<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
This article summarises the history of research into alien plants and plant communities in Slovakia (Central Europe). Earlier periods are reviewed briefly with reference to literature sources dealing with those periods more comprehensively. A milestone in the research was the publication of the Inventory of the alien flora of Slovakia in 2012 with a complete list of alien vascular plants. The last ten years are discussed more extensively in the article in four sections devoted to i) newly found alien plants, ii) distribution and habitat relations, iii) plant invasions, iv) citizen science based on the comprehensive excerption of literature sources. A list of 51 newly published alien taxa within the last ten years is also included with information on the year of their first occurrence in the wild in Slovakia.
</abstract>

Alien (invasive) vascular plants in Slovakia – a story of successful plant immigrants

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>This article discusses the knowledge of indigenous people about forest care, interconnectivity and maintenance of their ecological resources as well as the challenges they face among the Matigsalug-Manobo people of Marilog District, Davao City, Philippines. The researchers utilized a descriptive research design through qualitative methods such as in-depth interviews, focus-group discussions and photo-video documentation. To extract the data, the necessary permits and ethical compliance were provided by the respective parties of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region 11, the Local Government Unit of Marilog District and the Manobo-Matigsalug Tribal Council Incorporated. The data gathered were analyzed through thematic analysis focusing on the dominant themes from the respondents’ narratives. The results revealed that these people’s indigenous knowledge on biodiversity conservation has been challenged by changes in the natural landscape, forest deterioration and the unintended consequences of these such as cultural loss and economic well-being. Thus, this has led to major implications of how they conserve the forest and manage their ecological resources in the current times. This calls for building a sustainable and inclusive economic livelihood for the indigenous group and other stakeholders in the Marilog district. This is a vital step in order not to compromise their economic livelihood, to retain cultural practices and to maintain their rights to manage and sustain their ecological resources. Overall, the Matigsalug-Manobos are actively negotiating the cause and effects of these socio-economic factors and are able to devise ways to use the forest and its ecological resources for their survival.</abstract>

Forest care, interconnectivity and maintenance of ecological resources among the Manobo-Matigsalug people of the Southern Philippines

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>The northern area of Pakistan, Gilgit Baltistan (GB), has huge tourist potential due to its exotic mountain beauty. According to the GB Tourism Department, a large number of tourists (around 200651) visit GB every year from across the country. Due to a large influx of tourists in the area both positive and negative impacts have been felt especially on the environment and on the local communities. The environmental impacts of tourism were investigated in this research in two districts of GB. Three villages were selected from each of the districts of Hunza and Diamer as the basis of this research. This study was based on the perceptions and attitudes of the respondents. The total number of questionnaires completed was 340 filled from different respondent categories. Results showed that deforestation, loss of biodiversity, generation of solid waste, water, air and noise pollution, damage cultural and heritage sites and are the main environmental issues caused by tourism activities in the villages in these districts. About 42% of respondents said that deforestation and loss of biodiversity were high in the Diamer district while in Hunza 39% of respondents said that solid waste generation was high. Similarly, 21% respondents in Hunza and 14% respondents in Diamer agreed that water pollution is caused by tourism activities. Microbial analysis of water confirmed the presence of <italic>Salmonella typhi</italic>, <italic>E. coli</italic> and <italic>Enterobacter</italic> sp. There were positive impacts of tourism with results revealing that 87% of villagers and 98% of businessmen responded that tourism had provided them with jobs and business during the peak tourism season. Hotels and restaurants are the main source of jobs in GB mainly as porters and guides. According to the data collected dry fruits, medicinal herbs, gemstones and handicrafts provided considerable attractions for tourists. It is recommended that a combined effort be made by the local communities, tourism departments and other Govt. Agencies to ensure the cleanliness of tourist attractions.</abstract>

The impact of tourism on local communities and their environment in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan: a local community perspective

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Due to an absence of domestic certified reference materials for coal on the Polish market, an attempt was made to manufacture a new and innovative product tailored to its needs. The chosen candidate material was hard coal acquired from Poland’s coal mines. A single reference material unit consisted of 50g of an analytical hard coal sample with a grain size below 0.2 mm. A manufacturing method was developed enabling production of matrix reference materials addressing the needs of the domestic solid fuel market, and was directed at research laboratories carrying out analyses of solid fuels for the energy and coking sectors. The adapted manufacturing scheme of a certified reference material for coal was presented with a description of the chosen critical steps of the process and discussion of the obtained results in terms of homogeneity, stability, characterisation of the reference material as well as assigned values to particular properties and their uncertainty budget. The results obtained during homogeneity, short-term and long-term stability assessments as well as reference material characterisation confirmed the feasibility of the investigated certified coal reference material manufacturing process. The obtained levels of relative expanded uncertainties of the measurements confirmed the feasibility of the manufactured certified reference material for establishing and maintaining metrological traceability of measurement results. The presented research establishes a base for planning out production of additional reference materials as well as providing the know-how for designing manufacturing schemes for reference materials for solid fuels, or waste related materials like fly ash, or furnace waste.
</abstract>

Certified reference material for coal in accordance with the PN-EN ISO 17034:2017-03 standard and ISO GUIDE 35:2017

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> Wood industries produce large volumes of residues which must be utilized, marketed or properly disposed of. Heaps of wood residues are common features in wood industries throughout the year. In Nigeria, this residue is generally regarded as waste and this has led to open burning practices, dumping in water bodies or dumping in an open area which constitutes environmental pollution. Sawmills in Nigeria generated over 1,000,000 m3 of wood waste in 2010 while about 5000 m3 of waste was generated in plywood mills. Nigeria generates about 1.8 million tons of sawdust annually and 5.2 million tons of wood wastes. The impact of improper disposal of waste wood on the environment affects both the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Also burning of waste wood releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere causing various health issues. Reuse/recycling of these wood residues in Nigeria will reduce the pressure on our ever decreasing forests, reduce environmental pollution, create wealth and employment. The literature available on this subject was reviewed and this article, therefore, focuses on the various methods of wood waste disposal and its utilization in Nigerian wood industries, the effects of wood waste on the environment as well as on human health and the benefits of proper wood waste management practices.</abstract>

Department of Forestry and Wood Technology, Federal University of Technology Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria

Department of Environmental Planning, Brandenburg University of Technology, Cottbus-Senftenberg, Germany

Sustainable wood waste management in Nigeria

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Do young children think that plants deserve morally-based respect or, on the contrary, do they feel that respect for plant life is nothing more than another behavioural norm similar to, for instance, one that states that you should not pick your nose in public? This study examines how dilemmas involving environmental, moral and socio-conventional situations are comprehended in early childhood so as to investigate the issue of whether young children attach a significant degree of severity to transgressions against plant life in comparison with disregarding socially accepted rules. Additionally, young children’s judgements are put into perspective alongside their understanding of the concept of living things in order to shed light on the role that grasping essential biological notions might play in the emergence of young children’s assessments of actions that pose a threat to the environment. The sample of the study consists of 328 children (162 girls and 166 boys) who attend Early Years Education or Primary Education and the data examined comes from the individual interviews conducted with the children. The results are discussed in connection with the current understanding of the source of ethical judgements which emphasises the importance that emotions seem to play in the construction of moral thinking.</abstract>

Faculty of Education-Bilbao, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Barrio Sarriena s/n. 48940 Leioa,

Education and Sport Faculty, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Juan Ibáñez de Santo Domingo, 1. 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz,

Young children’s environmental judgement and its relationship with their understanding of the concept of living things

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
A fundamental problem during the heating season is the above-normal concentrations of pollutants, especially particulate matter, which are often exceeded. Currently, the main source of air pollution in Poland is low emissions, which consists of from the inefficient burning of fossil fuels in single-family homes and road transportation. This article discusses the permissible particulate matter standards and identifies the anti-smog resolution as a legal instrument to reduce low emissions. For the purpose of this research, field measurements of particulate matter of various fractions were carried out using the specialist equipment of the University Laboratories for Atmosphere Control of the University of Silesia in Katowice. Field measurements were carried out in early 2023 using the Overhead Mobile Laboratory and the Field Mobile Laboratory in selected districts of Katowice. When conducting the study, attention was paid to the type of development, which determines the specifics of heating and the proximity of roads, which are a source of traffic pollution. Due to the high variability of atmospheric conditions and other components, such as current traffic, the data should be treated as indicative. The results of the study depend primarily on the conditions found and reflect the situation at a particular place and time. The occurrence of low emissions was confirmed by the results of the study, which showed very high concentrations of particulate matter in the southern districts of Katowice, where single-family old buildings predominate and building heating is unsuitable. An impact of automobile traffic on air quality was found.
</abstract>

Selected legal instruments for air protection against low emissions in Poland

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
In August 2021, very intense fires swept through various forested areas in northern Algeria, particularly in Kabylia. The population dynamics of <italic>Cistus salviifolius</italic> and <italic>Cistus monspeliensis</italic> were studied along a post-fire successional gradient during the first nine months (September 2021 – May 2022), in two forest communities: the Cork oak (<italic>Quercus suber</italic>) and the Aleppo pine (<italic>Pinus halepensis</italic>) forests in the coastal zone of Bejaia province. The <italic>Cistus</italic> spp. germinations were counted monthly in each forest on 10 plots of 1 m2, evenly distributed along 2 transects of 45 m each. The results showed that the majority of germinations occur in December with 207.5 ± 24.2 seedlings in the Cork oak forest and 171.3 ± 18.0 seedlings in the Aleppo pine forest. Student's t-test does not reveal significant differences for December between the two communities. During the first months following the fire (September and October 2021), germinations were almost absent. The monthly rainfall in September 2021 was estimated at 16.25 mm, an insufficient amount for effective germination. Late germination results in an extension of its period, showed a high rate in January 2022 with 42.2 ± 2.1 and 11.5 ± 0.8 seedlings, respectively, in the Cork oak forest and the pine forest. Beyond January, germination was practically nonexistent in both communities. Therefore, the majority of the seed germination was concentrated in November, December, and January with a unimodal germination pattern.
</abstract>

Post-fire dynamics of recolonization by <italic>Cistus</italic> plants in the Aleppo pine and Cork oak forests in Bejaia region, central north Algeria

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
By exploring the nexus between financial development and population health in the ECOWAS region we contribute to the debate on population health and also examine the direction of causality between population health and its determinants. We utilised a panel dataset of 11 ECOWAS nations from 1990-2019. The study used the augmented mean group (AMG) estimator to examine the long-run associations among the chosen variables. The empirical results indicate that financial development and economic growth are positive drivers of population health. The analysis also demonstrates that lower population health is associated with increased environmental degradation (CO2 emissions) in the ECOWAS region. However, regarding the country-specific analysis, the impact of the determinants of population health varied per country. The empirical estimates of the Dumitrescu Hurlin panel causality tests reveal a bidirectional causality between population health and its determinants. The empirical outcomes offer new insights for policymakers by means of financial development, environmental degradation, and income as economic tools to promote population health by guiding finance, growth, and environmental policies.
</abstract>

The dynamics of financial development, environmental degradation, economic growth and population health in the Economic Community of West African States

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Logistics services are a consequence of increasingly rapid economic development and globalisation. More and more facilities with adequate transport accessibility are being created for the storage of goods, which form logistics clusters. They emerged later in Central and Eastern Europe than in the United States and Western Europe. Investment in Poland's first logistics parks can be linked to the political and economic transformation in 1989, Poland's accession to the European Union in 2004, the development of motorways, and Poland's integration into the global economy. In the second decade of the 21st century, there are more than a dozen places in Poland that can be called logistics clusters. The purpose of this research was to geographically analyse a selected regional cluster located in Lodz voivodeship, as well as its links to the transport network of Poland and Europe. Geostatistical and GIS methods were used for spatial analysis. It was shown that its spatial distribution is strongly related to the A1 highway, the intersection of the A1 and A2 highways and the voivodeship city of Lodz. The characteristics of the geographic environment give reason to suggest that it has great development potential and is worthy of further observation and comparative studies.
</abstract>

A spatial analysis of one of the regional logistics clusters in central Poland using GIS

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The issue of inequality in the use of urban transport space is particularly important in today’s car-saturated cities. Increasing the convenience, safety and respect for the rights of vulnerable road users, including in particular pedestrians and cyclists, is emerging as a particular challenge. Grassroots initiatives of city residents, who become cycling advocates and cycling activists, are confronting this problem. Among various forms of activism there is also the organisation of ‘critical masses’, which were originally intended to remind us about the rights of this group of road users through a simultaneous passage of multiple cyclists through the streets of the city. From the late 20th century to the present day, such events have undergone change. The aim of this study was to investigate how today’s critical masses differ from their 1990s prototypes. The research analysed bike critical masses organised in Poland, a country with an underdeveloped cycling culture and low cycling modal share. At one such event, a survey was also conducted to determine why participants chose to attend. The study confirmed that contemporary bicycle critical masses are recreational events promoting cycling.
</abstract>

Bicycle critical mass events 30 years on – are they an urban mobility movement or a bicycle festival?

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The key to achieving an effective and sustainable geopark waste management system is fostering community participation. This research about the Gunung Sewu Geopark, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, examines the phases and levels of community participation in waste reduction. The study involved surveying 1,757 respondents aged 18 and above using door-to-door questionnaires, which were analysed using the conditional probability method to determine participation stages and levels. The results indicate that community participation in waste reduction activities, such as composting and recycling is inadequate, with only 21.12% of respondents participating in the decision-making stage, 1.99% participating in the implementation stage, and 0.68% finding waste reduction activities valuable. Rural community participation level scores were 0.68 and categorised as very low. The incomplete stages of participation and low levels of participation are significant challenges for implementing sustainable waste management and maintaining conservation principles in Gunung Sewu Geopark. Further research could be conducted to determine the driving factors that most influence rural community participation so that geopark policymakers can develop strategies to increase participation more effectively and to targets.
</abstract>

Community engagement in waste reduction: A critical component for Gunung Sewu Geopark conservation, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis postulates an inverted U-shaped relationship between different pollutants and economic growth. In Ghana, as in many other developing countries, there exist scanty studies that confirm or otherwise the EKC hypothesis with regards to CO2 emissions as well as the factors that drive CO2 emissions. This work aims to bridge this knowledge gap by addressing these two major questions using data from 1970 to 2010 and the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Bounds Testing approach. The results rather suggest a U-shaped relationship between per capita GDP and CO2 emissions per capita indicating the non-existence of the EKC hypothesis for CO2 in Ghana. This implies that further increase in per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will only be associated with increase in CO2 emissions as the income per capita turning point of about $624 at constant 2000 prices occurred between 1996 and 1997. Furthermore, our results reveal energy consumption and trade openness are positive long run drivers of CO2 emissions. It is therefore recommended that the enhancement of trade liberalization policies should ensure the use of cleaner technologies and products while investment in cleaner energy alternatives could help reduce CO2 emissions. We also recommend the implementation of the Low Carbon Development Strategy which integrates development and climate change mitigation actions.</abstract>

Department of Economics, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 57, Legon-Accra,

Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University, 2-1 Rokkodai-chuo, Nada-ku, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture,

An empirical examination of the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis for carbon dioxide emissions in Ghana: an ARDL approach

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>China is the most populated country in the world, but has relatively little fertile land, and even less water. Maintaining the quality of its agricultural land is of paramount importance if China wants to feed its very large and growing population. Yet, China is one of the countries with the largest amount of polluted soil. This paper looks at the causes and distribution of soil pollution in China. It first looks at the amount of organic and inorganic soil pollutants and their geographic distribution. It then looks at the causes of soil pollution, making the distinction between agricultural activities, industrial activities, and urbanization. Pollution from agricultural activities stems primarily from the excessive amounts of pesticides and fertilizers used on farmland, and is mainly located in the south, where most of the food is produced. Pollution from industrial activities is due to airborne industrial pollutants that fall on to the land, and is mainly located in the west of the country, where most manufacturing activities take place. Pollution from urbanization is mainly due to the very large amount of solid, liquid and gaseous waste generated in a small area with insufficient treatment facilities, and exhaust fumes from vehicles, and is located around the largest cities, or roads. The result is that one fifth of China’s farmland is polluted, and an area the size of Taiwan is so polluted that farming should not be allowed there at all.</abstract>

Causes and distribution of soil pollution in China

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>The Katowice conurbation is an example of a typical old industrial region in Central and Eastern Europe, whose socioeconomic transformation, initiated after 1990, has led to spatial and functional changes. The aim of this article is to present the suburbanisation process in the Katowice conurbation based on demographic changes and an analysis of migration flow. This process has been taking place in the area since the 2000s and takes on the shape of a multi-centre development of newly created individual and developed housing zones (both in the core and in the suburban area of the conurbation). Since 1990, the cities of the Katowice conurbation have been undergoing a process of shrinking. This process is manifested in the decline in number of urban residents in the years 1991–2016, amounting to 366 thousand people. Moreover, the cities face numerous social, economic and spatial problems. Since 1995, simultaneous with the shrinking of the cities of the Katowice conurbation, there has been an increase in the number of inhabitants in its suburban areas (since 2004, the trend has continued to be positive). Population increases have also been recorded in some inner-city zones of the conurbation. The suburbanisation process in the outer zone of the conurbation includes, in particular, the communes located north and south of the cities constituting its core, including the communes of Ożarowice, Psary, Mierzęcice in the north and Mikołów, Orzesze, Wyry in the south-west. On the other hand, the areas of intense inner-city construction development, located in the areas of the Katowice conurbation core, which are attractive in terms of environment and transportation, are undergoing so-called, “internal suburbanisation”.</abstract>

The suburbanisation process in a depopulation context in the Katowice conurbation, Poland

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>In the presented research ERS1-2 and Envisat ASAR archive data were used for the periods 1993 – 2000 and 2003 – 2010. The radar images were acquired over Upper Silesia in southern Poland. DinSAR (Differential InSAR) and SBAS (Small Baseline Subset) methods were applied for the detection of the most subsided areas. The DinSAR images were layer stacked for an image using 26 interferometry pairs of ERS1-2 SAR and 16 pairs from Envisat ASAR images in an ascending-descending orbit combination. The stacking of these images showed the most subsided parts of these cities even under low coherent areas, but the results are less precise. In the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, intensive underground coal exploitation has resulted in several surface deformations under Bytom (~8-17 km2), Piekary Śląskie (~9-15 km2), Ruda Śląska (~32-42 km2) and Katowice (~20-23 km2) with 25-40 cm of subsidence (in general) in the studied time periods. The SBAS technique has also shown that coal mining caused subsidence in the cities of Bytom, Katowice, and Piekary Śląskie of 5-7 cm/yr. The presented SBAS method did not work for low coherent areas, e.g. dense forested areas. DInSAR data also pointed to several decreasingly less active mining areas, which relate to the mine closures in Bytom and Ruda Śląska, which is also verified by the time series analysis.</abstract>

Using radar interferometry and SBAS technique to detect surface subsidence relating to coal mining in Upper Silesia from 1993-2000 and 2003-2010

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>The purpose of this study was to determine the relevance of the Environmental Kuznets Curve, which shows that there is an inverted-U shaped relationship between environmental pollution and economic growth. We investigated the relationship between per capita income and the carbon dioxide emissions as indicators of environmental pollution in Developing Countries, OECD, Middle East and OPEC countries for the period of 1970-2016. The contribution of our study is the evaluation and comparison of Developing Countries, OECD, Middle East and OPEC countries together in the context of EKC. We employ the fixed effect and GMM techniques in this study and results obtained from cubic models indicate that the N-shaped relationship for Developing, Middle East countries and OECD countries and inverted N-shaped relationship for OPEC countries exist. Considering these conclusions, we draw some serious policy implications for the policy makers in these countries. Governments should closely follow the industries that generate CO2 emissions as after some point environmental degradation increases again as income increases. In addition adopting clean energies including wind and solar systems and making these technologies widespread across countries might reduce CO2 emissions. Another alternative way to reduce CO2 emissions might be a carbon tax which should be implemented for polluters.</abstract>

Environmental Kuznets Curve for CO2 emissions: An analysis for developing, Middle East, OECD and OPEC countries

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