Volume 26 (2022): Edition 4 (October 2022)

This article analyses the variability of the number of mobile phone network users in and around the Białowieża National Park during the summer holidays in 2019 and 2020 based on Call Detail Records. The data collected was used to analyse the mobility of Poles in the study area during the SARS CoV 2 pandemic. The research shows that despite the area's peripheral location and the prevailing pandemic, the number of users of the mobile network in the summer of 2020 increased compared with 2019 – by 20.2% in July and 14.3% in August. The increase in users logged in results from the increased number of tourists who were looking for remote places that could afford them some protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in the summer of 2020.

The main goal of this paper is to empirically examine the effects of related and unrelated variety on per employee income in Polish NUTS 2 regions, and the resulting income inequality. The study is based on regional panel data for the 2003–2018 period using the GMM estimator system. The positive effect of related variety on per employee income and the negative effect of unrelated variety on per employee income are reported. Our simulation results show that regional income inequality could be reduced by promoting related variety in eastern regions of the country.

Increasing urbanization, a massive migration to the big cities, and an imbalance between supply and demand for housing have introduced a housing shortage over the past few decades. The housing issue in Iran has been addressed through government housing provision and development programs. A brief review of the government's policies on development programs shows that government-based and market-based approaches are the two main types in the housing sector. Although the government initially had a primary role in housing provision, this responsibility was gradually transferred to the private sector, but without a proper balance between housing supply and demand. In this article, we will explore the different housing policies and examine the successes and failures of each one.

In the literature, analysing job adverts is considered to be a credible method for collecting data about the real demand for employees with higher education. Studies on the demand for teachers based on this data source have been conducted in many countries, but never in Poland. On this basis, the research objective was to identify regional and temporal changes in the demand for geography teachers. As part of the study we tracked all job adverts addressed to geography teachers which were published online over a period of nearly two years. It turned out there were 3,438 such job vacancies in Poland, which included part-time and full-time positions. The study results indicated vast temporal and regional differences in the demand for teachers, and also a clear imbalance in the demand for geographers between Warsaw – the capital city – and the rest of the country. It should be highlighted that both the methodology and the results presented in the paper are pioneering.

Monitoring land use efficiency (LUE) is of great importance for the sustainable development of each country. The identification of regions where land consumption prevails over demographic growth should prompt public administrations to act and establish a recovery programme. This paper took Europe as the research area, and CORINE Land Cover and statistical population data to assess changes and spatial diversity of the LUE status from 2006 to 2018. Results show that, during the 2006–2012 period, LUE was more diversified than in 2012–2018. The differences concern both values of the indicator and the spatial differentiation between regions. Between 2012 and 2018, the number of countries moving towards efficient land use doubled compared to 2006–2012. Great progress towards achieving SDG 11.3.1 was seen in Portugal and Germany, and almost all Balkan countries are moving towards more efficient land use.

The CO₂ flux on Biebrza Wetlands in Poland is analysed by ground measurements and satellite data. The main goal of this study was to determine the Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) for sedges, reeds and grasses using meteorological, soil and vegetation parameters and satellite indicators. The calculations are based on chamber measurements scattered over the main habitats and meteorological registrations, and compared to the 2015–2022 eddy covariance (EC) measurements. The NEE model, to get its distribution throughout the day, was elaborated using modelled gross primary production GPP and modelled respiration RESP. The model of ecosystem respiration was developed applying air temperature, soil temperature, soil moisture and NDVI. The satellite vegetation index NDVI, surface and air difference temperature (T_S-T_A), and NDII proved to be good predictors for the daily mean GPP. The data from the EC tower was used to compare the results from modelled NEE and CO₂ flux.

The surge-type Uisu glacier and its forefield in the Tajik part of Eastern Pamir are described. To this end, 1977–2019 Landsat satellite imagery, the DEM, and a high-resolution orthophotomap were used, and detailed geomorphological mapping was carried out. The results show that the present-day position of the terminus of the studied glacier results from a surge that occurred before 1947. Currently, the glacier is losing mass. However, despite the visible characteristics of its thawing, the extent of the terminal zone has remained stable for several decades. Outside the glacier, there are no glacial landforms. This indicates that advances of surging glaciers may not create any surge-diagnostic features in their forefields. On the other hand, the genesis and interactions of landforms can reveal glacier surge, even in the absence of terminal and lateral glacial landforms.

The study presents the long-term and annual trends in atmospheric circulation over southern Poland for the period 1874–2020. The analysis takes into account both the type of atmospheric circulation, and the types of air mass and atmospheric fronts. The study showed that there has been a noticeable decrease in the frequency of anticyclonic types of circulation and of air advection from the west and east, and a slight increase in advection from the south, as well as the presence of anticyclonic centres and cyclonic troughs. The research also found considerable changes in the frequency of the presence of polar air and of stationary and occluded fronts, as well as of days with several fronts moving over the study area.