The Sahara has exceptionally unfavourable natural conditions for farming. The extremely low precipitation and the high prevailing temperature allow for plant cultivation only in artificial irrigation conditions. The author discusses the regions' water resources (precipitation, surface and underground waters) and describes various ways of their use for agriculture. He also enumerates the main advantages and limitations of the technologies used, both traditional and modern, while placing special emphasis on the natural conditions of irrigated agriculture.
For the study on the relations between the variables geographers often use the classified data. The way of classification can considerably affect the results of the study. The article shows such influence on the example of the method of class differentation. The methodical proposal which tends towards the elimination of such influence, and thus the improvement of the method of the class differentation as the instrument in studing the relations, has also been shown.
Analizowanie zależności wymaga stosowania odpowiednich narzędzi badawczych. Przedstawiono kilka metod mogących znaleźć zastosowanie w badaniach relacji między środowiskiem przyrodniczym a człowiekiem: test chi-kwadrat, metodę różnic klas, metody korelacyjne, analizę regresji. Określono ich zalety i ograniczenia, omówiono przydatność do badania różnych aspektów relacji przyroda-człowiek. Wskazano nowe możliwości zastosowania uzyskanych w ten sposób wyników (wydzielanie regionów związków przyroda-człowiek).
Maksymilian Skotnicki (1937-2007) was a regional geographer; versatile; specialized in the agriculture and land use problems and the population issues in Africa and other tropical countries; engaged in the problems of local development. He was bound to the University of Warsaw through his w hole professional life but he also lectured at several French universities. He served the function of an Associate Dean at the Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies of the University of Warsaw and of the Vice-director of the Institute of Developing Countries and of the Institute of Social, Economic and Regional Geography; and he ran the African Study in the African Institute. He was the Editor-in-chief of the periodical „Miscellanea Geographica” and a member of the editorial staff of several Polish and French geographic magazines. He was the chairman of the Commission on Standardization of Geographical Names Outside the Republic of Poland at the Head Office of Geodesy and Cartography. He greatly contributed to the scientific cooperation with the foreign countries, mostly with France. He was the initiator and the informal leader of the Polish-French research group Languedoc-Mazowsze engaged in the problems of local development. He was the coordinator of the cooperation with the University of Limoges on the field of utilisation of the water-power resources. He was the author of nearly one hundred scientific articles, a co-author of several books, including academic and school manuals. He made a great contribution to popularization of geography: he was a co-author and a consultant of the most important Polish encyclopedias. He translated a lot of geographical papers into French and from French into Polish.
W ciągu 50 lat istnienia specjalizacji geografia regionalna zmieniło się w sposób istotny kształcenie studentów. Zmianom ulegał zarówno program nauczania, jak i problematyka wykonywanych prac magisterskich. Prowadzone obecnie zajęcia i prace magisterskie dotyczą różnorodnych aspektów relacji środowisko przyrodnicze-człowiek.