A number of well-known forests have been the object of studies by ecological teams. Every ecologist is familiar with the names of forests such as Whytham Woods in England (Elton 1966), Solling in West Germany (Ellenberg 1971), Hubbard Brook in New Hampshire, U. S. A. (Likens et al. 1977, Bormann and Likens 1979), and ladra6s in Central Sweden (Persson 1980). The number of such team studies grew rapidly during the period of the International Biological Programme (Reichle 1981). Each of these forests represented aspects oflocal and general interest. The Niepolomice Forest in Southern Poland (Fig. 1) does not possess any spectacular features and it may be regarded as a typical forest of the lowlands of continental Europe. Situated in the Vistula River Valley, 20 km east of Cracow (50°07' N, 20°23' E) it consists of two major sections: an extensive pine forest of the Pino-Quercetum type, and a smaller, deciduous, oak-hornbeam- Fig. 1. The location of the Niepolomice Forest in Southern Poland VI Preface Tilio Carpinetum forest. This huge forested area (11,000 ha) owes its survival in one of the most densely populated parts of Europe to a long period of protection as a royal hunting ground. The period of royal protection ended abruptly at the turn of 20th century under the devastating blows of two world wars followed by perhaps an even greater danger, the effects of modern developments in heavy industry.

Inhalt

1. The Niepo?omice Forest: Existing Features.- 1.1 Flora and Vegetation of the Niepo?omice Forest.- 1.1.1 Tree Layer.- 1.1.2 Flora.- 1.1.3 Forest Communities.- 1.2 Soils.- 1.3 Climate.- 1.3.1 Solar Radiation and Insolation.- 1.3.2 Air Circulation.- 1.3.3 Thermal Relations.- 1.3.4 Atmospheric Precipitation.- 1.3.5 Air Humidity.- 1.3.6 Final Remarks.- 1.4 History of the Niepo?omice Forest.- 1.4.1 Forest Management.- 1.4.2 Water Relationships.- 1.4.3 Wildlife.- 1.4.4 Concluding Remarks.- 1.5 Bioindication of Environmental Deterioration.- 2. Transport and Input of Air Pollutants in the Niepolomice Forest Area.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 Emission of Industrial Air Pollutants.- 2.2.1 Emission by Distant Industrial Complexes.- 2.2.2 Emission by Adjacent Industrial Installations.- 2.3 Evaluation of Aerosol Pollution Transport Using Remote-Sensing Methods.- 2.4 Meteorological Aspects of Air Pollutant Spread in Forest Areas.- 2.5 Concentration, Transformation, and Deposition of Sulfur Compounds.- 2.5.1 Concentration of Sulfur Dioxide and Sulfate Aerosol.- 2.5.2 Estimation of the Dry Deposition of Sulfur.- 2.5.3 Wet Deposition of Sulfur.- 2.5.4 Precipitation Acidity.- 2.5.5 Input of Sulfur to the Substrate.- 2.5.6 Particulate Matter.- 2.6 Input and Mineral Composition of Dust to the Substrate.- 2.6.1 Amounts of Dust Fall.- 2.6.2 Highly Soluble Particulate Components.- 2.6.3 Slightly Soluble Particulate Components.- 2.6.4 Chemical Composition of the Dust Fall.- 2.6.5 Geochemical Characteristics of the Substrate.- 2.7 Conclusion.- 3. Primary Production in the Niepo?omice Forest Ecosystems.- 3.1 Introduction.- 3.2 Growing Stock and Increment of Tree Stands.- 3.2.1 The Characteristics of Tree Stands of the Niepolomice Forest.- 3.2.2 Dendrometric Characteristics of Tree Stands in Selected Areas.- 3.2.3 Productivity of Tree Stands.- 3.3 Photosynthetic Productivity.- 3.3.1 Seasonal Changes in the Photosynthetic Activity of Leaves in Areas with Variable Air Pollution.- 3.3.2 Seasonal Photosynthetic Production and Respiration in Leaves of Selected Tree Species.- 3.3.3 Productivity and Accumulation of Solar Energy in Oak-Horn-beam Forests.- 3.3.4 Seasonal Changes in the Rate of Photosynthesis and Respiration of Pine Shoots.- 3.3.5 Effects of Industrial Air Pollution on the Morphology and Abundance of Pine Needles.- 3.3.6 Potential Photosynthetic Production of Long Pine Shoots.- 3.3.7 Estimation of Photosynthetic Production of Pine Forests.- 3.4 Productivity of the Herb Layer.- 3.4.1 Study Areas.- 3.4.2 Methods.- 3.4.3 Production of the Herb Layer in Forest Communities.- 3.4.4 Discussion.- 3.5 Productivity of Nonforest Vegetation.- 3.5.1 Nonforest Communities.- 3.5.2 Productivity of Nonforest Communities.- 3.6 The Concentration of Nutrients and Pollutants in Plant Materials in the Niepo?omice Forest.- 3.7 Conclusions.- 4. Energy and Matter Flow Through Consumers in the Niepolomice Forest Ecosystem.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.2 Ecology, Energetics and the Significance of Phytophagous Insects in Deciduous and Coniferous Forests.- 4.2.1 Sampling Plots.- 4.2.2 Species Composition, Bioenergetics, and Biomass Structure.- 4.2.3 Nutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, and Calcium) in Insect Bodies and Excrement.- 4.2.4 Phytophagous Insects in the Ecosystems of the Niepo?omice Forest.- 4.2.5 Effects of Industrial Pollution on the Insect Fauna.- 4.3 Energy and Matter Flow Through Homeothermic Consumers.- 4.3.1 Energy and Matter Flow Through Rodents.- 4.3.2 Energy and Matter Flow Through Ungulates.- 4.3.3 Energy and Matter Flow Through Bird Populations.- 4.3.4 Energy and Matter Flow Through Carnivores.- 4.4 Flow of Heavy Metals Through Selected Homeotherm Consumers.- 4.5 Impact of Consumers on the Forest Ecosystems of the Niepolomice Forest.- 5. Decomposition in the Pine Forests on Niepo?omice.- 5.1 Introduction.- 5.2 Study Areas.- 5.3 Matter Dynamics and Balance in the Litter.- 5.4 Turnover Rate of Matter in Forest Ecosystems.- 5.5 Decomposition Rate of Dead Organic Matter.- 6. The Outflow of Macro- and Microelements from the Niepo?omice Forest Watersheds.- 6.1 The Watershed and Typical Streams of the Niepolomice Forest.- 6.1.1 Watershed of Selected Streams.- 6.1.2 Analysis of Water Flow in Traczówka Creek.- 6.1.3 Average Annual Flow in Traczówka and smigne Creeks.- 6.2 Effect of Drainage Systems on the Hydrological Regime of the Niepo?omice Forest.- 6.3 Hydrobiologic Characteristics of Selected Streams.- 6.3.1 Bacteriological Characteristics of the Streams.- 6.3.2 Concentration of Dissolved Proteins and Free Amino Acids in the Streams.- 6.3.3 Variation in the Trophic Value of Water.- 6.3.4 Characteristics of Phytoplankton.- 6.3.5 Hydrobiological Characteristics of the Streams.- 6.4 Outflow of Macroelements from the Forest Watershed Affected by Industrial Air Pollution.- 6.4.1 Characteristics of the Creeks.- 6.4.2 Physicochemical Characteristics of the Water.- 6.4.3 Ionic Composition of the Water.- 6.4.4 Organic Matter and Nitrogen and Phosphorus Compounds in the Water.- 6.4.5 Chemical Erosion by the Streams.- 6.4.6 Mechanisms of Macroelement Run-Off from the Traczówka Watershed.- 6.5 Outflow and Accumulation of Heavy Metals in Streams of the Noepo?omice Forest.- 6.5.1 Seasonal Variation in Water Flow in the Southern Forest Complex.- 6.5.2 Concentration of Heavy Metals.- 6.5.3 Seasonal Variation in the Daily Outflow of Heavy Metals.- 6.5.4 Spatial Variation in the Outflow of Heavy Metals from the Southern Forest Complex.- 6.5.5 Outflow and Accumulation of Heavy Metals in Streams.- 6.5.6 Transport and Accumulation of Heavy Metals in the Niepo?omice Forest.- 6.6 Conclusion.- 7. Energy, Nutrient, and Pollutant Budgets of the Forest Ecosystems.- 7.1 Introduction.- 7.2 Biomass Production, Nutrient Uptake, and Pollutant Accumulation by Plants.- 7.2.1 Data Sources.- 7.2.2 Energy Budget of Primary Production.- 7.2.3 Standing Crop of Biomass, Energy, and Chemical Elements.- 7.2.4 Nutrient Uptake by Forest Vegetation.- 7.2.5 Heavy Metal Accumulation.- 7.2.6 Standing Crop, Production, and Turnover Rates of Biomass, Energy, Nutrients, and Pollutants.- 7.3 Energy and Matter Flow Through Consumer Populations.- 7.3.1 Energy and Nutrient Intake by Consumers.- 7.3.2 Intake and Accumulation of Pollutants by Consumers.- 7.4 Chemical Budgets in the Forested Ecosystems.- 7.5 Discussion.- 7.5.1 Primary Production.- 7.5.2 Nutrient Budgets.- 7.5.3 Pollutant Budgets.- 7.5.4 The General Pattern of Energy, Nutrient, and Pollutant Behavior in Forest Ecosystems.- 7.5.5 Disruptions in Elemental C…