The Life Science Universities of Central and South Eastern Europe are the basis for sustainable, ecological and economic development of the region.
Chair: Prof. DI Dr. Dr.h.c. mult. Martin H. Gerzabek, BOKU Vienna, Austria
Co-Chair: Prof. Ing. Jiri Balik, CSc., dr. h.c., CULS, Czech Republic
The presented topics in the session were very interesting and divers and led to intensive discussions. Joanna O’Keeffe presented a highly interesting study on the effects of climate change on cereal production evaluating future soil moisture scenarios for Poland. Less frequent droughts are envisaged in the future and it is likely that cereal production is slightly improved. Biodiversity of birds in managed forests was the topic of Olivia Karpinska and co-workers. Black Woodpecker holes were used to assess the frequency of other birds and animals using these holes and to investigate the forest age classes with respect to the frequency of the woodpecker holes. Another presentation related to climate change was the investigation of the impact of solar radiation on the health status and milk quality of cows, presented by Dana Pusta. Reduction in milk quality and quantity were recorded at higher temperature humidity indexes. It is interesting to note that local breeds were less sensitive to warming than high yield breeds. Another animal physiological presentation focussed on the acute phase reaction of Arabian horses induced by intensive exercises. We learned a lot about physiological stress reaction of horses in this presentation by Olga Witkowska-Pilaszewicz.
Maja Cacija discussed the climate change impact on the spatial variations of wireworm populations in her poster. Adam Krajewski presented long-term data concerning hydrometeorological parameters of a catchment in central Poland. He showed that since 1962 there is a trend towards a decrease in the mean and minimum annual discharge of the chatchment related to climate change.
Presentations:
