Volume 31 (2023): Edition 1 (March 2023)

Many analogies can be drawn from the cadastre in Poland and Slovakia, because of the partly shared history of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, World Wars I and II, and the influence of the Communist regime. However, its development over the years has taken different forms and rules of operation in both countries. Currently, from a European perspective, there are efforts to standardise cadastral systems to expand their functionality for land administration and to accommodate social needs.

The aim of this article is to discuss and provide a detailed comparative analysis of the general principles of the cadastre in Slovakia and Poland. The study shows similarities but also many differences between the systems in both countries, which indicates that it could be a difficult path to unify the cadastral systems within the European Union. A comparison of the solutions used in other countries allows us to see potential opportunities for the development and modernisation of the existing cadastral systems.

This study is aimed at evaluating the strength of stabilised soil collected from the Port of Norvik, Stockholm, Sweden, where 350,000 m3 of clay had to be stabilized. The tests were performed in the laboratory of the Swedish Geotechnical Institute (SGI). The soil was stabilised by binder mixtures using Portland cement clinker (PCC) and lime and lime kiln dust (LKD). Accelerators (X-seed 100 BASF, PCC, LKD and salt) were added to the soil samples for quicker stabilization. The strength of the stabilised soil was assessed using resonance frequency measurements of seismic P-waves by an ICP accelerometer in order to estimate the shear strength of the soil and to evaluate the effects from the accelerators, binder ratios, and the curing temperature on the gains in stabilization and strength. Various proportions of the binders were tested, i.e.: 50/50 cement/lime and 50/50 PCC/lime. The temperature was measured using a calorimeter in double experiments. The results showed that the accelerators improve the strength in the stabilized specimens and enhance the soil performance for engineering construction work.

Dam incidents and failures mainly occur during extreme floods. In the Czech Republic (CR), large-scale regional floods were recorded in different regions in 1985, 1987, 1997, 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2013, while local floods especially occurred in 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2009, and 2010. During these events, numerous incidents and total breaches of small dams were recorded, and a few large dams were also critically endangered, although they were not completely breached. This paper presents a comprehensive summary of incidents and failures affecting small dams in the CR since 1985. The most significant incidents concerning large dams are listed as well. The statistics show that 62 small dams were completely breached and that 350 were seriously damaged over 35 years in the period 1985–2020. The annual frequency amounts to 1.85 collapsed and 10 small damaged dams per year. The most common causes of the complete breaching of dams were overtopping (85 %) and internal erosion (15 %).

This study is related to evaluations of the performance and usability evaluations of existing and also newly produced Warm Mixed Asphalt (WMA) additives. Viscosity, softening point, and penetration tests were performed on bitumen with additives without changing the bitumen rate for the additives. For the asphalt concrete, Marshall Stability tests were performed. WMA additives are used to reduce asphalt production temperatures and, consequently, the temperature of the mixture significantly. According to the Marshall Stability test, it was determined that the WMA samples fulfilled values within the local standards. The Hot Mixed Asphalt (HMA) and Warm Mixed Asphalt (WMA) additives were compared as to additive costs and energy savings considering the reduced production temperatures. Additives have great potential to be used in adverse weather conditions and in many countries.

The case study analyses a specifically described situation from the present and a summary of events from the past, finds alternative solutions, and decides on one of them. The target of such a detailed analysis was a concrete apartment building, which was still in the project phase; the efforts to change its proposed air conditioning system to a more energy-efficient one are the subject of the case study. Apartment buildings with modern technology installed in terms of sanitary equipment, heating, and simple methods of ventilation and cooling do not constitute part of the project.

Through a detailed analysis of the calculation of the heat losses through ventilation in the case of local and decentralised ventilation applied to one apartment unit, this failure to address modern solutions is remedied.

The main landscape-forming component has always been the forests in the lowlands. The devastation and disturbance of forest areas by anthropogenic activity change the ecological conditions in their environment. Climate and atmospheric changes affect the balance of the mutual relationships between individual components, as well as the existence of direct and feedback relationships in forest ecosystems. The transformation of bioclimatic and ecological conditions have caused the degradation of the Pannonian floodplain forest communities in Slovakia. Urbanization in Bratislava has caused the fragmentation of the surrounding forests. With changes in sunlight and heat conditions, flood-plain communities are forced to become acclimatized to drier conditions, which lead to morphological and structural changes in their composition.

In this study we examined phytocenological records from 1999 to 2020 from various sources. The survey points to the impact of climate change and anthropogenic influences on biodiversity. The absence of floods and the drying of floodplain forest soils could have caused this change in the species' composition.