Katarzyna Łuszczyńska

The purpose of the article is to present the author’s methodology for identifying and assessing potentials and barriers occurring in various locations related to cultural tourism. The research aimed to develop a methodology to identify barriers and potentials for tourism development in peripheral and less-known locations. The potentials and barriers identified in a given location are important determinants of the development of cultural tourism and therefore economic development in the mentioned area. The identification of development potentials and barriers refers to the existing features of a given area or place and factors that activate or limit the possibilities of its using cultural resources. The study was based on the analysis of eight case studies of destinations with interesting cultural values. The entire series of analyses addressed various aspects of these destinations. Areas of different sizes and scales were considered, including areas in transboundary regions, rural areas, historic city centres, and archaeological or industrial sites. The work presents the author’s methodology for integrating the various elements that define the features and factors of cultural tourism and establishes a framework for a strategy for its sustainable development. To achieve this, a tool in the form of a comprehensive matrix was developed to assess the situation of each pilot site. Based on this tool, the pilot sites identified key features or factors as a barrier or potential and furthermore defined their territorial scope and their impact on their chosen dominant types of tourism. Barriers and potentials were identified based on a set of 47 previously developed features and factors. During the research, 38 most important potentials and 15 barriers were identified. The tool presented in the paper is comprehensive and universal, so it can be applied to any destination.

Landslides are a common geodynamic hazard in mountainous regions worldwide, including the Polish part of the Carpathian Mts. Intensive development in this area increases the scale of landslide risk, e.g. landslides pose a threat to infrastructure, cause significant financial losses and even fatalities. Thus detecting landslide activity, hazards and risks became important issue for spatial planning in the area. I applied dendrochronological method and electrical resistivity tomography for estimate landslide activity and identify the geological structure in Kamesznica landslide, in the Beskid Śląski Mts (Western Carpathians, southern Poland). Eccentricity index values were applied to date past landslide events. Dendrochronological results allowed to determine the mean frequency of landsliding at each sampling tree. Obtained results of the dendrochronological study show that the most dynamic landsliding occurred in: 2013-2017, 2005-2006, 2010, 2002, 1988-1989 and 1993. Between the episodes of landsliding there were periods of relative stability. The results of measurements using the ERT method allowed to distinguish high and low-resistivity packets and also estimate surface of rupture. Application of dendrochronology and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is an attractive solution for studies on landslide activity and can be used in the local spatial planning system.

Assessment of landslide hazard from tree-ring eccentricity and from compression wood – a comparison

The aim of the study was to investigate how the emission of pollutants to the atmosphere from the late 19th century until modern times has been recorded in rings of silver fir trees growing in southern Poland. Samples were collected from 24 firs growing in the Beskid Niski Mountains (Western Carpathians). Using a Pressler borer, a single core was collected from each tree. Within the samples, tree-ring widths were measured. On this basis, reductions of tree-ring widths were calculated and subsequently divided into three classes according to their severity. Study results indicate that growth reductions at the site studied were influenced by the pollution emitted from the now-defunct Central Industrial Region, which developed most rapidly from 1920 to 1940, and began to decline after World War II. These emissions were probably responsible for reductions in the trees sampled in the years 1928–1947. On the other hand, reductions of tree-ring widths dating from 1951 to 1989 were caused by the post-war development of heavy industry throughout Poland, and in particular in the Upper Silesian Industrial Region, which developed at its most rapid rate from 1960 to 1990. The results obtained demonstrate that reductions of tree-ring widths in the silver firs studied are related to industrial air pollution in the 20th century. As industrial production declined and environmentally friendly technologies were introduced in the early 1990s, air pollution levels decreased and an increase in tree-ring widths followed in the silver firs studied. Further reductions of tree-ring widths have been observed in recent years (since 2009), which may be caused by air pollution due to low-stack emissions from domestic boilers. The analysis conducted demonstrates that a reduction in tree-ring widths in silver fir is a sensitive bioindicator of air pollution.

Most landslide hazard maps are developed on the basis of an area’s susceptibility to a landslide occurrence, but dendrochronological techniques allows one to develop maps based on past landslide activity. The aim of the study was to use dendrochronological techniques to develop a landslide hazard map for a large area, covering 3.75 km². We collected cores from 131 trees growing on 46 sampling sites, measured tree-ring width, and dated growth eccentricity events (which occur when tree rings of different widths are formed on opposite sides of a trunk), recording the landslide events which had occurred over the previous several dozen years. Then, the number of landslide events per decade was calculated at every sampling site. We interpolated the values obtained, added layers with houses and roads, and developed a landslide hazard map. The map highlights areas which are potentially safe for existing buildings, roads and future development. The main advantage of a landslide hazard map developed on the basis of dendrochronological data is the possibility of acquiring long series of data on landslide activity over large areas at a relatively low cost. The main disadvantage is that the results obtained relate to the measurement of anatomical changes and the macroscopic characteristics of the ring structure occurring in the wood of tilted trees, and these factors merely provide indirect information about the time of the landslide event occurrence. Most landslide hazard maps are developed on the basis of an area’s susceptibility to a landslide occurrence, but dendrochronological techniques allows one to develop maps based on past landslide activity. The aim of the study was to use dendrochronological techniques to develop a landslide hazard map for a large area, covering 3.75 km². We collected cores from 131 trees growing on 46 sampling sites, measured tree-ring width, and dated growth eccentricity events (which occur when tree rings of different widths are formed on opposite sides of a trunk), recording the landslide events which had occurred over the previous several dozen years. Then, the number of landslide events per decade was calculated at every sampling site. We interpolated the values obtained, added layers with houses and roads, and developed a landslide hazard map. The map highlights areas which are potentially safe for existing buildings, roads and future development. The main advantage of a landslide hazard map developed on the basis of dendrochronological data is the possibility of acquiring long series of data on landslide activity over large areas at a relatively low cost. The main disadvantage is that the results obtained relate to the measurement of anatomical changes and the macroscopic characteristics of the ring structure occurring in the wood of tilted trees, and these factors merely provide indirect information about the time of the landslide event occurrence.

We applied dendrochronological methods for dating landslide activity in the study area (3.75 km²), on the slopes of Sucha Mountain (1040 m a.s.l.), in the Beskid Żywiecki Mountains, in the Western Carpathians. 46 sampling sites were distributed throughout the study area. At each site we sampled 1-3 coniferous trees: Norway spruces (Picea abies Karst.) and/or silver firs (Abies alba Mill.). From each tree 2 cores were sampled: one from the upslope and the other from the downslope side of the stem. Based on tree-ring widths measured for opposite sides of stems we have calculated eccentricity index values and dated past landslide events. Mean frequency of landslides was obtained for each sampling site. Finally, the data was interpolated into a map of landslide activity. Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation has been applied. For most of the study area we found medium (19 sites) and low (23 sites) levels of landslide activity. The highest level of activity was recorded for the largest landslide slope and for the one small landslide. The study conducted on Sucha Mountain has shown that dendrochronology can be an effective method for analysing landslide activity and may be useful in further studies, including those for landslide hazard and risk assessments.

The goal of our study is to estimate the frequencies and magnitudes of mass movements of differing origin and scale endangering the population of the Moxi basin. The ages of 30 trees were determined indicating the date of the last large debris flow. In addition we determined the dates of smaller debris flows wounding the stems of 43 trees and the dates of rockfalls injuring the stems of 15 trees. The results allowed the recurrence intervals of the mass movements observed in each study site to be calculated. Based on the results from three study sites representing typical mass-movement hazards, the densely inhabited main valley of the Moxi basin is affected by 40 large debris flows, hundreds of smaller debris flows and thousands of single rockfalls per century. The GIS-based survey indicates that the hazard affects as much as 27.07% of developed area of the Moxi basin. However, thanks to sustainable land use, the majority is affected by manageable, high frequency, but middle- to low-magnitude phenomena.