Volume 30 (2019): Issue 2 (June 2019)

This article refers to the biology and ecology of stingless bees (Meliponini), living in tropical and subtropical areas. Similar to honey bees (Apis mellifera), stingless bees (Meliponini) belong to the category of proper social insects and are at the highest level of social development. This group of insects comprises about 500 species and they are the most common bees pollinating the native plants in many tropical areas. Families of stingless bees are usually quite numerous, reaching up to 100,000 individuals. They are characterised by polymorphism, age polyethism and perennialism. This article presents the structural complexity of natural nesting of these tropical insects and their ability to settle in artificial nest traps. The main significance of stingless bees for humans is their role in the natural environment as pollinators, which is an essential factor influencing biodiversity.

The lack of equal globally binding GHG’s emission reduction targets is currently leading to a set of diverging GHG’s emission prices across the world (or even no price for GHG’s emission in some regions). This may result in distortions with direct implications on competitiveness of the industries in regions with strict climate policies (as the European Union) and can cause the issue of carbon leakage. Carbon leakage is defined as ‘the increase in emission outside a region as a direct result of the policy to cap emission in this region’.

This paper is the first part of the set of two analysis aiming at the carbon leakage assessment. In the following paper (aimed to be published this year), we will assess the impact of free allowances for emission intensive trade exposed industries (EITE) and the NDCs in the rest of the world countries – for the sake of brevity, we decided to remove these results from the current paper, but they will be presented later this year. The purpose of this paper is to assess the possible scale of the carbon leakage using different assumptions and policy scenarios and identify channels to efficiently prevent the carbon leakage phenomenon. The analysis has been carried out using the computable general equilibrium d-PLACE model developed within the Centre for Climate and Policy Analysis (CAKE).

See: http://climatecake.pl/?lang=en

Using the above mentioned CGE (computable general equilibrium model, we captured the main factors, that determine the carbon leakage rates. We assessed the contribution of three channels – demand channel, competitiveness channel and carbon intensity channel to the risk of carbon leakage. It turned out that carbon intensity channel and competitiveness channel are the most important, while demand channel contributes to changes in GHG’s emission only in the most restrictive scenario. Moreover, energy channel was further decomposed to the impact of sectoral structure and influence in emission intensity within each sector – the impact of these two channels is also similar, but dependent on the analysed scenario. Such a decomposition allowed us to determine the main channels through which the carbon leakage occur and pursue relevant policy recommendations.

The study was focused on determining the sites of amphibian and reptile occurrence in the Pieprzowe Mountains Nature Reserve (area 18.01 ha) and adjacent areas (total area 58.81 ha). The investigations also involved the biology of breeding in the selected species, as well as determining threats and protection measures.

Situated in the eastern part of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, the steppe-like Pieprzowe (Pepper) Mountains Nature Reserve was established in 1979. Its aim is to protect xerothermic assemblages inhabited by many species of rare plants including the largest European aggregation of roses growing wild. The area is located on a steep, sometimes rugged escarpment, which is part of the Vistula River erosional margin. The escarpment exposes Cambrian black pepper-like shales. The slope base is overgrown by a narrow belt of willow thickets. Above occur assemblages of xerothermic thickets with a few trees. The highest parts of the nature reserve are overgrown with xerothermic grasslands with the prevalence of feathergrass steppe (Festuco-Stipion class). The reserve is surrounded by riparian forests, waterlogged meadows and reservoirs of the Vistula former riverbed, the largest of which is an oxbow lake (5.16 ha).

The following species were documented in 2016-2017: smooth newt Lissotriton vulgaris L., great crested newt Triturus cristatus Laur., European fire-bellied toad Bombina bombina L., common toad Bufo bufo L., European green toad Bufotes viridis Laur., European tree frog Hyla arborea L., edible frog Pelophylax esculentus L., pool frog Pelophylax lessonae Cam., marsh frog Pelophylax ridibundus Laur., moor frog Rana arvalis Nilss., common frog Rana temporaria L., sand lizard Lacerta agilis L., grass snake Natrix natrix L. and common European adder Vipera berus L. The studies were focused on biology of breeding and phenology in common toad and common frog.

The main threats posed on herpetofauna include: human presence, littering, fire raising and changes of water balance.

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The study was conducted in 2016-2017 in the Podkielecki Landscape Protection Area (area 26,485 ha). It was focused on the occurrence and distribution of amphibians and reptiles, the biology of the selected species and the existing threats.

Established in 1995, the Podkielecki Landscape Protection Area surrounds the city of Kielce from the north, east and south-east, and adjoins several other protected areas. It covers the western part of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (part of the Klonowskie and Masłowskie ranges) and the southern part of the Suchedniów Plateau. The studied area is mostly covered by forest and thicket communities (48.1%) and farmlands (39.9%), followed by built-up areas (7.8%), industrial areas (0.5%), roads and railways (2.7%), and surface water bodies (1%).

The protected area is developed mainly on Palaeozoic rocks, including Cambrian and Ordovician sandstones, Silurian and Carboniferous shales, and Devonian marls. Podzolic soils predominate among soils. The largest rivers include Lubrzanka, Czarna Nida, Bobrza and Belnianka. There are no natural lakes within the PLPA limits, and the largest artificial reservoirs include the Cedzyna Reservoir, Morawica Reservoir, Suków Sandpit and two sedimentation reservoirs of the Kielce Power Plant. The area includes 2 nature reserves: Barcza and Sufraganiec.

The following amphibian species were recognised during the investigations within the borders of the studied area: alpine newt Ichthyosaura alpestris Laur., great crested newt Triturus cristatus Laur., smooth newt Lissotriton vulgaris L., European fire-bellied toad Bombina bombina L., common spadefoot toad Pelobates fuscus Laur., common toad Bufo bufo L., natterjack toad Epidalea calamita Laur., European green toad Bufotes viridis Laur., European tree frog Hyla arborea L., pool frog Pelophylax lessonae Cam., edible frog Pelophylax esculentus L., marsh frog Pelophylax ridibundus Pall., moor frog Rana arvalis Nilss., and common frog Rana temporaria L. The reptiles were represented by sand lizard Lacerta agilis L., viviparous lizard Zootoca vivipara Jacquin, slow worm Anguis fragilis L., grass snake Natrix natrix L. and common European adder Vipera berus L. The study also included the phenology and breeding biology of the common toad and common frog.

The most crucial herpetofauna conservation problems identified here include amphibians killed on roads by vehicles. The study area is intersected by very busy roads, in particular: European route no. E77, national roads nos. 73, 74 and S74, and regional roads nos. 745, 750 and 764. For this reason, future road reconstruction projects should consider the assembly of various crossing roads for wildlife, particularly on the 600 m long section of national road no. 74 near Cedzyna Reservoir. Other threats include illegal waste dumping, pollution of surface waters, fire setting, overgrowing and desiccation of small water bodies.

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Peat mineralisation leads to net loss of CO₂ to the atmosphere, as well as to release of other elements from the decomposed soil organic matter (SOM) to groundwater. This results in the degradation of peat soils and the ecosystems they support. Here we evaluated the practical indicatory suitability of the existing and proposed new indices for the assessment of peat soil degradation in the Biebrza river valley encompassing, unique on European scale, peatland ecosystems. We studied relationships between soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (N_tot), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in a series of degraded peat soils in the Biebrza valley. Samples were taken from soils developed on peat deposits that varied in thickness and the degree of peat decomposition, from undegraded to highly mineralised peats. The relationships between changes in the SOC content and changes in the values of the remaining variables (SOM, N_tot, DOC, DON, C/N ratio), were statistically tested. Linear and non-linear regressions were used to establish the relationships amongst the variables examined. The losses of soil C and N occur independently and differ between stages of peat soil mineralisation. From our study, it results that the peat mineralisation intensity may be estimated based on the loss of SOC. We found that 1% loss of SOC corresponded to 1.028% loss of SOM, regardless of the degree of peat soil mineralisation, whereas SOM solubility, measured by the content of DOC, varied based on the intensity of peat soil mineralisation. The content of DOC decreased with the decrease in the SOC content, whereas the DOC/ SOC ratio increased depending on the intensity of peat decomposition. The C/N ratio is not a reliable indicator of peat mineralisation, because its values are driven not only by the nitrogen natively present in peat soils but also by nitrogen from external sources. The contents of SOC and N_tot did not decrease uniformly during peat decomposition because C and N show various mobility in the processes of SOM mineralisation. We found that the DOC/SOC ratio was most indicative of peat soil mineralisation intensity.

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