceable, combined with enterprise safety and accountability requirements and broader governance considerations for AI-driven actuation in safety-critical cyber-physical systems. Two proof-of-concept case studies evaluate the architecture under controlled laboratory conditions. Proof-of-concept results indicate system processing latencies of 1.7 s (maintenance) and ∼15 s (scheduling), with end-to-end latencies (including mandatory human approval) of 14.9 s and 62 s, respectively, representing estimated improvements of approximately 97% and 96% over expert-estimated manual baselines (∼8 min and 25–40 min). All figures derive from single scripted runs under controlled laboratory conditions and should be read as indicating architectural feasibility at Technology Readiness Level 4, not as statistically validated performance benchmarks: variability bounds and confidence intervals are unavailable, the manual baselines are expert estimates rather than instrumented measurements, and operator deliberation times derive from a single response per scenario. A structured comparison with related work shows that, to the authors’ knowledge, no published approach in the surveyed literature combines AAS semantic grounding, OPC UA deterministic execution, and mandatory cryptographic HITL within a single empirically grounded framework.

Purpose: This paper aims to evaluate the significance of the supplier assessment process in supply chain management, with a focus on its role in improving supplier relationships and ensuring overall supply chain efficiency. The research investigates key performance criteria and their impact on collaboration with suppliers. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses a diagnostic survey method, employing an electronic questionnaire completed by 150 internal customers from six countries. The evaluation focused on 186 key suppliers representing 15% of the total supplier base. The analysis incorporated predefined scoring criteria, including price, quality, delivery timeliness, flexibility, and service quality. Results were categorized to inform subsequent supplier management actions. Findings: The majority of suppliers (74%) fell into the average performance group, while only 1% exceeded expectations. However, 25% of key suppliers performed below expectations, highlighting areas requiring corrective action. The findings underscore the importance of supplier assessment as a critical auxiliary process that influences supplier collaboration and the effectiveness of the supply chain. Research limitations/implications: The research focuses on a single company within the TSL (Transport-Forwarding-Logistics) sector and a limited regional supplier base. Future studies could explore cross-industry supplier assessments and develop frameworks for broader application. Practical implications: The research provides actionable insights for supply chain managers, emphasizing the need for regular supplier evaluations. It recommends strategies for improving relationships with underperforming suppliers and reducing reliance on those with consistently low scores. These practices can enhance supply chain reliability and operational efficiency. Social implications: The study indirectly promotes sustainable supply chain practices by encouraging accountability and collaboration among suppliers. Improved supplier performance can contribute to better resource utilization and adherence to quality and environmental standards. Originality/value: This paper highlights the supplier assessment process as a strategic tool for supply chain optimization. It offers a practical framework for evaluating and managing suppliers, providing value to academics, supply chain professionals, and policymakers aiming to improve supply chain performance and resilience.

The aim of the research has been to provide a statistical analysis of precipitation in the Bydgoszcz region based on the results of the measurements taken at the Experiment Station of the UTP University of Science and Technology in Bydgoszcz, located at Mochle, about 20 km away from the city centre. The paper analyses the daily total precipitation throughout 43 years (1971—2013). The analysis demonstrated a high dependence of the indicators studied on the month, confirming the annual pattern typical for the transitional climate of the temperate zone. In general, it shows an advantage of the amount and variation, and less considerably — the daily precipitation frequency in summer months, as compared with the winter months. The distribution of the probability of the daily precipitation amount for each month turned out to be compliant with gamma distribution, which allows for a potential variation in the future.