Selenium uptake and Se compounds in Se-treated buckwheat

In field experiments, tartary buckwheat and hybrid buckwheat were foliarly sprayed with an aqueous solution of sodium selenate (20 mg Se L–1). In treated plants, the selenium content was significantly higher than in controls, irrespective of the plant part and taxon of buckwheat. The highest average Se concentrations in hybrid and tartary buckwheat were found in seeds. The main Se species found in seeds was Se methionine. Selenium-sprayed plants had higher photochemical efficiency of photosystem II in both taxa and higher electron transport system activity in hybrid buckwheat, suggesting a positive effect of Se on physiological characteristics. Because of the concentration of Se in both buckwheat taxa and selenomethionine as the dominant species of Se, Se-enriched buckwheat is a potential source of dietary Se for animals and humans

The Possibility of Including Habitat Types as Nature-Based Solutions in Spatial Planning Documents: the Case of Slovenia

There are many forms of NBS for contemporary urban challenges that reflect individual elements or facilities in urban space, but a systematic and comprehensive implementation of NBS in urban planning documents has not yet been observed. In this paper, we use unaltered native habitat types (HTs) as innovative forms of NBS that originate from the natural or semi-natural environments of the same region as the targeted urban environment, which is the subject of urban planning. We draw on a planning approach that attributes added value (a function in addressing urban challenges such as air pollution, noise, stormwater management, and urban heat island) to HT, thus linking the concepts of NBS and HT in an innovative way to integrate them into urban planning. Based on a qualitative content analysis of spatial planning documents in the case of Slovenia, the paper presents a proposal for the inclusion of HTs as NBS in spatial planning documents at national, regional, and local levels. It was found that strategic spatial planning documents are suitable for defining the concept of NBS as a way of addressing urban challenges, while key to integrating HT as NBS into existing spatial planning practice are the spatial implementing document sat national and municipal levels, as well as the Urban Development Concept as a mandatory technical basic document for these acts

The influence of selected factors on the distribution of epilithic diatoms in a torrential river the Kamniška Bistrica (Slovenia)

Physical and chemical characteristics of habitats and species diversity in streams and rivers are strongly influenced by the catchment area. We analysed the influence of selected environmental and spatial variables on the diversity and species composition of epilithic diatom communities in periphyton. Samples were collected along the river course in a torrential river the Kamniška Bistrica. Sampling sites were selected in reaches distributed from the source to the outlet of the river and were under different influences from the catchment area and with different physical and chemical characteristics. The most common and dominant diatom species in the periphyton community were Achnanthes biasolettiana and A. minutissima. Achnanthes species often inhabit rivers and springs with moderate organic pollution. Another common diatom taxon was Gomphonema pumilum – a key species indicating oligosaprobic conditions. The results of the canonical correspondence analyses revealed that variance of the periphytic diatom community was explained by water temperature and conductivity as well as altitude. Diatom species richness was positively correlated with saprobic index values and abundance of filamentous algae in the river bed indicating a relatively low organic matter and nutrient input into the river system

Vegetacija, ekološki dejavniki in njihova soodvisnost v primeru cestnih brežin

The work deals with vegetation and ecological factors of the roadside slopes as well as their reciprocalinfluences. Vegetation was inventoried using the standard method and soil samples as well as temperaturewere analysed. Canonical Correspondence Analysis method reveals that it is water regime that mostlyinfluences vegetation, especially depends on steepness, which determinates the amount of receivedprecipitation. Soil reaction is also important, due to the fact that soil is generally alkaline and poor. Therelevčs were classified into 8 communities using hierarchic classification method and deductive methods.Vegetation is most diversified on the slope with most severe conditions.Delo obravnava vegetacijo in ekološke dejavnike na cestnih brežinah ter njihove medsebojne vplive. Postandardni metodi je bila popisana vegetacija, analizirani so bili vzorci tal in temperatura. Metoda kanoničneskladnostne analize (CCA) kaže na to, da na sestavo vegetacije najbolj vpliva vodni režim, ki je odvisenpredvsem od naklona, ki določa količino prejetih padavin. Pomembna je tudi reakcija tal, ki so na splošnobazična in siromašna. Z metodo hierarhične klasifikacije in z deduktivno metodo smo popise uvrstili v 8združb. Vegetacija je najbolj pestra na brežini z najslabšimi razmerami

Ohranjanje mokrotnih travnikov v jugovzhodni Sloveniji

In wet meadows a fairly high degree of biodiversity that is their characteristic was created within the scope of species, ecosystems, landscapes and regions due to the large variety of ecological gradients and human activity in time and space. This fact is especially true of the wet meadows in south-eastern Slovenia, which are at the interface between the Dinaric and the Pannonian region; therefore this area has been studied in detail. In order to maintain a relatively well-preserved natural heritage in future, these meadows should be protected within the scope of landscapes and ecological networks, which would functionally connect them on the regional level.Na mokrotnih travnikih je zaradi velike raznolikosti ekoloških gradientov in človekovega delovanja v času in prostoru nastala zanje značilna izredno visoka biodiverziteta v okviru vrst, ekosistemov, krajin in regij. To še posebej velja za mokrotne travnike na območju JV Slovenije, ki je na prehodu med dinarsko in panonsko regijo, zato smo prav to območje podrobneje proučili. Da bi relativno dobro ohranjeno naravno dediščino ohranili tudi v bodoče, bi morali te travnike varovati v sklopu krajin in ekoloških mrež, ki bi jih funkcionalno povezovale na regionalnem nivoju

Nova travniška asociacija Triseto-Centaureetum macroptili ass. nova v Sloveniji

The work describes the community of improved meadows that thrives on the elevated parts of alluvia and sometimes marshes, on the sites above the flooded areas. These stands were found and recorded in the sub- Pannonian and pre-Dinaric areas of Slovenia. The relevés were compared with other similar communities from the alliance Arrhenatherion Koch 1926 as well as some of the ecological characteristics. A new association named Triseto-Centaureetum macroptili ass. nova is here proposed. It was classified into alliance Arrhenatherion and order Arrhenatheretalia R. Tx 1931. The characters of the order Molinietalia Koch 1926 are also common, which reflects the transitional environmental conditions of those sites. The association thrives on deposits, predominantly on levees, where the soil is permeable for water. The material from these meadows, which are mown once to twice a year, is used for fodder and not for litter, which confirms their classification.Prispevek opisuje združbo intenzivno gojenih travnikov, ki uspeva na dvignjenih mestih aluvialnih nanosov in včasih močvirij, na rastiščih nad poplavljenimi predeli. Tovrstni sestoji so bili najdeni in popisani v subpanonskem in preddinarskem območju Slovenije. Vegetacijske popise, kot tudi nekatere ekološke značilnosti smo primerjali z drugimi podobnimi združbami iz zveze Arrhenatherion Koch 1926. Opisali smo novo travniško združbo z imenom Triseto-Centaureetum macroptili ass. nova. Asociacijo smo uvrstili v zvezo Arrhenatherion Koch 1926 in red Arrhenatheretalia R. Tx 1931. Pogoste so tudi značilnice reda Molinietalia Koch 1926, kar kaže na prehodne ekološke razmere teh rastišč. Asociacija uspeva na naplavinah, predvsem na nasipih, kjer so tla prepustna za vodo. Material iz teh travnikov, ki so košeni enkrat do dvakrat letno, uporabljajo za krmo in ne za steljo, kar potrjuje njihovo klasifikacijo

Epilithic Diatom Community Shows a Higher Vulnerability of the River Sava to Pollution during the Winter

The aim of the research was to investigate the influence of environmental factors on the structure of epilithic diatom communities in the Sava River from the source to the state border 220 km downstream. The river had numerous human influences along its course, such as municipal and industrial wastewater, agriculture, hydroelectric power plants, etc. The main objective of the research was to find out the influence of human pressure on the structure of the epilithic diatom community under winter and summer conditions. Winter and summer samples were taken at nine sites. At each sampling site, a set of abiotic factors was measured and another set of environmental parameters was evaluated. The analyses showed that nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations increased downstream. We identified 118 different species of diatoms. The most common taxa were Achnanthidium minutissimum and A. pyrenaicum. Planktonic species Cyclotella meneghiniana was only found in the samples of the lower part of the Sava, which is unusual for the epilithic community. The composition of the epilithic diatom community was significantly influenced by conductivity and water temperature, pH and distance from the source. The similarity between diatom communities closer to the source of the river was higher than between communities from the lower part of the Sava River. The values of the trophic and saprobic indices increased downstream and showed that the pollution of the river with nutrients and organic matter increases with the distance from the source. Both indices were significantly higher in winter and showed a more impaired river ecosystem during the winter