Transformation of the natural environment in Western Sørkapp Land (Spitsbergen) since the 1980s PDF
Preview Transformation of the natural environment in Western Sørkapp Land (Spitsbergen) since the 1980s
SPRINGER BRIEFS IN GEOGRAPHY Wiesław Ziaja Editor Transformation of the Natural Environment in Western Sørkapp Land (Spitsbergen) since the 1980s 123 SpringerBriefs in Geography More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10050 ł Wies aw Ziaja Editor Transformation of the Natural Environment in Western ø S rkapp Land (Spitsbergen) since the 1980s 123 Editor Wiesław Ziaja Institute of GeographyandSpatial Management Jagiellonian University Cracow Poland First editionhas beenpreviously published bythe JagiellonianUniversity Pressin2011 (ISBN: 978-83-233-3231-2): www.wuj.pl ISSN 2211-4165 ISSN 2211-4173 (electronic) SpringerBriefs inGeography ISBN978-3-319-26572-8 ISBN978-3-319-26574-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-26574-2 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2015954621 SpringerChamHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon ©TheAuthor(s)2016 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission orinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authorsortheeditorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinor foranyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade. Printedonacid-freepaper SpringerInternationalPublishingAGSwitzerlandispartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia (www.springer.com) Acknowledgments The book relies on the Research Project N N305 035634 Changes in the western Sørkapp Land (Spitsbergen) natural environment due to global warming and human activity since 1982, financed by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education. v Contents 1 Introduction: Study Area and Its Environmental Recognition . . . . . 1 Wiesław Ziaja and Krzysztof Ostafin 2 Methods and Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Wiesław Ziaja, Justyna Dudek, Michał Węgrzyn, Maja Lisowska, Maria Olech and Piotr Osyczka 3 Components of the Natural Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Wiesław Ziaja, Michał Węgrzyn, Maja Lisowska, Maria Olech and Piotr Osyczka 4 Environmental and Landscape Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Wiesław Ziaja, Justyna Dudek, Krzysztof Ostafin, Michał Węgrzyn, Maja Lisowska, Maria Olech and Piotr Osyczka 5 Conclusions and Prognosis for Environmental Change . . . . . . . . . . 75 Wiesław Ziaja, Michał Węgrzyn, Maja Lisowska, Maria Olech and Piotr Osyczka vii Book Review Thisslimvolume(92pages)reportsonapproximately25yearsoflandscapechange in Sørkapp Land, the southern peninsula of Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard Archipelago. Field research was conducted by a team of Polish scientists from Jagiellonian University, the legacy of an initial visit to the region by physical geographer Zdzislaw Czeppe during the International Geophysical Year 1957–1958. His interest in the research potential of the area was piqued, which led to a series of interdisciplinary summer expeditions beginning in 1980. The emphasis was on mapping abiotic and biotic features on a large scale (1:25,000–1:50,000). This resultedinabaselineofspatiallydetaileddatathatanotherteamwasabletorepeat in an effort to detect change after another quarter century had passed. Bruce Forbes, Polar Record, Vol. 51, Issue 3, 2015. ix Editor and Contributors About the Editor Wiesław Ziaja is a physical geographer and landscape ecologist, a professor and headoftheDepartmentofPhysicalGeography,InstituteofGeographyandSpatial Management, Jagiellonian University in Cracow (Poland), a member of the InternationalArcticScienceCommitteeTerrestrialWorkingGroupandCommittee on Polar Research, Polish Academy of Science. His research interests include landscape and natural environment structure and functioning, geographical aspects ofnatureandlandscapeprotection,physicalgeographyoftheArctic,NorthEurope, andtheCarpathians.HeistheauthorofpapersforPolishandinternationaljournals, including Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Ambio, Annals of Glaciology, Polar Research, and Polish Polar Research. He has broad experience of field expeditions to Spitsbergen. Contributors Justyna Dudek is a Ph.D. student at the Institute of Geography and Spatial Management, Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland. Her research interests concentrate on issues related to cold environments with special emphasis on the interaction between glaciers and landscapes, and current rapid environmental changes due to climate change in polar areas. She took part in the expeditions to Sørkapp Land in 2008 and 2010. Maja Lisowska Ph.D. is a botanist with research interests in Arctic tundra vege- tation changes, the role of cryptogams in primary succession, and European and Arctic lichens (biogeography, ecology, taxonomy, adaptations to extreme envi- ronmental conditions, air quality monitoring using lichens). Currently she has moved to science management, working as an Executive Director of Secretariat ofthePolishPolarConsortium,andalsoattheCentreforPolarStudies,University xi xii EditorandContributors of Silesia, Poland. In 2015, she joined the International Arctic Science Committee Secretariat as a coordinator of IASC Fellowships and early career support. Maria Olech is a botanist, a professor of the Institute of Botany, Jagiellonian UniversityinCracow.Hermainresearchactivitiesconcerntaxonomy,ecology,and adaptations to extreme environmental conditions of high mountains and polar lichens,includingtheArcticandAntarctictundravegetationdynamicswithspecial regardtoprimarysuccessionandbiologicalcolonization.Shehasbroadexperience offield expeditions to both the Arctic and Antarctic. Krzysztof Ostafin Ph.D. is an associate professor in geographical information systems (GIS) at the Institute of Geography and Spatial Management, Jagiellonian University in Cracow. He specializes in landscape changes of mountainous areas, and took part in the expedition to Sørkapp Land in 2005. He is the coauthor of several papers in scientific journals (e.g., Ambio, Land Use Policy, Global Environmental Change) and books. He works with different sources of geograph- icaldata,forexample,oldmapsandplans,repeatphotographs,andsatelliteimages. It is fascinating for him to merge this historical material with modern techniques such as GIS and environmental-landscape data that may be collected only in the field. Piotr Osyczka is an associate professor, a lichenologist working at the Prof. Z. Czeppe Department of Polar Research and Documentation of the Institute of Botany, Jagiellonian University. His research interests are related to the various aspects of lichenology, concerning the lichens of polar regions and Poland. His scientific achievements are primarily associated with taxonomy, ecology, intraspecific variability, and environmental adaptations of lichens, their role in terrestrialecosystems,andpioneervegetationofcryptogamsbothinnaturalsitesas wellasanthropogenicanddisturbedhabitats.Heismostinvolvedinstudiesonthe heavy-metal accumulation capacity of lichens and their role in spontaneous suc- cession of strongly contaminated sites. Michał Węgrzyn Ph.D. is a lichenologist and ecologist whose research interests arerelated toArctictundravegetation.Hismainprojectsdealwithphytosociology andvegetationmappingoftheArctic,aswellasexploringphenomenathatoccurin the tundra under the influence of climate change. Currently he works at Prof. Z. Czeppe Department of Polar Research and Documentation of the Institute of Botany, Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland.
The list of books you might like
