Volume 29 (2018): Issue 2 (June 2018)

A three-year field experiment (52.169°N, 22.280°E), in which each treatment was replicated three times, was set up in a randomised split-plot design in the autumn of 2011. The main experimental factors were soil conditioners with the trade names such as UGmax, Eko-Użyźniacz and Humus Active Papka, which were applied on their own and with mineral fertilisers. They were applied to the soil with two forage grasses: the Bora variety of Dactylis glomerata and Lolium perenne of the Info variety. The results were processed statistically with the multi-factor analysis of variance with a significance level of P≤0.05, whereas the differences between means were verified with Tukey’s test. The Statistica 12 program was used to do all the calculations. Compared to the control, soil conditioners (UGmax, Humus Active and Eko-Użyźniacz) did not reduce carbohydrate content in grass significantly. This proves that they can be applied to grass. Combination of mineral fertilisers with soil conditioners, relative to the control, resulted in about 15% increase in digestible protein content. Comparing all the plots, without the control, the ratio of non-structural carbohydrates to protein was the most favourable in the grass from plots where UGmax or nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (NPK) fertiliser or a combination of both was applied.

The article presents the results of the inventory of greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles in Poland in 2015. The inventory was developed in accordance with the applicable guidelines for the annual greenhouse gas emission inventory (Decision 24/CP.19 of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) by the National Centre for Emissions Management and Balancing (KOBiZE) at the Institute of Environmental Protection – the National Research Institute. The national annual gas emissions from road transport are presented, including: carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide along with emissions of the above gases converted into carbon dioxide equivalents. Carbon dioxide makes up the largest share in carbon dioxide emissions. This is particularly evident in the case of road transport – the emission of gases other than carbon dioxide (methane and nitrous oxide) is several orders of magnitude lower than the emission of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide emissions from road transport account currently for approximately 14% of the total carbon dioxide emission in Poland.

The article describes threats to habitat and species conservation areas in the Region of Warmia and Mazury, which are part of the Natura 2000 network. Standard Data Forms were analysed to reveal the presence of the highest level threats in two-thirds of the evaluated sites. Most of the identified threats were associated with forest management, agriculture and hydrological conditions.

This article discusses the issue of poaching in Biebrza National Park. This is one of the important but often overlooked factors influencing the species composition and abundance of fish in the Biebrza River and its tributaries. This article analyzes the documentation of the Biebrza National Park Guard in the Osowiec-Twierdza from 2007 to 2016. The obtained results show that the scale of the described phenomenon is serious and its methods of combating are not effective. It is also a serious shortcoming in the absence of mandatory analysis of fish found in poaching tools, which prevents proper estimation of losses both in economic and environmental terms.

The aim of this article is to discuss the following judgement of the European Court of Justice in case C-460/15 Schaefer Kalk GmbH & Co. KG v Bundesrepublik Deutschland concerning the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS):

‘The second sentence of Article 49(1) of Commission Regulation (EU) No 601/2012 of 21 June 2012 on the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and point 10(B) of Annex IV to that regulation are invalid in so far as they systematically include the carbon dioxide (CO₂) transferred to another installation for the production of precipitated calcium carbonate in the emissions of the lime combustion installation, regardless of whether or not that CO₂ is released into the atmosphere.’

[operative part of the judgment].