The paper discusses the issue of the admixtures’ effect on results of granulometric composition determinations by Casagrande’s areometric method in modification by Prószyński. An experiment was conducted involving preparation of samples with known granulometric composition and determination of their composition by means of the aerometric method. Three types of samples were prepared: base (control), containing organic matter, and containing carbonates. Results of the determinations showed a considerable effect of the admixture of organic matter and calcium carbonate on the accordance of determinations, depending on their percent content. The study results also confirmed known dependencies of disturbances in proportions between the sandy and silty-clayey fraction. A practical conclusion from the research is the determination of the threshold of the organic matter and carbonates percent content at which the determination should be absolutely preceded by processes of mineralisation and decalcification.

Plant succession is quite a common phenomenon in Poland, especially in agricultural landscapes. At the turn of the 21st century there was a significant increase in the area of fallow lands. That increased the area occupied by ruderal and segetal vegetation. The development of vegetation on post-agricultural lands transforms soils. The aim of this paper is to determine changes in vegetation and soil properties that occur as a result of secondary succession on post-agricultural lands in loess landscapes

The literature shows that both in laboratory and in industrial conditions, the photocatalytic oxidation method copes quite well with degradation of most environmental toxins and pathogenic microorganisms. However, the effective utilization of photocatalytic processes for environmental decontamination and disinfection requires significant technological advancement in both the area of semiconductor material synthesis and its application. Here, we focused on the presence and “photocatalytic capability” of photocatalysts among soil minerals and their potential contributions to the environmental decontamination in vitro and in vivo. Reactions caused by sunlight on the soil surface are involved in its normal redox activity, taking part also in the soil decontamination. However, their importance for decontamination in vivo cannot be overstated, due to the diversity of soils on the Earth, which is caused by the environmental conditions, such as climate, parent material, relief, vegetation, etc. The sunlight-induced reactions are just a part of complicated soil chemistry processes dependent on a plethora of environmental determinates. The multiplicity of affecting factors, which we tried to sketch from the perspective of chemists and environmental scientists, makes us rather skeptical about the effectiveness of the photocatalytic decontamination in vivo. On the other hand, there is a huge potential of the soils as the alternative and probably cheaper source of useful photocatalytic materials of unique properties. In our opinion, establishing collaboration between experts from different disciplines is the most crucial opportunity, as well as a challenge, for the advancement of photocatalysis.

The aim of this article is to establish how land use change influences soil organic matter content in the loess landscape. The research was conducted near Krasnystaw in the Lublin Upland, in forest, on arable land and on abandoned lands at various stages of secondary succession. During the field research, samples were collected from the upper soil layer and analyzed for organic carbon content, fractional composition of humus compounds and soil reaction. The results obtained indicate that the impact of land use change manifests itself in a change of the soil reaction, which turns from neutral or slightly acid into acid. The tillage system reduces organic matter in the soil and increases the humic acids ratio, whereas abandonment of the land causes an evident increase in the soil’s organic matter content and the fulvic acids ratio. These results allow us to state that land use change has a rapid impact on the geochemical properties of the landscape (which can be noticed as soon as 5 years after the land is abandoned).

W artykule dokonano oszacowania wpływu pozyskiwania drewna na wybrane procesy naturalne i elementy środowiska w 15 nadleśnictwach w Karpatach Wschodnich, w tym na strukturę gleby i tempo erozji oraz na reakcję hydrologiczną w skali stoku i zlewni. Główny nacisk położony został na oszacowanie gęstości i przestrzennego układu dróg leśnych i szlaków zrywkowych oraz intensywności ich wykorzystania, ponieważ z przeglądu literatury wynika (por. Affek, 2019), że zrywka jest tym elementem procesu pozyskiwania drewna, który w największym stopniu oddziałuje na glebę i reakcję hydrologiczną zlewni górskich. Do badań wykorzystano wysokorozdzielcze dane LiDAR i dane leśne. Uzyskane wyniki wskazują, że ok. 5% analizowanego obszaru ma naruszoną strukturę gleby na skutek stosowanej naziemnej zrywki, przeważająca część powierzchni analizowanych oddziałów leśnych może być zagrożona skutkami efektu brzegowego powodowanego przez drogi, a gęstość dróg leśnych, z uwzględnieniem szlaków zrywkowych, należy do najwyższych notowanych w literaturze.