Repozytorium AGH

The aim of this research was to analyze selected indicators that may be useful in assessing the farming conditions of agriculture in municipalities as well as assessing the agricultural production spaces. The indicators that were selected for analysis were considered in the literature to be among the most important indicators that allowed for the assessment of the above-mentioned conditions, these were the agricultural production space valorization index (WWRPP), the soil valuation index (WBG), the forest cover index, the number of tractors per 100 ha of agricultural land, the numbers of farm animals in large head index (PL) per 100 ha of agricultural land, and the share of the agricultural farms that owned land in ten or more plots in their total areas. The study of the distribution values of the above-mentioned indicators covered municipalities that are located in Masovian Voivodeship. The obtained research results showed in which municipalities there were barriers to the development of agriculture – in which municipalities there were large forest covers, soils of poor quality, low levels of mechanization, and high fragmentations of land. The identified strengths and weaknesses in terms of farming conditions in agriculture can be used, for example, by local authorities. The selected set of indicators is an open set and can be expanded with further indicators; with the selection of an appropriate methodology, it can be used to assess the farming conditions in the agricultural areas of the individual municipalities.

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Convergence between Increased Light Pollution and Urban Sprawl Dynamic in Poland (2012–2022)

(Wydawnictwa AGH, 2024) Horynek, Hubert

Urban sprawl is a nuisance – both economically and ecologically speaking. Among the causes of this nuisance is light pollution; both the scale of the light pollution and the spatial expansion of suburbs in Poland increased significantly during the period 2012–2022. The most significant light pollution occurs in urbanized areas in general; however, the scattered developments of suburbs make the problem of light pollution in these areas disproportionate to the population density as compared to cities. The research that is described below analyzed changes in the amounts of light that were emitted into the sky (radiance) as were calculated on the basis of observational data from the Suomi NPP meteorological satellite as well as housing production dynamics. Data regarding both radiance and housing production was acquired for communes and then aggregated to larger areas depending on the urban, suburban, or rural character of each commune. Then, the agglomeration areas were analyzed – distinguishing between urban centers and non-urban agglomeration areas (suburbs). Two convergence indices were analyzed: Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, and coefficient of determination $R^2$. It turns out that, in suburban areas, both indices returned much higher convergence rates between light pollution and housing construction than in the cases of the cities. The causes of this phenomenon need further research; nevertheless, two possible top-down solutions of this problem may be lighting masterplans and the modernization of lighting fixtures.

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Mapping Groundwater-Potential Zones Using Geospatial and Decision-Making Approaches: Case Study of Ghiss-Nekkour Watershed in Northeastern Morocco

(Wydawnictwa AGH, 2024) Mazzourh, Abdessamad; Taher, Morad; Ouhadi, Abdellah; Dakak, Houria; Dekkaki, Hinde Cherkaoui

Accelerated population growth has led to a heightened demand for water resources, resulting in a notable decline in underground water storage – especially in coastal areas. To effectively manage this crucial resource, the objective of this research work is to identify potential groundwater recharge areas in the Ghiss-Nekkour watershed using Saaty’s multi-criteria analysis combined with GIS and remote-sensing techniques. Initially, this work involved gathering spatial information that was related to the various parameters that govern recharge and express it in thematic maps: slope, altitude, geology, rainfall, soil, land cover, and drainage density. A reclassification was made according to their degrees of involvement in the recharge process by Saaty’s analytical hierarchy process (AHP); this was followed by a weighting of these parameters. These were subsequently integrated into a GIS in order to establish a map of potential groundwater recharge zones in the Ghiss-Nekkour watershed. The groundwater-potential map resulted in five classes: – good (165 km$^2$) and excellent (0.9 km$^2$) aquifer recharge potentials – situated in north and southwest portions of study area; – moderate (617 km$^2$) aquifer recharge potentials – located in western and southern parts of watershed; – fair (551 km$^2$) and poor (44 km$^2$) aquifer recharge potentials – located in central zone and southeastern part of Ghiss-Nekkour watershed. Field surveys that were conducted in November 2022 and October 2023 validated the obtained results.

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Flood-susceptibility Analysis of Kolhapur City Using Frequency Ratio Model

(Wydawnictwa AGH, 2024) Powar, Sudhir K.; Panhalkar, Sachin S.

Flooding is an inevitable but natural process that happens over the period of time; it not only endangers people’s health, wealth, and assets, but it has also a negative impact on a country’s economy. Hence, effective flood management is required in order to minimize the influence of flooding on human lives and livelihoods. The aim of this research is to use a frequency ratio model (FRM) to identify flood-susceptibility areas in the city of Kolhapur. The research was conducted in two parts. Initially, field-survey data was used to create a flood-inventory map. There were 255 flood locations identified throughout the research region; of these, 178 locations (70%) were used for training data, and 77 (30%) were used for verification purposes. The spatial database was then used; from this, ten flood contributing parameters were generated: slope, elevation, rainfall, distance from a river, a stream power index (SPI), a topographical wetness index (TWI), a topographical roughness index (TRI), a plan curvature and profile curvature, and land use/land cover. Finally, an FR model database was created for flood-susceptible mapping. The prepared database was separated into four flood-susceptibility zones: low susceptibility, medium susceptibility, high susceptibility, and very high susceptibility. About 26.08% of the land was classified as ‘very high susceptibility,’ while 21.18% was classified as ‘high susceptibility.’ The final flood-susceptibility map was verified by using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The results indicated that the method that was used in this study provided accurate results (with a success rate of 87%); this indicated an acceptable result for our flood-susceptibility zonation. Local administrations, researchers, and planners will benefit greatly from this flood-susceptibility analysis in developing flood-prevention plans.