Transformations of Land Amelioration Systems in the Catchment of the Rów Wyskoc River in the Context of their Use to Counteract the Effects of Drought

Abstract

The regulation of water relations is an important environmental role of permanent greeneries . The valleys used as permanent grasslands often also function as polders or dry flood-control reservoirs. The land amelioration systems realized in the 1970s and 1980s, for economic reasons do not perform the functions they were planned to. Tjis is because their exploitation has been abandoned and the systems still drain the land in an uncontrolled way, i.e.. without the regulation of water level assumed in the original project and without limitation of excessive outflow and excessive irrigation in post-drought periods. Their presence leads to an excessive drying of the valley and, as a consequence, to the changes in the mode of land use, from mown meadows to arable land. The aim of the study reported in this paper was to evaluate the functioning of the hitherto existing amelioration systems in the context of their possible use for alleviation of the effects of drought. The current state of amelioration ditches in the area of three amelioration systems established in the areas near the villages Racot, Wyskoć and Rogaczewo, in the catchment area of the Rów Wyskoć river, was examined in field study. Moreover, the analysis of cartographic materials in GIS environment was performed. As a result, the digital maps of the amelioration objects were made. The digital maps were compared with the maps from the 1970s and 1980s when the objects were open for operation.

Permanent areas and changes in forests, grasslands, and wetlands in the North European Plain since the eighteenth century—a case study of the Kościan Plain in Poland

“…However, by 2023, only 100 wetlands remained. This was primarily the result of large-scale land reclamation efforts initiated in the late 1960s and carried out during the 1970s to the early 1980s 62 , 64 .…”

“…They also had the flood protection function. Research by Kozaczyk 62 examined the water regulation impact on the permanent grasslands and their exploitation.…”

“…Historically, large areas of wetlands were drained for agricultural purposes, particularly in the Netherlands, Germany from the sixteenth century, and later in also Poland 63 . In western Poland, land reclamation was carried out on a small scale in the nineteenth century and on a much larger scale in the twentieth century, especially in the 1960s and by the early 1980s 62 , 64 . Wetlands, including marshes and peatlands, were once abundant in the Kościan Plain, contributing to water regulation, carbon sequestration, and wildlife habitat.…”

Effects of Silicon Application and Groundwater Level in a Subirrigation System on Yield of a Three-Cut Meadow

“…Scientists emphasize that in Poland, the problem is too little funding and not enough emphasis on the maintenance work of the structures, which results in the deterioration of the condition and functionality of drainage facilities on many meadow sites [21,22]. Moreover, based on archival maps, it was also found that the irrigation system in Racot village in 1976 consisted of as many as 36 km of ditches, whereas in 2000, it was only 12.5 km [23].…”