ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Pluviothermal Conditions in Poland in Light
of Contemporary Climate Change and Their
Consequences for Agriculture and Water
Management
Agnieszka Ziernicka-Wojtaszek, Tadeusz Zawora
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Department of Ecology, Climatology and Air Protection, University of Agriculture,
Al. Mickiewicza 24/28, 30-059 Cracow, Poland
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2015;24(1):419-425
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Spatial diversity and total area of thermal-humid regions have been assessed and, in addition, climatic
water balance values have been calculated, employing specific time-frames up until the year 2020. The latter
calculations have been performed taking into account temperature averages for the period 1971-2000, and constant
precipitation. In order to designate thermal-humid regions the Daunbenmiere method has been used (version
modified by Cherszkowicz) in which thermal conditions are determined on the basis of effective temperature
sums ≥10.0ºC, while pluvial conditions are determined based on the hydrothermal coefficient (K=10P/t)
for the period from June until August where P signifies sums of precipitation and t daily sums of air temperature
values. The climatic water balance was calculated as the difference between precipitation sums and sums
of potential evaporation calculated using the Thornthwaite method. A systematic increase of the area of temperate
warm and warm regions has been identified (from 62% in the period 1971-2000 to 88% for values estimated
for 2000, 98% for values estimated for 2010, and 100% for 2015 and 2020). Meanwhile, a systematic
increase in the area of temperate dry regions has been observed (20% of Poland in 1971-2000, 45% for values
estimated for 2010, and 48% for values estimated for 2015 and 2020). The values of climatic water balance have
decreased in the Nizina Wielkopolska from -160 mm (1971-2000) to -220 mm (for values estimated for 2015).
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.