In 2007, the PBZ-KBN-108/P04/2004 project titled: "Structure, evolution and dynamics of the lithosphere, cryosphere and biosphere in the European sector of Arctic and the Antarctic", was completed.

The project was coordinated by Prof. Stanislaw Rakus-Suszczewski from the Department of Antarctic Biology PAN. The coordinator of the task, implemented in IUNG was a participant of three polar expeditions, Dr. Rafał Pudełko. The task was named: "Complementation of topographic map of the area ASPA 128, and estimation of the size and rate of deglaciation between 1979 and 2006 caused by changes of climate in the region of the South Shetland Islands". An analysis of changes in the extent of ice that occurred in the years 1979 - 2007, showed a general trend of decreasing ice surface. During the period there was no significant surface, where a growth of ice was observed. At the tested site, it was observed that all ice surface was melting, which were not supplied from the neighbouring glacier systems and the observed glacial emergence of new nunataks associated with a decreasing thickness of the ice, which is accompanied by the accuracy of the regression of glaciers.
Changes in glaciers ranges must be connected to climate change observed in the region of the South Shetland Islands. Significant loss of ice masses demonstrates superiority of ablation over the possibility of compensation of ice produced from precipitation. An analysis of the change rate of the most important glaciers range (Ecology Glacier and Baranowski Glacier) in different periods shows that the fastest deglaciation in the site occurred in the early nineties, whereupon its rate has slowed down.

In 2007, the project titled "Development of agriculture recommendations related to the climate cycle" was completed. The project was coordinated by Dr. Jerzy Kozyra.

The main task of the Agricultural Recommendations System (SDS) is to help identify threats to agricultural production caused by the course of the weather. The system is based on the interoperable computer applications (including web applications) and GIS applications. Integral parts of the system are developed algorithms and web-based agrotechnical decision-making recommendations for different variants of the weather in a given year. The web applications with yield projections on the basis of meteorological data, and applications of phenological models that use the sum of effective temperatures were developed.

In 2007, the employees of the Department were honoured with an award from the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for the work: Development of methodology and conduction of the process of secretion and detailing the disadvantaged farming areas in Poland. Award received: T. Stuczyński, J. Jadczyszyn, K. Filipiak, J. Kozyra, R. Pudełko, M. Capała, R. Korzeniowska-Pacułek, M. Kowalik, P. Koza, J. Wiącek, E. Wroblewska.

In 2007, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development entrusted IUNG-PIB with the monitoring of agricultural drought in Poland. These are research projects commissioned annually. Drought monitoring is conducted at the Department of Agrometeorology and Applied Informatics and in the Department of Soil Erosion and Land Conservation. The project is coordinated by dr. Andrzej Doroszewski.

In 2007, the Polish Parliament passed a law "on subsidies to the insurance of agricultural crops and farm animals". Following the introduction in July 2008 the mandatory insurance of farmers against losses caused by drought - there was an urgent need to organise monitoring of the effects of drought for the crops in Poland. IUNG-PIB undertook the task of creating a drought monitoring system for the whole of Poland, which operates without interruption since 2007. The established agricultural drought monitoring system in Poland fully complies with the requirements contained in the definition of drought Law on Insurance of agricultural crops and livestock. It draws on developed IUNG-PIB models yield predictions, except that used in the development of excellent unique database on soils. IUNG-PIB has created a basis for agricultural drought monitoring system for the Polish territory, constantly evaluating the hazards of drought on agricultural crops. The system takes into account variations of soil cover resistance to water stress and the main species and groups of Polish arable crops. It has developed critical values of climatic water balance for each species, groups of crops, which are provided in the Act of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Journal of Laws No. 150, item 1249, 2006, No. 120, item 825). Presence of such values means now an average yield reduction of 20% per year in compared to the long-term average in Poland. Based on the meteorological data from June to September information in the form of maps and tables - values of climatic water balance for individual municipalities in Poland (3064 municipalities) are prepared in ten day periods. The report covers fourteen species and groups of plants and four soils categories with different susceptibility to drought. The system provides a possibility to obtain information on the categories of soil by using the Internet.

Studies conducted on drought monitoring are presented on the website (http://www.minrol.gov.pl and http://www.susza.iung.pulawy.pl/) where you can get information on the risks of drought during the growing season in each of Polish NUTS-5 (LAU2) level. Agricultural drought monitoring system is aimed at users of the information including to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, insurance companies, administrations, local government organisations, agricultural advisory services to farmers.

Opr. Andrzej Doroszewski