Research on the state of soil acidification in shaping regional agri-environmental policies

The area of the Śląskie Voivodeship for over two hundred years has been subjected to a strong industrial anthropopressure associated with the extraction and processing of metal ores, hard coal and energy. The effect of these activities was and still is the strong acidification of soils in the whole area of the province and higher than for Poland the average content of cadmium and lead. To counteract the effects of excessive soil contamination, the Regional Chemical and Agricultural Station in Gliwice (OSChR) and the Silesian Agricultural Chamber in Katowice undertook activities aimed at introducing a liming program co-financed from the funds of the Voivodship Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management in Katowice. Implementation of the program was possible thanks to extensive expertise based on the results of agrochemical research carried out by OSChR in Gliwice. The launched and continued program brings real results as evidenced by the assessment of soil research results from the years 2014–2017 as compared to the 2004–2009 situation. Thus, the program has now become the only regional venture of its kind in Poland.