Spuścizny dziewięciowiekowej antropopresji w zlewni Skawy
Legacies of nine centuries of anthropopressure in the Skawa catchment

Summary/Abstract: The fluvial anthropospheres cover the river and its floodplains. They arise due to modifying or replacing natural processes with human-dominated ones. Fluvial anthropospheres are the legacy of past human activity. The article determines the beginning of the formation of fluvial anthropospheres in the Skawa catchment and the conditions of its functioning. The effects of anthropopressure were researched using a comparative analysis of maps from the 19th - 21st centuries. The impact on the natural environment was assessed on the basis of written sources and literature. Indirect causes of interference with the environment have changed over time, ranging from milling and rafting to water retention for municipal purposes. On the other hand, the immediate causes resulted from socio-economic and political changes. Technological progress and demographic development were responsible for the development of the milling industry. Periods of stagnation or regression have been caused by natural disasters and wars. Navigation development plans were part of the Habsburg imperial policy. The pro-industrial policy of the 1980s dictated the construction of the retention reservoir. Therefore, the directions of development of the fluvial anthropospheres can be treated as a result of national and international politics.

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