In the past, the term “terra rossa” became quite a common indication for all limestone derived red soils in the Mediterranean region. Today, in some classification systems based on the Mediterranean ...climate as the major soil differentiating criterion, the term terra rossa is used as a name for the soil subclass “Modal Fersiallitic Red soil” when situated on limestones (DUCHAUFOUR, 1982). However, several national soil classifications (e.g. Croatian, Italian, Israeli) retained the term “terra rossa” for the hard limestone derived red soils. The nature and relationship of terra rossa to underlying carbonates is a long-standingproblem which has resulted in different opinions with respect to the parent material and origin of terra rossa. Terra rossa is a reddish clayey to silty-clay material, which covers limestone and dolomite in the form of a discontinuous layer ranging in thickness from a few centimetres to several metres. It is also found along cracks and between bedding surfaces of limestones and dolomites. Thick accumulationsof terra rossa like material are situated in karst depressions in the form of pedo-sedimentary complexes. A bright red colour is a diagnostic feature of terra rossa and is a result of the preferential formation of haematite over goethite, i.e. rubification. Terra rossa can be considered as soil, vetusol, relict soil (non-buried-paleosol), paleosol or pedo-sedimentary complex (soil-sediments) among differentauthors. Most authors today believe that terra rossa is polygenetic relict soil formed during the Tertiary and/or hot and humid periods of the Quaternary. However, some recent investigation in the Atlantic coastal region of Morocco (BRONGER & SEDOV, 2002) show that at least some terra rossa previously referred to as polygenetic relict soils should be regarded as Vetusols. In some isolated karst terrain, terra rossa may have formed exclusively from the insoluble residue of limestoneand dolomite but much more often it comprises a span of parent materials including, for example, aaeolian dust, volcanic material or sedimentary clastic rocks which were derived on carbonate terrain via different transport mechanisms. BOERO & SCHWERTMANN (1989) concluded that it is of little relevance for the process of rubification whether the primary Fe sources are autochthonous or allochthonous as long as the general pedoenvironment remains essentially suitable for the formation of terra rossa. This pedoenvironment is characterised by an association of Mediterranean climate, high internal drainage due to the karstic nature of a hard limestone and neutral pH conditions. Terra rossa is formed as a result of: (1) decalcification, (2) rubification and (3) bisiallitization and/or monosiallitization. Since Fed/clay ratios are relatively uniform in most terra rossa, translocation of clay particles is responsible for the distribution of the red colour throughout the whole profile. However, since terra rossa soils have been exposed to various climatic fluctuations they can be affected by eluviation, yellowing and secondary hydromorphy. Erosion and deposition processes which were superimposed on karst terrains and induced by climatic changes, tectonic movements and/or deforestation might be responsible for both the patchy distribution of terra rossa and thick colluvial or alluvial terra rossa accumulations in uvala and dolina type of karst depressions (pedo-sedimentary complexes, soil-sediments).
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 field-observable 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.
Pipeline spills and pollution of the environment by crude oil pose a threat to natural resources, especially soil and water. One such incident occurred on 25 September 2018 in the area of Budrovac ...(Croatia; 46°00′14.6″ N 17°04′16.8″ E) on agricultural land as a pipeline spill. Bioremediation of the contaminated soil was carried out with organic pollutants using an environmentally safe absorbent Spill-Sorb (Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss) and a mineral fertilizer—nitrogen. The experiment was conducted in the greenhouse of the Faculty of Agriculture, Croatia, during a six-month (October 2018–April 2019) study. Samples of agricultural soils contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were taken after the rupture of the local gas condensate pipeline. The experiment was conducted in five treatments in triplicate: I-control (clean soil); II-100% contaminated soil + organic absorbent + nitrogen; III-100% contaminated soil + organic absorbent; IV-50% clean soil + 50% contaminated soil + organic absorbent + nitrogen; and V-50% clean soil + 50% contaminated soil + organic absorbent. The soil properties studied were pH, organic matter content, carbon and nitrogen content and ratio, and changes in the concentration of potential organic contaminants—TPHs and individual PAHs. The results demonstrated that the mixture of organic absorbent and nitrogen efficiently removed organic pollutants from the contaminated soil within six months. However, the application of Spill-Sorb alone was more effective for the degradation of hydrocarbons. The effectiveness of the absorbent studied was dependent on the concentration of organic pollutants and nitrogen application.
Bacteriological pollution, especially that including clinically important bacteria, of the aquatic environment caused by anthropogenic pressure attracts much attention with regard to public health. ...Reports to date have not addressed the concentration of emerging carbapenem-resistant bacteria (CRB) in riverine ecosystems, and the source of this pollution is hard to track. We examined the impact of discharge of untreated wastewaters on the bacterial population in the riverine ecosystem, with emphasis on clinically important CRB using a small river in Croatia as a model. River sediments were analysed mineralogically and geochemically. Cultivation of CRB was performed at 37 and 42 degreesC to distinguish the presumably environmental intrinsically resistant (CRB37) from the presumably clinically important acquired resistance (CRB42) species. The significantly positive correlation of CRB42 with CRB37 and total heterotrophs, but not with intestinal enterococci, suggests that entry of CRB42 in riverine ecosystem is not necessarily connected to faecal pollution. The numbers and prevalence of CRB42 are rather dependent on the type of pollution, and is connected to the discharge of wastewaters from different human and animal healthcare centres. Emerging hospital pathogens Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae were exclusively isolated among CRB42 from river water after the discharge of wastewater of a general hospital. The CRB42, once discharged into the riverine ecosystem, behaves as part of the indigenous bacterial population, and could be spread through the natural water bodies or accumulate in river sediments. This implies the need for disinfection of hospital wastewater prior to its discharge into the natural environment in order to avoid the consequent public-health threat. The anthropogenic impact evidenced as bacteriological changes is accompanied by an increase in heavy metal concentrations in river sediments.
Little is known about the bonfire impact on microbial properties in soil. This work aimed to study moderate- to high-severity experimental burning (250 °C) compared to unburned Cambisol in a natural ...Mediterranean environment (Croatia) on selected soil properties. The soil was sampled immediately and 1, 2, 4, and 6 months after the fire. The fire increased the mean weight diameter, water stable aggregates, and water repellence in different soil fractions, and the observed effect was the strongest immediately after the fire. It also altered soil pH, electrical conductivity, total nitrogen carbon, and sulphur content, and completely destroyed carbapenem-resistant bacteria, but did not significantly affect the soil’s mineralogical properties. Six months after the fire, most microbial properties (save for pH) returned to near control values. Heterotrophic, sporogenic, and phosphate-solubilising bacteria started to recover after a month, whereas the population of carbapenem-resistant bacteria was destroyed initially, but recovered by the fourth month after the fire. Dehydrogenase activity was not significantly affected, but proper recovery started four months after the fire. Even though Cambisol showed some resilience to fire and its properties mostly returned to normal by the sixth month, and a full recovery is expected to occur later, as vegetation returns.
A four-year pot trial was set up to determine, as precisely as possible, the influence of increased levels of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) upon soil and plants grown. In eight treatments, clean ...soil and different doses of drilling fluids and crude oil were applied. The changes in some chemical parameters of soil, plant density and crop yields were investigated. The influence of the studied indicators on the achieved plant density and crop yield was strongest in the first trial year. Drilling fluids had a stronger impact on the chemical properties of the studied soil, while plant density and yield were more strongly affected by crude oil. Upon application of drilling fluids and crude oil, the soil pH, contents of organic matter (OM) and heavy metals (HM) varied very little throughout the trial period, whereas the soil levels of total petroleum hydrocarbons, mineral oils (MO) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were significantly reduced after the first trial year.
Due to the development of resistance to antimicrobial agents, bacterium
is nowadays a leading cause of nosocomial outbreaks. Clinically relevant
outside hospital settings including natural soils ...affected by human waste represents a public-health risk for humans and animals. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of metal-loaded zeolites to eliminate viable
from artificially contaminated natural soils.
isolate was subjected to the activity of natural zeolitised tuff (NZ) and Cu-modified (CuNZ) or Ag-modified zeolite (AgNZ) in wet, slightly acidic
and slightly alkaline red palaeosol.
survived in
and red palaeosol supplemented with 1 wt% of NZ for seven days and four months, respectively. The addition of 1 wt% of CuNZ to
and red palaeosol shortened the survival of
to three and 14 days, respectively. The addition of 0.1 wt% of AgNZ to both soils resulted in complete removal of viable
within 1 h of contact, while the total native heterotrophic bacterial counts remained high. Since AgNZ is prepared with a simple modification of cost-effective and environmentally friendly natural zeolite, it is a promising material for the remediation of soils contaminated with pandrug-resistant
Ivan Jurkovic, Professor emeritus of the Geology of Ore Deposits at the Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, University of Zagreb, died peacefully, in his home in Zagreb on Dec 30, ...2014 at the age of 97. He was the leading mineral resource geologist in the countries of the former Yugoslavia where he pioneered both the use of ore microscopy in the study of ore deposits and the understanding of their genesis in the relation to the global tectonic paradigm. Professor Jurkovic was born on Mar 27, 1917 in Ogulin in Croatia. He graduated in 1939 but became interested in geology and continued his study at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (Department of Geology). Professor Jurkovic had a broad knowledge across earth science as a whole. Accordingly, his scientific activity extended over mineralogy, geochemistry, petrology and metallic and nonmetallic ore deposits, but certainly his most important scientific work was in the field of ore deposits and metallogeny.
This paper presents a conceptual model of the Zagreb aquifer system. The conceptual model can be applied to groundwater status risk assessment and pollution risk assessment at the local scale, thus ...satisfying both environmental and preventative/limitation objectives of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Groundwater Directive (GWD). Its main purpose is to apply a risk assessment procedure, according to the WFD requirements, and to serve as a foundation for setting up a numerical model of flow in both the saturated and unsaturated zones in order to identify pressure and impact effects on groundwater quality. The model is divided into two parts, taking into account the WFD requirement to assess a risk for a wide range of source-pathway-receptor relationships. The Global Conceptual Model (GCM) provides insight into the processes and pressures at the level of the groundwater system. It contains the geological and hydrogeological characterization of the Zagreb aquifer system and the description of the most significant point and diffuse sources and pathways of pollution and processes influencing pollutant behaviour in saturated and unsaturated zone of the groundwater system. The main pollutants of the Zagreb aquifer system are potentially toxic metals, nitrates, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and chlorinated aliphatics. A Local Conceptual Model (LCM) supports parameterization of the whole groundwater system through the description of heterogeneities and flow and solute parameters of the system components at two sites representing local conditions in the saturated (Stara Loza) and unsaturated (Kosnica) zones. This concept can be regarded as an effective tool for groundwater management of the groundwater system and its compartments and for communicating the conditions in complex groundwater systems with experts, policy makers and general public in an understandable way.
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