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As part of the implementation of the provisions of the European Landscape Convention, a landscape audit of the provinces has been underway in Poland for a few years. The main objectives of the audit are the delimitation of landscape units, assessment of their values, and identification of the priority of landscapes to be protected. This study presents the results of research on the landscape division of the Wielkopolskie voivodeship and a geostatistical analysis of the differentiation of ecological units. With reference to legal regulations in force in Poland, the landscape diversity of the province was characterized using two divisions: geophysical regionalization and landscape typology. In the case of regional division, the meso- and microregions of physical and geographical rank are referenced. The proposed microregional division is the first example in Poland of such a detailed landscape analysis completed for the area of the voivodeship. In the case of typological division, the study conducted in cooperation with the Wielkopolska Bureau of Spatial Planning in Poznań was used. The statistical analysis included metrics to quantitatively characterize landscape composition, including the landscape division index (DIVISION), Shannon’s diversity index (SHDI), and Simpson’s diversity index (SIDI). The results of the study were then compared with the distribution of areas associated with different forms of landscape protection such as national parks, landscape parks, and protected landscape areas. The applied methodology and the results obtained indicate the important role of physical and geographical microregions in the complex analyses of landscape diversity and their broad application in procedures connected with landscape planning and environmental protection.

European spatial planners deal with two major concerns: adaptation to climate changes (ACC) and the design and management of green infrastructures (GIs). ACC calls for the renewal of spatial planning with constant appeals to the need to adequately prepare for extreme climate events. GIs deliver ecosystem services (ES), which consist of beneficial functions to living beings in terms of, for example, helping people adapt to climate change. An effective implementation of adaptation measures at the regional and sub-regional scale is based on an efficient and prompt spatial planning system and GIs management. In this paper, we aim at comparing the attitudes of Italian and Polish spatial planning systems with respect to the integration of concepts related to ACC and GIs. We describe commonalities and differences between the two spatial planning frameworks by scrutinizing regional plans adopted in Sardinia (Italy) and Wielkopolska (Poland). We found out a scarce consideration of both ACC and GIs planning and management. The findings suggest that the regional spatial planning tools need to be updated to be fully satisfactory in terms of ACC and GIs concepts.

This paper presents certain aspects connected with the use of physical and geographic regionalization at the level of the Wielkopolskie Voivodeship in Poland. The aspects are important from the point of view of landscape management. Regionalization focuses on unique (one-off) features that distinguish particular regions from one another. The selection of criteria as well as the research procedure applied prove the universal nature of the results obtained. Detailed characteristics of particular units allow for comprehensive analysis of environmental conditions in shaping human activity and the implementation thereof into future strategic and programme documents related to spatial and economic planning on regional and local scales.