REGULACIJA „TOO-BIG-TOO-FAIL“ KOMPANIJA U REPUBLICI HRVATSKOJ

The contemporary stand among scientists is that the role of the state, within mixed market economies, should be reduced to the task of ensuring the institutional framework in order to protect the free market. However, occurrences of the “too-big-to-fail” entities constitute a challenge for the government regarding its ability to manage economic affairs in the traditional manner. Given that the nature of these entities makes them relevant on the verge of their own collapse, the authors focused on the legal and economic aftermath of their failures. The authors undertook extensive research into this topic with the primary goal of arguing that government regulation, in the cases of collapsing “too-big-to-fail” entities, is necessary for achieving stability of the system. After researching of the government’s role both in theory and practice, the authors displayed the findings of the analysis of the legal possibilities within the bankruptcy law of the Republic of Croatia. The historical and practical context of the research is the implementation of the legislation in the complex case of Agrokor Group. Ultimately, the authors argue that the magnitude of the collapsing “too-big-to-fail” company requires government intervention in order to preserve economic stability in the region, in addition to maximizing social welfare.U teorijskim analizama prevladava stajalište kako ulogu države unutar mješovitog gospodarstva treba svesti na osiguranje institucionalnog okvira za nesmetano egzistiranje slobodnog tržišta. Međutim, globalna zbivanja u domeni „too-big-to-fail“ subjekata predstavljaju ogroman izazov za vlade glede sposobnosti efikasnog upravljanja ekonomskim aktivnostima i očuvanja sustava slobodne konkurencije. Posljedično, koncepti poput trgovačka društva od strateškog, posebnog ili sistemskog značaja počinju preuzimati sve važniju ulogu u vođenju ekonomskih politika diljem svijeta. Uvažavajući činjenicu da priroda „too-big-too-fail“ kompanija čini te kompanije relevantnima nadomak propasti, fokus se u radu stavlja na pravne i ekonomske posljedice poslovnog kolapsa. Autori analizi pristupaju iz perspektive stečajnog prava posebno naglašavajući pravne okvire unutar kojih zakonodavac mora pronaći optimalno rješenje kao bi uklonio ili umanjio tržišne neuspjehe. Nakon predstavljanja uloge države u teorijskom i praktičnom smislu, autori pristupaju analiziranju pravnih mogućnosti posrnulih „too-big-to-fail“ kompanija unutar zakonodavnog okvira Republike Hrvatske. Puna kompleksnost proučavane materije analizirala se na primjeru Agrokor Grupe gdje se potvrdila teza rada da u slučaju kolapsa „too-big-too-fail“ kompanije državni intervencionizam predstavlja nužnost. U konačnici, zaključuje se da ekonomski značaj „too-big-to-fail“ kompanije kojoj prijeti propast, nedvojbeno, zahtijeva državnu intervenciju s ciljem očuvanja ekonomske stabilnosti i maksimiziranja društvenog blagostanja

Eksploatacija radne snage i nejednaka razmjena rada kao temeljni uzroci nejednakosti država eurozone

The cornerstone of this research is the development of a model which investigates the origins of economic inequality as a derivative of labour force exploitation. The starting point of this inquiry is the theory of unequal labour exchange. The concept being empirically analysed is that the phenomenon of unequal labour exchange between Eurozone countries, arising from exploitation on a national level, plays a key role in creating inequality. The findings indicate that the differences between the capital-labour force ratio and disequilibrium prices enhanced by various levels of economic efficiencies, explain the differences in exploitation rates and arising cross-country inequality.Kamen temeljac ovoga rada predstavlja razvoj modela koji istražuje izvore ekonomskih nejednakosti kao derivata iskorištavanja radne snage. Polazište istrage temelji se na teoriji nejednake razmjene rada. Koncept, koji se empirijski analizira koristeći se članicama eurozone, jest taj da je fenomen nejednake razmjene rada između zemalja, kao posljedica iskorištavanja na nacionalnoj razini, ključni faktor kreiranja nejednakosti. Rezultati pokazuju da devijacije u omjeru kapital – radna snaga te neuravnotežene cijene povećane raznim razinama ekonomskih učinkovitosti između zemalja objašnjavaju razlike u stopama eksploatacije i nejednakost između zemalja

LOHNGEFÄLLE UND VERSCHLECHTERUNG DES ARBEITSSTANDARDS IN KROATIEN

This study furnishes proof in support of the hypothesis that Croatian employees are experiencing persistent worsening of the labour standard alongside the rising divergence in their earnings distribution. The research disclosed five mutually reinforcing tendencies investigated through a widely used Theil index and functional income distribution. The empirical analysis demonstrated the deterioration of the labour standard apparent through the continuous decline in the labour share of income concurrent with productivity growth. The net pay inequality reported a radical increase and stabilization on a higher plane with a nominal improvement brought about as a result of the layoffs predominantly affecting the lower tail of the distribution. Consequently, the lesser earning dispersion came at the expense of the overall rise in inequality. The gross inequality indicated an increasing pattern highly and positively correlated with the movement of the highest earners experiencing a triple-digit population surge. The rising between-county pay inequality throughout the period suggested a strong bias toward excessive centralization, evident with the capital city being the exclusive county consistently reporting above-average earning levels. Lastly, the between-sector pay inequality exhibited an overall decline. This isolated case, however, remains a dominant driver of inequality, given that the lowesthighest earning sector range is approximately double that of the between-county range. These findings are detrimental to the Croatian worker’s wellbeing and they pose a challenge to the national policymakers who must counter adverse tendencies in order to circumvent the current exodus of skilled workers, and restore long-term macroeconomic stability.Ova studija potvrđuje hipotezu da hrvatski zaposlenici prolaze kroz kontinuiranu degradaciju radnih standarda uz simultanu divergenciju distribucije njihovih plaća. Korištenjem Theilovog indeksa i funkcionalne distribucije dohotka, istraživanje ukazuje na pet međusobno povezanih i štetnih tendencija. Empirijska analiza upućuje na pogoršanje standarda radne snage vidljivo kroz kontinuirani pad udjela dohotka rada u nacionalnom dohotku koji se odvija usporedno s rastom produktivnosti. Neto nejednakost u plaćama radikalno je povećana i stabilizirana na višoj razini. Pri čemu je periodično, nominalno, poboljšanje bilo većinski rezultat otpuštanja pojedinaca iz donjeg repa raspodjele plaća. Posljedično, smanjivanje disperzija plaća povećalo je ukupnu ekonomsku nejednakost. Bruto nejednakost plaća ukazuje na rastući trend, snažno i pozitivno povezan s kretanjem pripadnika s najvišim primanjima, koji doživljavaju trobrojčani porast svojih članova u analiziranom razdoblju. Rastuća nejednakost plaća između županija ukazuje na snažnu sklonost prema prekomjernoj centralizaciji zabilježenu u činjenici da je glavni grad ekskluzivna i privilegirana županija koja dosljedno izvještava iznadprosječne razine plaća. Naposljetku, nejednakost u plaćama između sektora pokazala je opći pad. Međutim, ovaj izolirani slučaj, uzimajući u obzir da je raspon između sektora s najnižim i najvišim plaćama približno dvostruko veći od komparativnog raspona između županija, i dalje ostaje dominantan katalizator nejednakosti. U skladu sa navedenim, neupitno je da trenutno stanje stvari narušava dobrobit hrvatskog radnika. Takav zaključak pred kreatore nacionalnih politika postavlja izazov suprotstavljanja s istaknutim negativnim tendencijama u cilju prevencije trenutnog egzodusa kvalificiranih radnika i uspostavljanja dugoročne makroekonomske stabilnosti.Dieser Beitrag erbringt den Nachweis, dass kroatische Arbeiter ständige Verschlechterung des Arbeitsstandards und erhöhte Ungleichverteilung ihrer Einkommen erleben. Die Forschung entdeckte fünf sich wechselseitig stützende Tendenzen, welche mithilfe des Theil-Indexes und der funktionalen Einkommensverteilung untersucht wurden. Die empirische Analyse zeigt, dass die Verschlechterung des Arbeitsstandards in der ständigen Abnahme des Anteils des Arbeitseinkommens, welche parallel zur Produktivitätswachstum geschieht, sichtbar ist. Die Ungleichheit der Nettoeinkommen zeigt eine radikale Zunahme und Stabilisierung auf einem hohen Niveau, wo die nominale Einkommenssteigerung als Ergebnis der Entlassungen, welche in erster Linie den unteren Rand der Einkommensverteilung beeinflussen, verursacht wurde. Infolgedessen trug die geringe Ungleichverteilung der Einkommen zum Zuwachs an allgemeiner ökonomischer Ungleichheit bei. Die Ungleichheit des Bruttoeinkommens nimmt auch zu, was mit dem Zuwachs an Spitzenverdiener wegen des dreistelligen Anstiegs in diesem Bereich zu tun hat. Der Zuwachs an Ungleichheit zwischen Gespanschaften in diesem Zeitraum weist auf ü bermäßige Zentralisierung hin, was in der Tatsache, dass die Hauptstadt die einzige Gespanschaft mit ständigen Meldungen zum ü berdurchschnittlichen Einkommen darstellt, sichtbar ist. Andererseits nimmt das Einkommensgefälle zwischen Sektoren ab. Dieser isolierte Fall ist aber die Hauptursache der Ungleichheit, denn die Spannweite zwischen dem Sektor mit niedrigsten und dem Sektor mit höchsten Einkommen ist zwei Mal größer als die vergleichende Spannweite zwischen Gespanschaften. Diese Ergebnisse sind für das Wohl des kroatischen Arbeiters schädlich. Ebenfalls stellen sie eine Herausforderung für nationale Politiker dar, die nachteilige Tendenzen entgegnen müssen, um den Exodus von qualifizierten Arbeitern vorzubeugen und die langfristige makroökonomische Stabilität zu schaffe

Redoksimorfne značajke kao pokazatelji režima vlaženja tla

Soil water regime, as one of the key components of soil fertility, refers to the quantity, retention, and movement of soil water. Rather than through expensive and/or time-consuming measurements, it can be assessed from the fieldobservable morphological properties in the soil profile. Excessively wetted soils have a specific morphology, and are therefore often referred to as hydromorphic. Their morphology is caused by various soil redoximorphic features (RMFs), resulting from the reduction, translocation, and oxidation of iron and manganese oxides. Hydromorphic soils largely comprise Gleysols and Stagnosols (along with Gleyic Fluvisols) that are excessively wetted by groundwater, precipitation and/or flooded water. Their morphology is often described/analyzed with different terms/criteria in line with their global distribution. This complicates the comparison and classification of such soils and thus their use or reclamation. This review paper describes and compares common RMFs and explains their formation. It then proposes the revised Croatian terms for these features, which are in line with the terms used in the international soil classification systems of WRB and/or Soil Taxonomy. Furthermore, the criteria/rules used for diagnosing RMFs when classifying hydromorphic soils are critically reviewed. Finally, it is shown that a methodologically sound RMFs description can provide a quick insight into the crucial soil water regime parameters, such as location and duration of soil saturation, the origin of the excess soil water, recentness of excessive soil wetting, etc. However, depending on the research objectives and/or actual soil conditions, field soil description cannot always fully replace continuous field monitoring of the soil water regime and/or laboratory and micromorphological soil analyses.Režim vlaženja tla, kao jedna od ključnih komponenti njegove ukupne plodnosti, odnosi se na količinu, zadržavanje i kretanje vode u tlu. Umjesto skupim i/ili dugotrajnim mjerenjima, on se može procijeniti na terenu, i to putem opisa morfoloških svojstava tla. Prekomjerno vlažena tla imaju specifičnu morfologiju, zbog koje se nazivaju hidromorfnima. Takva njihova morfologija proizlazi iz redoksimorfnih značajki (RMZ), koje se stvaraju redukcijom, premještanjem i oksidacijom oksida željeza i mangana. Hidromorfna tla su uglavnom glejna i pseudoglejna tla (ali i oglejena fluvijalna tla), koja su prekomjerno vlažena podzemnim, oborinskim i/ili poplavnim vodama. U skladu s njihovom globalnom rasprostranjenošću, morfologija tih tala se često opisuje i analizira korištenjem različitih pojmova i kriterija. To otežava usporedbu i klasifikaciju hidromorfnih tala, kao i njihovu upotrebu ili popravak. Ovaj pregledni rad opisuje i uspoređuje uobičajene RMZ, objašnjavajući mehanizme njihova nastanka. Zatim predlaže revidirane hrvatske pojmove za ove značajke, skovane u skladu s onima koje koriste međunarodni sustavi WRB-FAO i/ili Soil Taxonomy. Nadalje, rad se kritički osvrće na kriterije i pravila, koja se koriste za dijagnosticiranje RMZ prilikom klasifikacije hidromorfnih tala. Konačno, ovaj rad pokazuje da metodološki ispravan opis RMZ može pružiti brz uvid u ključne parametre režima vlaženja tla, kao što su mjesto i trajanje zasićenja tla vodom, podrijetlo viška vode u tlu, recentnost prekomjernog vlaženja tla, itd. Međutim, ovisno o ciljevima istraživanja i/ili prisutnim uvjetima u tlu, terenski opis profila tla možda neće uvijek moći u potpunosti zamijeniti kontinuirano terensko praćenje režima vlaženja tla i/ili laboratorijske i mikromorfološke analize tla

REGULACIJA „TOO-BIG-TOO-FAIL“ KOMPANIJA U REPUBLICI HRVATSKOJ

The contemporary stand among scientists is that the role of the state, within mixed market economies, should be reduced to the task of ensuring the institutional framework in order to protect the free market. However, occurrences of the “too-big-to-fail” entities constitute a challenge for the government regarding its ability to manage economic affairs in the traditional manner. Given that the nature of these entities makes them relevant on the verge of their own collapse, the authors focused on the legal and economic aftermath of their failures. The authors undertook extensive research into this topic with the primary goal of arguing that government regulation, in the cases of collapsing “too-big-to-fail” entities, is necessary for achieving stability of the system. After researching of the government’s role both in theory and practice, the authors displayed the findings of the analysis of the legal possibilities within the bankruptcy law of the Republic of Croatia. The historical and practical context of the research is the implementation of the legislation in the complex case of Agrokor Group. Ultimately, the authors argue that the magnitude of the collapsing “too-big-to-fail” company requires government intervention in order to preserve economic stability in the region, in addition to maximizing social welfare.U teorijskim analizama prevladava stajalište kako ulogu države unutar mješovitog gospodarstva treba svesti na osiguranje institucionalnog okvira za nesmetano egzistiranje slobodnog tržišta. Međutim, globalna zbivanja u domeni „too-big-to-fail“ subjekata predstavljaju ogroman izazov za vlade glede sposobnosti efikasnog upravljanja ekonomskim aktivnostima i očuvanja sustava slobodne konkurencije. Posljedično, koncepti poput trgovačka društva od strateškog, posebnog ili sistemskog značaja počinju preuzimati sve važniju ulogu u vođenju ekonomskih politika diljem svijeta. Uvažavajući činjenicu da priroda „too-big-too-fail“ kompanija čini te kompanije relevantnima nadomak propasti, fokus se u radu stavlja na pravne i ekonomske posljedice poslovnog kolapsa. Autori analizi pristupaju iz perspektive stečajnog prava posebno naglašavajući pravne okvire unutar kojih zakonodavac mora pronaći optimalno rješenje kao bi uklonio ili umanjio tržišne neuspjehe. Nakon predstavljanja uloge države u teorijskom i praktičnom smislu, autori pristupaju analiziranju pravnih mogućnosti posrnulih „too-big-to-fail“ kompanija unutar zakonodavnog okvira Republike Hrvatske. Puna kompleksnost proučavane materije analizirala se na primjeru Agrokor Grupe gdje se potvrdila teza rada da u slučaju kolapsa „too-big-too-fail“ kompanije državni intervencionizam predstavlja nužnost. U konačnici, zaključuje se da ekonomski značaj „too-big-to-fail“ kompanije kojoj prijeti propast, nedvojbeno, zahtijeva državnu intervenciju s ciljem očuvanja ekonomske stabilnosti i maksimiziranja društvenog blagostanja

Labour Force Exploitation and Unequal Labour Exchange as the Root Cause of the Eurozone's Inequality

The cornerstone of this research is the development of a model which investigates the origins of economic inequality as a derivative of labour force exploitation. The starting point of this inquiry is the theory of unequal labour exchange. The concept being empirically analysed is that the phenomenon of unequal labour exchange between Eurozone countries, arising from exploitation on a national level, plays a key role in creating inequality. The findings indicate that the differences between the capital-labour force ratio and disequilibrium prices enhanced by various levels of economic efficiencies, explain the differences in exploitation rates and arising cross-country inequality.The cornerstone of this research is the development of a model which investigates the origins of economic inequality as a derivative of labour force exploitation. The starting point of this inquiry is the theory of unequal labour exchange. The concept being empirically analysed is that the phenomenon of unequal labour exchange between Eurozone countries, arising from exploitation on a national level, plays a key role in creating inequality. The findings indicate that the differences between the capital-labour force ratio and disequilibrium prices enhanced by various levels of economic efficiencies, explain the differences in exploitation rates and arising cross-country inequality

Labour Force Exploitation and Unequal Labour Exchange as the Root Cause of the Eurozone's Inequality

The cornerstone of this research is the development of a model which investigates the origins of economic inequality as a derivative of labour force exploitation. The starting point of this inquiry is the theory of unequal labour exchange. The concept being empirically analysed is that the phenomenon of unequal labour exchange between Eurozone countries, arising from exploitation on a national level, plays a key role in creating inequality. The findings indicate that the differences between the capital-labour force ratio and disequilibrium prices enhanced by various levels of economic efficiencies, explain the differences in exploitation rates and arising cross-country inequality.The cornerstone of this research is the development of a model which investigates the origins of economic inequality as a derivative of labour force exploitation. The starting point of this inquiry is the theory of unequal labour exchange. The concept being empirically analysed is that the phenomenon of unequal labour exchange between Eurozone countries, arising from exploitation on a national level, plays a key role in creating inequality. The findings indicate that the differences between the capital-labour force ratio and disequilibrium prices enhanced by various levels of economic efficiencies, explain the differences in exploitation rates and arising cross-country inequality

RETURN ON HUMAN CAPITAL INVESTMENT: CASE STUDY ON THE EXAMPLE OF REGULAR STUDENTS OF ECONOMICS IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

Sa stajališta suvremenih ekonomskih aktera, ulaganje u obrazovanje općenito, s posebnim naglaskom na visokoškolsko obrazovanje predstavlja kapitalnu investiciju koja postaje jedan od temeljnih čimbenika suvremenih gospodarstava utemeljenih na znanju. Pri investiranju u konvencionalnom smislu, agent u odnos stavlja očekivane troškove i koristi, u skladu s njima ocjenjuje uspješnost projekta te odlučuje o plasmanu kapitala. No, prilikom investicije u ljudski kapital nerijetko dolazi do zanemarivanja ekonomske isplativosti što, s obzirom na to da je riječ o dugoročnom ulaganju koje počinje nositi koristi nakon više od jednog desetljeća, ima značajne implikacije u procjeni rizičnosti te posljedično uspješnosti investicije. U skladu s navedenim, u radu se analiziraju troškovi investicije u obrazovanje, očekivane koristi, oportunitetni trošak („propušteni“ dohodak) te vrijeme potrebno da se investicija isplati. Istraživanje se provelo na redovitim studentima ekonomskih fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Splitu, Rijeci i Osijeku. Investicija u visokoškolsko obrazovanje evaluirana je s obzirom na njezin dugoročni ishod, uz temeljno istraživačko pitanje hoće li potencijalne koristi u obliku povećanih dohodaka u budućnosti premašiti troškove inicijalne investicije i propuštene alternative. Rezultati analize pokazali su da je promatrana investicija u visokoškolsko obrazovanje isplativa. Vrijeme povrata investicije za studente koji primaju državnu subvenciju (ne plaćaju trošak školarine) iznosi 9,1 godinu, dok za studente koji plaćaju tržišnu cijenu školarine vrijeme povrata iznosi 10,0 godina. Uz pretpostavku da student nakon završetka srednje škole (u dobi od 20 godina) upiše fakultet, investiciju će u potpunosti isplatiti kada navrši 34, odnosno 35 godina (u skladu s ograničenjima modela). Ispravnost modela se testirala na primjeru iz prakse zaposlenih u javnim službama. Konkretan slučaj, uz minimalna odstupanja, potvrdio je pretpostavku isplativosti ulaganja kao i važnost te nužnost obrazovanja u životu suvremenih ekonomskih aktera, kao temeljnu hipotezu rada.From the viewpoint of modern economic actors, investment in education in general, with special emphasis on university education, represents a capital investment which is becoming one of the most fundamental factors of modern knowledge-based economies. When making investments in the conventional sense, the agent takes into account the expected costs and benefi ts, accordingly evaluates the potential success of the project and makes a decision on the placement of capital. On the other hand, when investment is made in human capital, economic viability is commonly overlooked since such investment is of a long-term nature and begins to bring benefits aft er more than a decade, which has significant implications on risk assessment and consequently, on the success of the investment itself. In accordance with the above, this paper presents an analysis of the costs of investment in education, the expected benefits, opportunity cost („given up“ income) and the time necessary for the investment to pay off . The research was carried out on regular students of faculties of economics of the universities of Zagreb, Split, Rijeka and Osijek. Investment in university education was evaluated from the aspect of long-term outcome, with the main research question being whether the potential benefi ts in the form of increased income in the future will exceed the costs of the initial investment and the missed alternative. The results of the analysis revealed that the examined investment in university education is indeed cost-eff ective. The investment payback period for students receiving state scholarships (not paying tuition fees themselves) equals 9.1 years, while for students who pay the market price of tuition fees, the payback period equals 10.0 years. Assuming that the student enrols in university after finishing secondary school (at the age of 20), a full return on the investment shall be made when they turn 34 or 35 (in accordance with the model’s limitations). Soundness of the model was tested on an example from practice including public service employees. The case in question, with minimum deviations, confirmed the assumption of viability of investments as well as the importance and necessity of education in the lives of modern economic actors, as the main hypothesis of this paper

Predicting soil organic matter content using soil color at three locations with different land use in Zagreb (Croatia)

Organska tvar tla (OTT) ima ključnu ulogu u ekosustavima. Smanjenje njenog sadržaja zbog promjena u načinu korištenja zemljišta negativno utječe na sama tla, ali i na širi okoliš. U skladu s tim, sadržaj OTT redovito se analizira u laboratoriju. Kako su te analize skupe ili dugotrajne, testiraju se i one neizravne. Cilj rada bio je ispitati mogućnost predviđanja sadržaja OTT linearnom regresijom koristeći boju tla kao prediktor, i to na tri lokacije u Zagrebu (Hrvatska), gdje je na svakoj utvrđen različiti tip tla (eutrično smeđe antropogenizirano, humofluvisol, pseudoglej) i različiti način korištenja (redom: oranica, livada, šuma). Na svakoj lokaciji je uzeto po 5 uzoraka površinskog sloja tla. Boja tla određena je Munsellovim sustavom, pri čemu je komponenta hue iznosila 2,5Y u suhom i 10YR u mokrom tlu. U laboratoriju je utvrđeno da su tla vrlo kisele do neutralne praškaste ilovače. U skladu s načinom korištenja zemljišta, signifikantno su se razlikovala u sadržaju OTT te su bila slabo humozna (oranica), dosta do jako humozna (livada) i jako humozna (šuma). Korelacija između komponenti boje tla i sadržaja OTT je utvrđena samo za uzorke u suhom stanju, i to između komponente chroma i OTT te između omjera komponenti value/chroma i OTT. Regresijom su utvrđeni visoki koeficijenti determinacije za navedena dva odnosa (R2=0,88 za chroma-OTT, R2=0,76 za value/chroma-OTT). Dobiveni rezultati sugeriraju da se vizualna metoda određivanja boje tla može koristiti za procjenu sadržaja OTT, ali isključivo u suhom tlu. Model kalibriran u ovom radu potrebno je validirati na uzorcima drugih (različitih) tala.Soil organic matter (SOM) plays a key role in ecosystems. Reduction of its content due to land-use changes has a negative impact on the soil, but also on the wider environment. Accordingly, SOM content is routinely analyzed in the laboratory. As these are expensive and/or time-consuming, indirect ones are also tested. The aim of this study was to examine the possibility of predicting SOM content by linear regression using soil color as the predictor, at three locations in Zagreb (Croatia), with different soil types (eutric cambisol anthropogenic, humofluvisol, pseudogley) and different land uses (plough land, meadow, forest, respectively). At each location, 5 samples of the surface soil layer were taken. Soil color was determined using the Munsell system, and the hue was 2.5Y and 10YR in dry and moist soil, respectively. Laboratory analyzes showed that the soils are very acid to neutral silt loams. In line with the land-use, they differed significantly in SOM content and were poorly humic (plough land), moderately to highly humic (meadow), and highly humic (forest). Correlation between soil color dimensions and SOM content was significant only for the dry samples, between chroma and SOM and between value/chroma ratio and SOM. Regression analysis showed high coefficients of determination for these two relationships (R2 = 0.88 for chroma-SOM, R2 = 0.76 for value/chroma-SOM). The results suggest that visual soil color determination can be used to estimate SOM content, but only in dry soil. The model calibrated in this paper needs to be validated using samples of other (different) soils

Effect of slope position on soil properties and soil moisture regime of Stagnosol in the vineyard

Hillslope hydrology in agricultural landscapes is complex due to a variety of hydropedological processes and field management possibilities. The aim was to test if there are any differences in soil properties and water regime along the hillslope and to compare vineyard rows (vine) with inter-rows (grass) area for those properties. The study determined that there are significant differences in the contents of soil particle fractions, pH, and humus content along the slope ( < 0.0001), with lower confidence level in bulk density < 0.05). Differences between row and inter-row space were significant for the pH, humus, and silt content, but for sand and clay content, and bulk density differences were not determined. The study determined differences in soil water content among five slope positions ( < 0.0001), and between row and inter-row vineyard space (all with < 0.05). Where in the upper slope positions (e. g., P1) soil water content was higher than on lower slope positions. Higher soil water content was observed at higher slope positions, associated with clay content. However, it can be concluded that the retention of moisture on the slope is more influenced by local-scale soil properties (primarily soil texture) and variability of the crop (row/inter-row) than the position on the slope