Soil Protection Activities and Soil Quality Monitoring in South Eastern Europe

The conference Soil Protection Activities and Soil Quality Monitoring in South Eastern Europe was organized in Sarajevo as a joint action by the Soil Science Society of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Soil Science Society of Slovenia. The main objectives of conference were to review the soil protection and soil quality monitoring activities in SEE including research activities, project reports, good practice guides and various methodologies and monitoring strategies. The special emphasis was laid on the ecological and technical soil functions, remediation and re-cultivation measures, data collection and processing, soil protection policy, soil quality and soil resources management issues on the regional level. The conference was an opportunity to key regional soil science research institutions to present activities and achievements with further prospects of cross - border scientific collaboration. This publication presents a selection of 20 conference papers prepared by the authors from SEE countries (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) and guest contributions from Austria, Slovenia and Syria.JRC.DDG.H.7-Land management and natural hazard

Vrtičkarstvo v Ljubljani

Garden-plot areas spontaneously developed and were distributed across the entire flat area of Ljubljana. Due to a new, more urban lifestyle and a policy change by the city authorities, the area of garden plots fell considerably at the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first centuries. The most recent analysis of plot gardening in the City of Ljubljana, which surveyed 302 plot gardeners, showed that the overall infrastructure available in garden-plot areas is relatively poor. This activity is mainly practiced by older and lower-income people, most of whom live in apartment buildings. Due to pesticide residues and heavy metals in the soil and produce, as well as groundwater contamination, plot gardening poses a threat to public health and the environment. The 2008 Draft Ljubljana Zoning Implementation Plan foresees a reduction in the total area of plot-gardening areas by nearly half~however, even the planned community garden plots include some that do not meet the minimum location standards. Some garden-plot areas are problematic primarily because they are located close to major traffic routes. In the future, plot gardeners will have to be more systematically informed and educated about proper and safe use of fertilizers and pesticides.Vrtičkarstvo je nastalo zaradi družbenih, gospodarskih in prostočasnih potreb človeka v mestnem okolju, najprej v industrijskih srednjeevropskih deželah, od koder se je razširilo v vse razvite države sveta. Na območju Ljubljane so bila stihijsko rastoča vrtičkarska območja razporejena po vsem ravninskem delu. Vrhunec v razprostranjenosti so dosegla v devetdesetih letih 20. stoletja. Knjiga je namenjena tako vrtičkarjem kot načrtovalcem mestnega razvoja, pa tudi študentom, politikom in vsem občanom, ki jim ni vseeno za prihodnji prostorski razvoj slovenskega glavnega mesta. Dejstvo je, da so tako rekoč vsa vrtičkarska območja v Mestni občini Ljubljana navezana na zemljišča na vodovarstvenem območju. Zaradi ostankov fitofarmacevtskih sredstev in težkih kovin v prsti ali tleh in pridelani hrani ter onesnaževanja podzemne vode vrtičkarstvo predstavlja tveganje za zdravje ljudi in okolje

An investigation of vine water status as a major factor in the quality of Merlot wine produced in terraced and non-terraced vineyards in the Vipava Valley, Slovenia

Terraced vineyards are cultural landscapes with a special value. The increase in costs and the lack of professional workers make viticulture on terraces difficult to be maintained. Thus, in the face of climate change and production challenges, we aimed to study the impact of slope-wise cultivation on wine quality. The quality of Merlot wines from terraced and slightly lower non-terraced vineyards within a small area characterised by similar mesoclimatic features was compared in the seasons 2019 and 2020. The non-terraced and terraced vineyards differed in both soil profile and morphology. The number of buds, number of clusters, and leaf area were standardised, and the stem water potential (SWP) was measured during wine-growing seasons. Upon reaching maturity, grapes were hand-picked on the same day in all vineyards and microvinified. The wines were analysed chemically and sensorially. In both years, the SWP showed higher water stress in the vines from terraces. The yield, berry weight, and leaf area were lower on terraced than on non-terraced vineyards in both years, and the skin- and seed-to-flesh ratios were higher. The darker seed colour pointed to the advanced ripening on terraces, where the wines had a higher alcohol concentration and a higher total dry extract. The wines from terraces had higher concentrations of total polyphenols, anthocyanins, and proanthocyanidins (PAs) than the wines from non-terraced vineyards in both years, and the PAs in the wines from terraces in 2019 had fewer prodelphinidins and were more galloylated. Higher concentrations of higher alcohols and lower concentrations of esters and methoxypyrazines were found in the wines from terraces. The sensory analysis revealed a preference for wines from terraces with better colour intensity, fruitiness, astringency, midpalate, and overall quality. Under experimental conditions (the same harvest date, standardised viticultural variables), the wines from terraces had both better phenolic potential and better sensory quality than the wines from non-terraced vineyards