Ladislav BUZEK
Water erosion in the watershed of the upper Ostravice river from 1976 to 2000.
Water erosion is an important degradation agent as it depends on natural forces as well as anthropogenic factors (for example, the use of tractor technology in the development of mechanization in the forest industry). Research on water erosion has been organized by the Department of Physical Geography of Ostrava University, from 1976 to 2000, in the Moravskoslezské Beskydy Mts. in the Upper Ostravice River Watershed in the NE part of the Czech Republic. The main results of an analysis of the suspended load regime are presented here. Suspended load, as a transitional part of the erosional products, is evidence of the intensity of erosional processes. In the observed catchment area of the Upper Ostravice R., suspended load sediments in the Šance Dam reached their maximum in 1997, when as a result of regional precipitation the concentration exceeded 15 g.l-1.

Markéta FLEKALOVÁ, Pavel TRNKA
Landscape character assessment (case study of the Hustopeče cadastral area, South Moravia, Czech Republic).
Landscape character preservation has become integral part of nature and landscape protection. Methods of preventive landscape character assessment have been proved on the Hustopeče cadastral area which has been divided into three characteristic units, based on interpretation of land use, topography, scale and spatial and visual relations. Attributes of landscape character have been identified in each unit and their significance, appearance and value have been determined. Hustopeče is localized in diversified landscape, each unit representing a different type of cultural landscape.

Maria HEŁDAK, Olgierd KEMPA
Current demographic changes in rural areas of south-western Poland, 1988 - 2002.
A study analysing the demographic changes taking place in rural and town-rural communes of south-western Poland, in the years 1988, 1996 and 2002, is reported in this paper. In terms of its diversity, Lower Silesia might be regarded as a region representative of Poland. The research confirmed large spatial variations in the migration process, a sudden decline of population density in communes facing unfavourable economic situations, an influx of people to the suburban areas of large towns, and a decreasing birth rate.

Agnieszka KWIATEK-SOŁTYS
Place and role of the centre in the spatial structure of a small town in Poland.
The market squares of 11 of the 44 small towns of Malopolska Province were the subject of this research study: partial findings are reported in this paper. A survey was carried out in the selected towns in the spring of 2007, in order to demonstrate the role of market squares as perceived by residents and visitors. The survey questions concentrated on frequency of visits and reasons for coming to the market square, any potential need for changes, levels of satisfaction with the place and its attractiveness, and on traffic problems. The structure of retailing strategies is as important in the surrounding streets as in the market square itself. Another important component in the studies was the place of towns on Internet sites, checking to what extent the market square is an element of town promotion and image. The goal of the study was to determine whether the market squares can be considered centres of small towns.

Jerzy OLESZEK
Significant changes in the character and form of villages in the Złote Góry mountains boundary region (Poland).
Rural settlement units in Poland, on the western slope of the Złote Góry Mountains, in Lądek Zdrój commune, Kłodzko district in Lower Silesia province, are examined in this paper. The aim of the research project is to define the existing situation, the current forms of rural area management, and to offer directions for future development. Firstly, it is assumed that the character of the settlement structure cannot be changed, and that the given settlement unit has to retain the specific features of a village. A second assumption is that specific qualities of the cultural milieu of the given area should not be lost. The results of this analysis show that actions taken in the 1950s resulted in the elimination of cohesion between settlement units, leading to their isolation, and a decreased potential for village units of settlement.

Jan MUNZAR
The first two “czech” manuals for weather observation from the 1st half of the 19th century.
The paper introduces two oldest and today half-forgotten “Czech” manuals for weather observation from 1817 and 1827. The author of the first manual was Martin Alois David (1757-1836), a Premonstratensian priest and the fourth director of the Klementinum Observatory in Prague, whose 250th birth anniversary will be commemorated this year. The second manual which was published 10 years later does not state any author but according to the analysis performed by O.Seydl it is undoubtedly his work, too. Although both manuals for weather observation published almost two centuries ago were written in German, they can be considered the first Czech instructions. They were in fact exclusively designed for voluntary observers of the Imperial-Royal Patriotic-Economic Society in Prague at a time when German was still the decisive language of professional publications in the Czech lands, then still part of the Austrian Monarchy. The recent research shows that the 1817 manual was to a great degree grounded on the instructions of J. J. Hemmer (1780) produced for the needs of the Mannheim Meteorological Society (Societas meteorologica Palatina). The substantially expanded manual from 1827 already presents, apart from other things, the classification of clouds according to L. Howard.


REVIEW

Karel KIRCHNER
Geomorphologic variations.


REPORT

Bohumil FRANTÁL, Eva KALLABOVÁ, Petr KLUSÁČEK
Regions, locailities and landscapes in the new Europe. International geographical conference Congeo´07.