Classification of shallow and skeletal mountain soils with the WRB system on the example of the Trialeti Range, Lesser Caucasus (Georgia)

The aim of the paper is to evaluate usefulness of World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) 2015 to classify shallow soils on mountains of the Trialeti Range, Lesser Caucasus, Georgia. Article also presents evolution of concept Leptosols, as well as qualifier Leptic and diagnostic property of continuous rock. Approaches for definition of keys in reference soil group (RSG) of Leptosols and identification of principal and supplementary qualifiers in WRB 2015 on example of soils of Trialeti Range are provided.   According to the WRB system, few examples of classification such shallow and stony soils with different set of qualifiers has been given. Most of them full fill criteria of Leptosols and Regosols. These soils occur on the mountains range together with other RSGs (e.g. Pheozems). Authors propose to add qualifier Technolithic to the list of Principal/Supplementary qualifiers of Leptosols.

Changes in Dairy Products Value Chain in Georgia

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Factors and Components Affecting Dairy Smallholder Farmers and the Local Value Chain— Kvemo Kartli as an Example

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Heavy Metal Levels in Milk and Cheese Produced in the Kvemo Kartli Region, Georgia

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Water Quality in Surface Water: A Preliminary Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination of the Mashavera River, Georgia

Water quality contamination by heavy metal pollution has severe effects on public health. In the Mashavera River Basin, an important agricultural area for the national food system in Georgia (e.g., vegetable, dairy and wine production), water contamination has multiple influences on the regional and country-wide health. With new industrial activities in the region, sediment extraction, and discharge of untreated wastewater into the river, its tributaries and irrigation canals, a comprehensive study of water quality was greatly needed. This study examined sediment and water samples from 17 sampling sites in the Mashavera River Basin during the high and low precipitation seasons. The results were characterized utilizing the Geo-accumulation Index (Igeo), Enrichment Factor (EF), Pollution Load index (PLI), Contamination Factor (CF) and Metal Index (MI). According to the CFs, Cu > Cd > Zn > Pb > Fe > Mn > Ni > Cr > Hg is the descending order for the content of all observed heavy metals in sediments collected in both seasons. Fe and As were additionally examined in water samples. Overall, As, Cd and Pb, all highly toxic elements, were found in high concentrations in downstream sample sites. According to these results, comprehensive monitoring with narrow intervals between sampling dates, more sample sites along all waterways, and proximate observation of multiple trace metal elements are highly recommended. Moreover, as the part of the water quality governance system, an immediate and sustainable collective action by all stakeholders to control the pollution level is highly recommended, as this issue is linked to the security of the national food system and poses a local public health risk

A Paradigm Shift in Water Quality Governance in a Transitional Context: A Critical Study about the Empowerment of Local Governance in Georgia

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Establishing a Sustainable Waste Management System in a Transitional Economic Context: Analysis of the Socio-Economic Dynamics

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Farmers’ Perception of Water Quality and Risks in the Mashavera River Basin, Georgia: Analyzing the Vulnerability of the Social-Ecological System through Community Perceptions

Competing natural resources usage that leads to dramatic land use changes can threaten the balance of a social-ecological system. When this is the case, communities are directly exposed to the negative consequences of those land use changes. The Mashavera River Basin is considered one of the hotspots of environmental pollution in Georgia. This is of importance for public health because the food production from this basin meets a substantial proportion of the country’s food demand. The farmers’ perception of the water quality and their perceived risks to the economy, health, and lifestyle reflect the status of the environmental and social conditions. The inclusion of farmers’ risk perceptions is an important stage of water quality governance that could enable active civic participation. The approach of this research study was the convergence model in the triangular design of the mixed method approach. As part of the social data, the research study was conducted with a survey of 177 households, for which agriculture was either a main or partial source of income. A few focus group discussions were also conducted. A binary logistic regression analysis was employed as the main method for the analysis. The results from the pollution load index (PLI) were used as the supportive data to verify some geospatial hypotheses. We found that aesthetic attributes (i.e., color changes observed in the river) and the source of the water contamination (i.e., mining sites) were the main predictor variables for a perceived risk to water quality, health, and livelihoods. The people who work in agriculture as the main income source had more concern about their ability to sell their agricultural products as a result of water contamination in the river, compared with people for whom agriculture is a secondary source of income or for self-consumption. Age, amount of land, years of agricultural experience, and the source of water supply for agriculture did not have a significant effect on any of the risk perception or water quality perception models. The results indicate that the health risk is perceived more strongly in areas with more heavily contaminated water compared to less polluted areas. We propose that conducting a public risk perception assessment is an ideal means to detect people’s concerns regarding water quality governance for future risk analysis in Georgia. Another recommendation of this study is an integrated model of risk assessment that combines the results from a public risk perception assessment and a technical assessment. The benefits of such an integrated assessment include finding new hazard-sensitive areas for further analysis, the possibility to cross-check data for verification, communal communication of hazardous conditions by utilizing local knowledge, and the direct participation of the community in monitoring risks