Łukasz Chabudziński

Assessment of flora diversity in a minor river valley using ecological indicator values, Geographical Information Systems and Digital Elevation Models

Ellenberg indicator values (EIV) have been widely used to estimate habitat variables from floristic data and to predict vegetation composition based on habitat properties. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Digital Elevation Models (DEM) are valuable tools for studying the relationships between topographic and ecological characters of river systems. A 3-meter resolution DEM was derived for a. 3-km-long break section of the Szum River (SE Poland) from a 1:10,000 topographic map. Data on the diversity and ecological requirements of the local vascular flora were obtained while making floristic charts for 32 sections of the river valley (each 200 m long) and physical and chemical soil measurements; next, the data were translated into EIV. The correlations of the primary and secondary topographic attributes of the valley, species richness, and EIV (adapted for the Polish vascular flora) were assessed for all species recognized in each valley section. The total area and proportion of a flat area, mean slope, slope curvature, solar radiation (SRAD), and topographic wetness index (TWI) are the most important factors influencing local flora richness and diversity. The highest correlations were found for three ecological indicators, namely light, soil moisture, and soil organic content. The DEM seems to be useful in determination of correlations between topographic and ecological attributes along a minor river valley.

Changes in the location and function of small water bodies in the upper Sanna River catchment—case study (SE Poland)

Abstract The article summarises the results of analyses of temporal and spatial changes in the location of small water bodies in the upper Sanna River catchment between the fifteenth and twenty-first centuries. The investigations were conducted on historical sources and cartographic data using GIS tools and inventory files. Natural (location of springs, groundwater depth, geomorphology of valleys), anthropogenic factors (quarries, excavations) and historical determinants of construction of the water reservoirs are presented. Additionally, changes in the economic (fish farming, mills), defence and industrial (paper and steel mills, bloomeries, fulleries) functions of the water bodies have been analysed. The changes in the functions of the water bodies were often influenced by the changing ownership. The results have application significance on a local and regional scale.

Topographic attributes and ecological indicator values in assessing the ground-floor vegetation patterns

Abstract The paper discusses the question whether geographical information systems (GIS) and digital elevation models (DEM) are useful tools for studying correlations between topographic attributes of a given area, and vascular flora requirements reflected by ecological indicator values (EIVs). The model object was a 4-km-long gorge section of the Sopot river valley (80.5 ha), the Central Roztocze Highlands, South-East Poland. Species lists for 40 ca. 200-m-long and 100-350-m-wide sections, according to the river course, separately for the left and right riverbanks, were made. The analysis of the area was based on a 3-meter resolution DEM. We applied primary topographic attributes: slope, and planar, vertical, and total curvatures and also secondary topographic attributes: solar radiation (SRAD) and topographic wetness index (TWI), as well as other terrain characters: denivelation, total, flat and upslope area of each section. Using the multivariate analyses, we analysed relationships between weighted averages of EIVs for each species and topographic attributes. The GIS and DEM became useful tools for the detection of patterns of species with different habitat requirements. The species number correlated positively with the total and flat area of a section and the TWI, while the denivelation, mean slope and upslope area had a reverse vector. Among the most frequent and abundant herb species, we found several spatial patterns of distribution, namely those of: Maianthemum bifolium, Carex remota, C. acutiformis, Filipendula ulmaria, Dryopteris filixmas, and Urtica dioica. The rarest species represented Ajuga genevensis, Scorzonera humilis, and Stachys palustris patterns.