Regionalisation

Abstract: . In this study we examine the relative performance of a range of methods for transposing catchment model parameters to ungauged catchments. We calibrate 11 parameters of a semi-distributed conceptual rainfall-runoff model to daily runoff and snow cover data of 320 Austrian catchments in the period 1987-1997 and verify the model for the period 1976-1986. We evaluate the predictive accuracy of the regionalisation methods by jack-knife cross-validation against daily runoff and snow cover data. The results indicate that two methods perform best. The first is a kriging approach where the model parameters are regionalised independently from each other based on their spatial correlation. The second is a similarity approach where the complete set of model parameters is transposed from a donor catchment that is most similar in terms of its physiographic attributes (mean catchment elevation, stream network density, lake index, areal proportion of porous aquifers, land use, soils and geology). For the calibration period, the median Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency ME of daily runoff is 0.67 for both methods as compared to ME=0.72 for the at-site simulations. For the verification period, the corresponding efficiencies are 0.62 and 0.66. All regionalisation methods perform similar in terms of simulating snow cover.

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, some far-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 and geomorphological 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.

Abstract: What might a resilient region look like in the face of an uncertainty about the global economy and environment? To begin to answer this question, the article first reviews existing concepts of resilience and critically reviews dominant neoliberal concepts of regional development. This forms the basis for seeking to specify the characteristics of resilient regions, arguing that these must have a lighter environmental footprint and involve a greater degree of regional closure in and regionalisation of economic activities. The final concluding section evaluates the limits to regional resilience in the face of global change.