Abstract:The climate-growth relationship of larch (Larix decidua Mill.) in the Polish Carpathian Mountains was studied. We explored the spatial variability of the common signal observed in larch tree-ring growth, distinguished regions with uniform tree-ring growth patterns (dendrochronological signal), and determined the climatic factors that are particularly important for the growth of larch in this area. Uniformity in the growth reaction across the analyzed area was found in the positive response to May temperatures (significant correlation values range from 0.21 to 0.48); this indicates that the warm beginning of the growing season is important for larch growth across the study area. The signal variability from west to east found in the principal components analysis (PCA) results and differences in climate response between analyzed sites suggest their relation to increasing influence of the continental climate to the east. However, the observed relationship is not stable and does not occur systematically. Although the climate-growth response of larch at lower elevations is highly variable, a positive influence of July precipitation and a negative influence of April precipitation, and previous May and July temperature can be observed. The growth of larch from the highest study sites (Tatra Mountains, above 950 m a.s.l.) is related to temperature. This is manifested by a strong positive correlation with temperature during late spring, early summer, and the end of the previous growing season, and a negative or no response to late spring/summer precipitation. No relation between the observed correlations and slope aspect was found.

In this paper, the first study of a regional character on the influence of climatic factors on the tree-ring growth of European larch (Larix decidua Mill.) growing in the Polish Sudetes is presented. The obtained results indicate the relatively high diversity of the climatic signal observed in the tree rings of larches growing in the Sudetes. The most significant differentiating factor is altitude. The results suggest that the possible influence of local conditions (e.g., summit proximity, soil and bedrock characteristics, and exposure to strong winds) could also be of importance. A positive relationship between tree-ring growth and May temperatures was noted throughout the area; this indicates the principal importance of thermal conditions during the initial stage of cambial activity and tree-ring formation in larches from the Sudetes. The negative effect of the temperatures in the previous summer upon the tree-ring growth of larch in the subsequent year was also observed. The studies also indicate the negative influence of the water stress in summer (particularly in July of the previous year) upon the growth of trees. The negative relationship between tree-ring growth and the previous November temperature could be explained by the need for a late-autumn cooling, which affects the development of assimilation apparatus in spring of the subsequent year, which indirectly affects the tree-ring growth in the same year.

Selection of the optimal properties of coal as a natural sorbent, both as a sample collected from a seam or of the coal seam itself, requires various parameters to be determined and may not be based on the knowledge of metamorphism degree only. In order to improve the predictions of sorption capacity and the kinetics, analyses of correlation and multiple regression based on the results of laboratory studies were performed for 15 coal samples with various coal rank. The maximum vitrinite reflectance (R0) for low-rank coals was 0.78%–0.85%, and 0.98%–1.15% and 1.85%–2.03% for medium- and high-rank coals, respectively. Coal samples were subjected to technical and petrographic analysis. The gravimetric method was used to perform sorption tests using methane, in order to determine the sorption capacity and the effective diffusion coefficient for each of the coals. Pycnometric methods were used to determine the textural parameters of coals, such as the percentage porosity and specific pore volume. The studies were further supplemented with an evaluation of the mechanical properties of the coals, Vickers micro-hardness, and elastic modulus. This work shows that the statistical multiple regression method enables a computational model including the selected petrophysical parameters displaying synergy with the specific sorption property—capacity or kinetics—to be created. The results showed the usefulness of this analysis in providing improved predictions of the optimal sorption properties of coal as a natural sorbent.

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