Environmental monitoring has been carried out in the Roztocze National Park since its very beginning with the steadily growing range and is matched (undergoing some modifications) to the current needs and requirements.
Base Station of Integrated Monitoring of Natural Environment Roztocze functions as an internal organizational unit of the Roztocze National Park. Research area of Base Station of IMNE has been defined within the Roztocze National Park and its buffer zone, divided into three areas:
- representative catchment of the Świerszcz river with the area of about 4651 hectares, where the measurements are carried out within the framework of a comprehensive basic program of IMNE,
- sub-catchment area of the Świerszcz river with the surface of 1815 hectares (including watercourse without the tributaries - to the profile of Malowany Most), which was based on balancing the need for the distribution of matter and energy flow from the air, precipitation and surface waters,
- the buffer zone of research catchment, covering the entire area of the RNP and the buffer of the Park (an area of approx. 35,000 ha), where the research will be conducted as part of the basic program and studies in the extended program (especially research in the nature of monitoring subsystem).
The scope of activities of the Base Station of Integrated Monitoring of Natural Environment Roztocze-coordinating the monitoring in the Roztocze National Park was included in the project of the plan of the RNP protection and involves the monitoring covered in two thematic blocks:
- State Environmental Monitoring
- Integrated Monitoring of Natural Environment (IMNE)
- Monitoring of Polish Birds
- Monitoring of habitats and species Natura 2000
- Nature Monitoring of the Roztocze National Park Protection Plan
- Monitoring of forest ecosystems
- Monitoring of non-forest land ecosystems
- Monitoring of water ecosystems
- Monitoring of plant species, fungi and their habitats
- Monitoring of animal species and their habitats
- Monitoring of inanimate nature
- Monitoring of habitats and species of Natura 2000 within the Park
- Monitoring of landscape values
- Monitoring of cultural values
- Monitoring of the access to science, education and tourism
Research in national parks are conducted in order to understand the natural environment, landscape, cultural and historical values and the identification of hazards, including the development of methods for effective protection.
Because of the unique natural values, the grounds of the current Park have been of interest to scientists since the eighties of the nineteenth century. Providing the Park for scientific purposes has been recorded and documented by scientific researchers of RNP since 1975. The coordination of research was dealt with by the first employees of the Research Department and the Department of Conservation. At the time of the creation of the Museum and Education Center, the role of scientific coordination was taken over by the Department of Science and Education, and since 2011 - by Base Station of Integrated Monitoring of Natural Environment Roztocze.
In the years 1975-2012, 664 research topics were carried out in RNP by research institutions, representatives of nature conservation services (including workers of RNP), nature professional organizations, schools and individuals. Most of them (70%) were related to postdoctoral, doctoral, master's, bachelor's and engineering research. The remaining 30% of the research were carried out within grants and other research projects. A large part of the results was published in scientific journals, or used in other publications (monographs, publications, conference proceedings).
Worked by:
RPN/SB ZMŚP Roztocze
Text: Przemysław Stachyra