Andrzej Richling

Abstract

The programme of identification, cataloguing and evaluation of Polish landscapes, part of the implementation of the European Landscape Convention, has caused an increase in interest in physico-geographical regionalisation over recent years. The commonly accepted regionalisation of Poland developed by J. Kondracki (Kondracki & Richling 1994) is sufficient for work at an overview scale (e.g. 1:500,000), whereas its spatial accuracy is too low to make use of it for the purpose of Polish landscape cataloguing. The aim of this article is to present a more up-to-date and detailed division of Poland into mesoregions, adjusted to the 1:50,000 scale. In comparison with older work, the number of mesoregions has increased from 316 to 344. In many cases, somefar-reaching changes in meso- and macroregions were made. Nevertheless, in most cases the previous system of units was maintained, with more detailed adjustment of boundaries based on the latest geological andgeomorphological data and the use of GIS tools for the DEM analysis. The division presented here is a creatively developing new work aligning the proposals of the majority of Polish researchers. At the same time, it is a regionalisation maintaining the idea of the work developed by J. Kondracki as well as his theoretical assumptions and the criteria used to distinguish units, which makes it a logical continuation of his regional division.

Keywords: regionalisation, spatial units, boundaries of regions, Poland

Jerzy Solon [j.solon@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland
Jan Borzyszkowski, Institute of Environmental Protection – National Research Institute Krucza 5/11d, 00-548 Warsaw: Poland
Małgorzata Bidłasik, Institute of Environmental Protection – National Research Institute Krucza 5/11d, 00-548 Warsaw: Poland
Andrzej Richling, Warsaw University
Krzysztof Badora, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology Opole University Oleska 48, 45-052 Opole: Poland
Jarosław Balon, Institute of Geography and Spatial Management Jagiellonian University Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków: Poland
Teresa Brzezińska-Wójcik, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management Maria Curie-Skłodowska University Kraśnicka 2 D, 20-718 Lublin: Poland
Łukasz Chabudziński, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management Maria Curie-Skłodowska University Kraśnicka 2 D, 20-718 Lublin: Poland
Radosław Dobrowolski, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management Maria Curie-Skłodowska University Kraśnicka 2 D, 20-718 Lublin: Poland
Izabela Grzegorczyk, Institute of Environmental Protection – National Research Institute Krucza 5/11d, 00-548 Warsaw: Poland
Miłosz Jodłowski, Institute of Geography and Spatial Management Jagiellonian University Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków: Poland
Mariusz Kistowski [mariusz.kistowski@ug.edu.pl], Faculty of Oceanography and Geography University of Gdańsk Bażyńskiego 4, 80-309 Gdańsk: Poland
Rafał Kot, Faculty of Earth Sciences Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Lwowska 1, 87-100 Toruń: Poland
Paweł Krąż, Institute of Geography and Spatial Management Jagiellonian University Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków: Poland
Jerzy Lechnio, Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies University of Warsaw Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28, 00-927 Warsaw: Poland
Andrzej Macias, Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences Adam Mickiewicz University Dzięgielowa 27, 61-680 Poznań: Poland
Anna Majchrowska, Faculty of Geographical Sciences University of Łódź Narutowicza 88, 90-139 Łódź: Poland
Ewa Malinowska, Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies University of Warsaw Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28, 00-927 Warsaw: Poland
Piotr Migoń [piotr.migon@uwr.edu.pl], Institute of Geography and Regional Development University of Wrocław Pl. Uniwersytecki 1, 50-137 Wrocław: Poland
Urszula Myga-Piątek, University of Silesia Faculty of Earth Sciences Będzińska 60, 41-200 Sosnowiec: Poland
Jerzy Nita, University of Silesia Faculty of Earth Sciences Będzińska 60, 41-200 Sosnowiec: Poland
Elżbieta Papińska, Faculty of Geographical Sciences University of Łódź Narutowicza 88, 90-139 Łódź: Poland
Jan Rodzik, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management Maria Curie-Skłodowska University Kraśnicka 2 D, 20-718 Lublin: Poland
Małgorzata Strzyż, Department of Environment Protection and Environmental Development Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce Żeromskiego 5, 25-349 Kielce: Poland
Sławomir Terpiłowski, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management Maria Curie-Skłodowska University Kraśnicka 2 D, 20-718 Lublin: Poland
Wiesław Ziaja, Institute of Geography and Spatial Management Jagiellonian University Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków: Poland