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
Regional normalization factors (NF) can greatly deviate from European NFs. Machine learning was used to model missing toxic chemicals characterization factors. Toxic chemicals properties were correlated with characterization factors. Three additional impact categories were added and provided with results
COBISS.SI-ID: 8061305
Adjusting of the six regional climate model was used to determine long-term impact of predicted climate change on the quantity and quality of water in the river basin of Reka in Goriška Brda area.
COBISS.SI-ID: 8181625