A long-term field experiment was run for 12 years to evaluate the impact of minimum tillage (MT) compared to conventional mouldboard ploughing (CT) on soil chemical, physical, and microbial properties. Significant differences between MT and CT were found in vertical distribution of soil organic C (SOC) and nutrients. MT in comparison with CT also increased the proportion of water-stable 2-4 mm sized aggregates, water holding capacity and plant available water in the upper 0-10 cm soil layer. SOC content in the upper 0-10 cm soil layer was not significantly different between MT and CT, as well as the overall stock in the investigated soil profile remained unaffected. Redistribution of SOC and nutrients was reflected in microbial biomass which was higher in MT than CT in the 0-10 cm layer. The most pronounced shifts in the composition were found for bacterial communities in the 10-20 cm layer, while the composition of fungal communities slightly changed in the upper 0-10 cm of MT soil. The composition of archaeal communities were not affected by the tillage or by the soil depth.
COBISS.SI-ID: 8210553
The Meza Valley, Slovenia, has been contaminated by Pb smelting, resulting in an epidemic of lead poisoning in childhood. The potential of remediation with EDTA soil washing to mitigate the risk from Pb poisoning was investigated by applying the Integrated Exposure Uptake Bio-Kinetic (IEUBK) model verified with data on actual Pb blood levels in children. The IEUBK model predicted that, after soil remediation, the number of locations at which the expected Pb blood level in children was higher than the stipulated 100 μg L-1 would decrease by 90, 38 and 91% in the towns of Mezica, Zerjav and Crna, respectively.
COBISS.SI-ID: 8180601
Changes in agricultural droughts were investigated using simulations of soil water deficit (SWD) and actual evapotranspiration (ETA) from a distributed semi-empirical soil water balance model – swbEWA. Using the Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis and the Pearson correlation coefficients we showed that large-scale agricultural droughts are influenced by the recurrence of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and by the atmospheric blocking.
COBISS.SI-ID: 8037753
Hydropower plants on the lower river Sava, Slovenia, were developed without sealing the underground upstream. As a consequence the agricultural land on the river banks would be inundated because of the water-table increase of the river. To remedy this, the fields were elevated and recultivated. Mixing of topsoil with the second horizon during removal and during backfill with filling material resulted in uneven soil fertility. Driving on the refilled second layer with heavy machinery caused soil compaction in the Middle Pijavsko in spite of favorable soil texture. Recultivation measures restored the agricultural land almost to the production potential prior to power plant construction. Immediate intensive land use (corn) showed less favourable effect on soil characteristics.
COBISS.SI-ID: 8283257
In this research, carbon and water exchanges of a spatially heterogeneous tree-shrub-grassland mosaic developed on former semi-dry calcareous grassland in the sub-Mediterranean region of Slovenia were studied. Using eddy covariance, yearly, seasonal and daily dynamics of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and evapotranspiration (ET) during the period August 2008 - December 2012. Over this period the yearly carbon gain of the ecosystem ranged more than four-fold from -82.4 to -351.0 g C m-2 yr-1. This variability was largely explained by different duration of drought events which occurred during the summer. This is related with the poor ecosystem rain use efficiency, only 0.10-0.35 g C m-2 y-1 was taken up per mm of rain and the estimated deep water drainage ranged between 44.4 and 72.6% of the incoming rain. By deriving the critical soil water content (SWC) (here 0.145 m3 m-3) at which evapotranspiration and carbon fluxes started to be limited by water availability, drought periods were identified. More than the severity of drought the duration of the longest yearly drought period was shown to linearly affect the estimated yearly gross primary productivity. Ecosystem proved quite resilient to drought stress and restored its carbon uptake after several rain events. This research significantly contribute to understanding of carbon and water cycling in globally importan karstic ecosystems.
COBISS.SI-ID: 8350329