Two methods of treating pulp and paper wastewater, i.e. electrocoagulation and chemical coagulation, were investigated based on an analysis of selected wastewater parameters, such as COD, turbidity and colour, and a determination of the fractal dimension of the sludge. Both methods appeared efficient. Fractal dimension proved to be an important parameter characterising the aggregation process and the structure of flocs.

This part of the paper presents a method for preparing components of various mixtures for ground reclamation and ground stabilisation and provides their characteristics. The following components were considered: fertilising and soil-forming agents, materials used for ground stabilisation before plants appear, and components of final stabilisation, i.e. grass seeds. As a raw material for the preparation of fertilising and soil-forming components, chromium-free tannery wastes were used. Differently prepared post-fermentation sludges from the fermentation of tannery wastes, composts made from these sludges, and composts from the direct composting of tannery wastes were taken into account. Cellulose fibres were used as a decomposable component stabilising unstable grounds (particularly on natural and artificial slopes). Attention was paid to the function that specific fibre proteins from chromium-free tannery wastes, i.e. collagen and keratin, may serve in reclamation mixtures.

Variants of reclamation mixtures prepared in the way described in Part I of this study were tested on slopes (35^o) using rainfall of different intensity. It was confirmed that cellulose fibres as a component of mixtures constitute an effective ground-stabilising agent. Post-fermentation sludges from chromium-free tannery wastes and composts obtained from such wastes have a certain effect on the ground-stabilising capacity of mixtures. Sludges containing fibre protein and just a small amount of the lipid fraction (ee up to 20 g ∙ kg^-1 ds) inconsiderably reduce that capacity and only in the case when sludge is added in the amount exceeding 50% of the dry substance of mixture. Composts significantly decrease the ground-stabilising capacity of mixtures. Post-fermentation sludges from chromium-free tannery wastes and composts made of these wastes appear to be far more useful as an excellent fertilising and soil-forming agent for reclamation mixtures than sludges from municipal sewage, composts obtained from such sludges and green wastes, or other natural organic fertilisers tested before.

Mean Trophic Rank (MTR), a British system of water quality indication, was applied in the ecological conditions of the Polish Lowland. Studies were carried out in the year 2003 at 30 river sites. According to trophy status the river waters were mainly classified into IIb MTR category (advanced eutrophication). The MTR index appeared to be statistically correlated with some basic parameters of water quality. The large number of MTR indicative plants (50 out of 112 identified in total) suggests that the method has the potential to be introduced in Poland.

The rate of chemical erosion in the Mielnica stream catchment in Trzebnica Hills was studied during the hydrological years 1999–2000. This small agricultural catchment is covered with loess soils, and the major part of its area is arable land. The research included meteorological, hydrological and bathometrical measurements and the chemical analyses of water and suspended sediment. The chemical composition of suspended sediment was found to affect the quality of surface water. The relationships between the concentrations of chemical components contained in water and those bound to sediment became closer when the amount of sediment increased in the stream. The chemical composition of sediment and the rate of chemical erosion showed a wide seasonal variation.

In the year 2002 the quality of well water was monitored in area of the Terespol district. Water samples collected four times per year from twenty dug wells were examined for NO₃^-_, NO₂^-, NH₄⁺, PO₄^-3, Cl^-, total hardness, electrolitic conductivity and pH. It was found that water from 75% of the monitored wells did not meet Polish standards for the nitrogen compounds content and 55% of the wells contained very hard water.

Lower Silesia is exposed to the emission of pollutants coming both from industrial centres located in the region and from abroad. That pollution is harmful not only for agricultural land but also for forest complexes which occupy over 29% of the region’s area. The study investigated the quality of forest soils in the Lower Silesia province by comparing the sulphur and heavy metal contents of forest soils in the former provinces of Lower Silesia (Jelenia Góra, Legnica, Wałbrzych and Wrocław) and the whole region. The results were to the disadvantage of the former Wałbrzych province while the Wrocław province appeared to have the least polluted forest soils. Despite marked differences, the calculated mean values of heavy metal contents were as a rule within the natural range.

A pot experiment was aimed to determine changes in some chemical properties of soil after the application of sewage sludge as a fertiliser. The sludges used in the experiment came from a chemical plant treating tannery sewage and two mechanical-biological plants treating municipal sewage. It was found that the soil fertilised with sludge had a significantly higher reaction at a lower acidity than the soil receiving mineral salts and farmyard manure. The organic carbon content of soil depended more on the kind of fertiliser than the time of its application (spring vs. autumn), the results, however, were not complety clear. Sewage sludge caused a significant increase in the total nitrogen content of soil. After two years of investigations the level of bioavailable phosphorus and potassium decreased sharply in the soil of all experimental treatments.

Records from the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management station in Jelenia Góra on the monthly precipitation totals of the years 1951–2000 were used to analyse the variability of summer (June–August) precipitation in that locality. The study was based on a moving sample consisting of 30-year subsets of the complete record. The critical values of monthly and seasonal precipitation totals at different probability levels were calculated from the gamma distribution. The parameters of that distribution were estimated by the maximum likelihood method. Linear regressions were fitted with the estimated critical values. It was found that the critical values of summer precipitation at 0.90, 0.95 and 0.99 probability display a downward tendency. The average totals of the summer season and August precipitation show a significant downward trend which corresponds with an increased probability of precipitation below the lower limit of the standard value.

The study investigates the meteorological seasons of the year at a phytoclimatic research station in Kopciowa near Krynica (49^o27’ N, 20^o58’ E; altitude 720 m) in the Beskid Sądecki Mts based on the daily temperature records from the period 1971–2000. The duration of the meteorological (thermal) seasons – winter, early spring, spring, late spring, summer, early autumn, autumn, late autumn – and the dates of their beginning and end were established on the basis of mean daily air temperature. Winter was the longest thermal season of the year and spring was the shortest. The dates of beginning and end of a season showed the greatest year-to-year variation for early autumn, summer and winter. The duration of winter was the most varied. The results confirm the view that the area of Kopciowa is representative of the lower cool temperate climatic zone in the Beskid Sądecki Mts.

An attempt was made to assess the value of a village district’s landscape for the purposes of recreation. The assessment was mainly based on an evaluation of the natural environment while the other aspects of the landscape (the cultural and visual environment) were treated as supplementary assets. The prioritised qualities of the landscape provide a basic source of information on its attractiveness. Such information can be used for formulating recommendations on how to shape the landscape of an area to meet e.g. recreational needs.