A unique type of industrial railway – the sand railways of southern Poland

Green and blue infrastructure is a unique aspect of sustainable development in post-industrial and post-mining cities. The article examines the issue of the characteristic post-mining lake district in one of Europe’s largest urban and hard coal mining regions—the Katowice Conurbation in Southern Poland. This article aims to clarify the conditions and problems of developing post-mining water bodies as an element of blue and green infrastructure, with a particular focus on the issue of developing recreational functions. The latter aspect was analyzed using extensive CAVI (Computer-Assisted Web Interview)/CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing) surveys conducted among residents, in-depth stakeholder interviews, and strategic and planning document analysis. This research confirmed that residents and local authorities treat post-mining reservoirs as necessary for creating green and blue infrastructure. Recreational functions were perceived as one of the elements of urban policy, in which the preservation of valuable ecosystems created around reservoirs has the same place. An essential element of the research findings is also the typology of post-mining reservoirs presented here, which allows for a better understanding of the development dilemmas of these areas in a highly urbanized and post-mining area.

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“…(b) Sand was mined and used as a component of liquid backfill when filling empty mine shafts and tunnels (see [38,44,84]);…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Planning Recreation around Water Bodies in Two Hard Coal Post-Mining Areas in Southern Poland

2023

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“…Typical signs include low vegetation cover and the predominance of native species whose diaspores are brought to the tram line from the surrounding area. The subsequent succession of vegetation follows a different course depending on the disturbance caused by human activity (Krzysztofik et al, 2022). The unused tram lines suggest that succession would occur without human interference.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fragmentation and biodiversity change in urban vegetation: A case study of tram lines

Winkler,

Koda,

Červenová

et al. 2024

Land Degrad Dev

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This study explores the vegetation composition along various tram line sections in Bydgoszcz, Poland, with a focus on understanding the impact of usage, maintenance, and historical development on urban vegetation dynamics. This study addresses this knowledge gap by investigating how these factors influence plant species composition, leading to variations in the prevalence of native and non‐native species. The aim of this study is to contribute to urban ecological knowledge and inform vegetation management strategies. The investigation centers on five tram line sites representing different usage and maintenance scenarios: Unused line, New line, Loop rec, Loop old, and Old line. Through phytocoenological relevés conducted in 2020 and 2021, we measured the plant taxa coverage. Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) and Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) revealed relationships between plant species and tram line sites. The results indicated the presence of 107 plant taxa, with graphical representations highlighting the prevalent species on each tram line section. Older sections showed a higher representation of non‐native plant species, whereas new sections exhibited native species dominance. Moisture‐indicative values suggest an affinity for soils with average moisture content. CCA provides insights into the relationships between plant taxa and site variants and offers valuable implications for urban vegetation management and conservation strategies. The novelty of this study lies in its holistic approach for understanding how multiple factors interact to shape urban vegetation. By illuminating urban ecological dynamics and informing decision‐making processes, this study contributes to urban planning, ecology, and biodiversity conservation. Additionally, this study fills a knowledge gap by providing insights into the unique ecological dynamics and species composition of tram lines in urban environments. Unlike previous research in Central European countries focusing on planted vegetation, this study explored the spontaneous spread of plants and successional patterns along tram lines, enhancing our understanding of the environmental conditions created by tram lines that influence vegetation composition and development.

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“…Sand is an important mineral for various industries around the world and a habitat for many organisms [14]. Sand mining is becoming an environmental issue, as there is an increasing demand for sand for industry, construction and other purposes [15][16][17][18] and as a backfill material to fill voids in post-mining corridors (underground mining) to prevent subsidence [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-Term Vegetation Changes and Socioeconomic Effects of River Engineering in Industrialized Areas (Southern Poland)

Rahmonov

Dragan

Cabała

et al. 2023

IJERPH

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The exploitation of mineral resources associated with human mining activities leads to the degradation of both terrestrial and aquatic biocenotic systems. The drastic disturbance of water relations as a result of the relocation of the riverbed of the Biala Przemsza River (southern Poland) for coal and filler sand mining will lead to changes in plant ecosystems. The purpose of this study was to determine and compare the diversity and distribution of vegetation in the Biała Przemsza valley in sections of channel straightening with the old riverbed and areas undisturbed by engineering works against the background of land use in temporal and spatial aspects. The results of the ecological and phytosociological studies showed that the composition of flora and vegetation types varied. Within the transformed riverbed, anthropogenic mixed forests with species characteristic of different ecological systems are developing, whereas the non-regulated section of the river is overgrown by an alder riparian forest with an almost complete species composition for this plant community. The highest Simpson’s biodiversity index was found in the anthropogenically disturbed section of the river (0.86), and in the undisturbed section, it was 0.83. Both sections of the river were dominated by species of the family Compositae, Poaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Rosaceae and Apiaceae. The diversity of the flora in the transformed sections of the valley is determined by the presence of mosaics and microhabitats, as well as the nature of the surrounding vegetation, which is reflected in the ecological requirements of the flora concerning light preference (moderate light [56.25%]), and almost 90% of the flora from the area of the regulated section of the valley develops on humus-poor and mineral-humus soils. Although this area has lost its original natural function, it is now valuable for selected economic and social functions, especially in highly urbanized regions.

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A unique type of industrial railway – the sand railways of southern Poland

Cited by 3 publications

References 17 publications

Planning Recreation around Water Bodies in Two Hard Coal Post-Mining Areas in Southern Poland

Planning Recreation around Water Bodies in Two Hard Coal Post-Mining Areas in Southern Poland

Fragmentation and biodiversity change in urban vegetation: A case study of tram lines

Long-Term Vegetation Changes and Socioeconomic Effects of River Engineering in Industrialized Areas (Southern Poland)

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