Stagnosols are the most widespread soils in the Pannonian region of Croatia. In Croatia they are referred to as Pseudogleys and considered to form primarily by normal (top–down) pedogenesis. However, ...the formation of their non-calcareous loess parent materials probably involved different sources, transports, and depositional environments. We aimed to determine the courses of soil formation and the characteristics of three Stagnosol profiles studied along the mean annual precipitation (MAP) gradient (700–1100mm) in the Pannonian region of Croatia. We found that soil redoximorphic features formed in situ by ongoing pseudogleization. Vertical trends for the clay/silt and coarse/fine silt ratios pointed to top–down pedogenesis. However, high organic C content at the bottom of one soil profile is the result of erosion/sedimentation processes, whereas high clay content in the subsoil of another profile was largely the result of sedimentation in a shallow paleo-lake. Therefore, some Croatian Stagnosols should be considered polygenetic. Each soil profile was classified using the WRB system, and the new WRB-2014 version proved more suitable than the previous one (WRB-2006). However, suggestions for improvements are given. In line with the MAP gradient were several morphological and only two chemical (pH and base saturation) soil characteristics. Organic C content did not correspond to MAP due to variability of forest topsoils. Clay content and CEC did not agree with MAP due to variability of loess parent materials across the Pannonian region of Croatia. The existence of more than one source of loess material (confirmed by the modal analysis) and the differences in depositional paleo-environments resulted in slightly different mechanical compositions of the investigated parent materials. We concluded that both climate and parent material must be regarded as key factors for the formation and characteristics of Stagnosols in the Pannonian region of Croatia (and the wider southwestern Pannonian Basin).
•Most Croatian Stagnosols formed by top–down pedogenesis, but some are polygenetic.•Argic horizon may have as much as 1.2 times more clay than the overlying horizon.•Soil pH and base saturation were affected by precipitation gradient in the region.•Soil clay content and CEC were affected by parent material heterogeneity.•Soil mechanical and mineral compositions indicate more than one source of loess.
Epidemiologic monitoring of wild animals is always an important step in defining potential zoonoses that can threaten humans. Particular emphasis should be given to those zoonotic agents permanently ...cycling within wild animal populations and represent a permanent reservoir for other wild or domesticated animals that can be direct sources of disease for humans. In Croatia, there are two European jackal populations: the Dalmatian population (DP) that has been inhabiting the islands and coastal area along the Adriatic Sea since medieval times, and the South East European population (SEEP) that is found in continental Croatia. Research on Trichinella infections in jackal populations in Croatia was conducted from 2008 to 2022. During this 15-year period, we tested 186 jackal samples and confirmed infection in 47 individuals (25.3 %). The dominant species was T. spiralis, identified in 28 samples (60 %), T. britovi was found in 13 samples (28 %), while for six samples (12 %) the PCR test was unsuccessful. In both populations, the Trichinella species of the domestic cycle (T. spiralis) was found, though in varying ratios: in DP the ratio of identified species was 10:6 in favour of T. britovi, as opposed to 22:3 in favour of T. spiralis in SEEP. The frequency of infection with parasites from the genus Trichinella was significantly different in DP (22.9 %) than in SEEP (26.7 %) (p<0.001), while the larval count in analysed tissue did not differ by type of Trichinella species (p=0.1028). Infected jackals were found in nine of ten tested counties. The results were analysed statistically and the origin of tested and positive samples shown on a map of Croatia. Based on these findings, both jackal populations can be considered to represent an exceptionally important indicators of parasites from the genus Trichinella in Croatia, both for the sylvatic and domestic cycles. There is an evident need for epidemiological monitoring for members of both populations.
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During World War II, Croatia became a fascist state under the control of the Ustasha Movement - allied with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Here, Goran Miljan examines and analyzes for the first time ...the ideology, practices, and international connections of the Ustasha Youth organization. The Ustasha Youth was an all-embracing fascist youth organization, established in July 1941 by the `Independent State of Croatia' with the goal of reeducating young people in the model of an ideal `new' Croat. This youth organization attempted to set in motion an all-embracing, totalitarian national revolution which in reality consisted of specific interconnected, mutually dependent practices: prosecution, oppression, mass murder, and the Holocaust - all of which were officially legalized within a month of the regime's accession to power. To this end education, sport, manual work and camping took place in specially established Ustasha Youth Schools. In order to justify their radical policies of youth reeducation, the Ustasha Youth, besides emphasizing national character and the importance of cultural and national purity, also engaged in transnational activities and exchanges, especially with the Hlinkova mladez Hlinka Youth of the Slovak Republic. Both youth organizations were closely modelled after the youth organizations in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. This is a little studied part of the history of World War II and of Fascism, and will be essential reading for scholars of Central Europe and the Holocaust.
This book covers the full story of the Ustasha, a fascist movement in Croatia, from its historic roots to its downfall. The authors address key questions: In what international context did Ustasha ...terrorism grow and develop? How did this movement rise to power, and then exterminate hundreds of thousands of innocents? Who was Ante Pavelić, its leader? Was he a shrewd politician, able to exploit for his independent project Mussolini’s imperial ambitions, Hitler’s pan-German aims, and the anti-Bolshevism of the Holy See and the Western bloc? Or was he, consciously or not, a pawn in other hands, in a complex international scenario where Croatia was only arena among many? And after the movement’s collapse, how were several of the most prominent Ustasha leaders able to evade capture by Tito’s victorious army? The facts and documents confront us with the ambivalence of terrorism.The book places the appearance of the Ustasha movement not only in the context of the interwar Kingdom of Yugoslavia but also in the wider perspective of the emergence of European fascism.
Croatia Bartlett, William
2003, 20040731, 2002, 2002-12-12, 2004-07-31, 20020101
eBook
Croatia, Between Europe and the Balkans addresses the key developments in economics, politics, international relations and social policy in the state over the last decade. It places these ...developments in their historical context, and shows how current policy dilemmas are structured within the conflicting pressures which historically have pulled Croatia between a European, a Mediterranean and a Balkan orientation. In the new context of European integration however, Croatia may now find a new role in her pivotal position as a bridge between the unruly Balkans and an impatient Europe. This book will be of particular use for courses on Eastern Europe. Its thorough, up-to-date analysis will also be of interest to students and researchers in politics and international relations, but with a broader appeal to diplomats, policy makers, trade officials, the business community and consultants expanding their trading links with the region.
William Bartlett is Reader in Social Economics, for the School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, and Deputy Director of the Centre for Mediterranean Studies. He has written extensively on the region.
The Middle Triassic volcano-sedimentary successions deposited on the passive continental margin during a period of intense extensional tectonics related to the opening of the Neotethys Ocean were ...investigated in NW Croatia. A new palaeogeographic term, the Northwestern Croatian Triassic Rift Basin (NCTRB), is introduced for these successions. Pelagic sediments were deposited on top of older shallow-marine carbonates from the early Illyrian to possibly late Ladinian. Pelagic limestones containing Illyrian ammonites and redeposited benthic foraminifers of the same age indicate the existence of a contemporaneous shallow-marine carbonate environment that supplied material to the deeper parts of the basin. Stratigraphically stacked volcanic and volcanogenic rocks are intercalated with pelagic sedimentary rocks. Submarine basaltic rocks, geochemically characterized as trachy-basalts, are related to deep-rooted faults. Trachy-basaltic hyaloclastites, found intercalated within pelagic limestones, were formed by the quenching of magma that came into contact with cold sea water and subsequent resedimentation of the newly formed basaltic fragments. The majority of volcanogenic deposits belong to the Pietra Verde deposits found higher in the sections. The material for these deposits was produced by explosive volcanic eruptions and deposited by gravitational mechanisms, including pyroclastic density currents. Radiolarians from intercalated radiolarian cherts indicate late Illyrian to early Fassanian age for volcanic activity, as well as episodic eruptions and deposition of pyroclastic material. The uppermost part of the NTCRB successions is characterized by secondary volcaniclastic deposits generated by the rapid reworking of unconsolidated pyroclastic detritus and is deposited as medium- to fine-grained turbidites, marking the gradual filling of the basin. Based on regional correlations, late Ladinian is the most likely age for these deposits, indicating a significant stratigraphic gap in the NTCRB successions.
Spatial and temporal characterization of soil properties in agro-ecosystems is crucial for monitoring the evolution of soil functions and for understanding the main influential processes. Moreover, ...the objective mapping of soil properties in agro-ecosystems is urgently needed for regional planning purposes and the proper choice of land management practices. In this work, the geostatistical analysis of a dataset of soil properties, derived from 2411 soil samples collected in Vukovar-Srijem County (Croatia), highlighted the multiple benefits of a spatial-statistical approach. The main aim of this paper is to jointly examine short-range (i.e., within-field) and regional spatial variability of several soil chemical properties: soil pH, organic matter (OM), plant available phosphorus (AP) and potassium (AK). The available sampling network, characterized by a set of 2411 (0–30cm depth) irregularly and field-clustered soil samples, allowed to derivate of two typologies of soil nutrient maps by means of ordinary block kriging: within-field high-resolution maps (block size 250m) and regional low-resolution maps (block size 2000m). Soil pH and OM had lower variability compared to AP and AK. The OM content and pH ranged from 1.24% to 5.25% and from 3.69 to 7.84, respectively. Almost 94% of all samples had an OM content below 3%, indicating the need for future adoption of environmentally friendly soil management in this county. The mean values of AP and AK were 173mgkg−1 and 238mgkg−1, respectively, indicating a moderate supply of these nutrients. Geostatistical analysis revealed that the best-fit models were spherical for pH and AP, with moderate spatial dependency, and exponential for OM and AK, with strong spatial dependency. The within-field high-resolution soil property maps can be used as guidance for site-specific fertilization and liming. In addition, the regional maps derived for larger interpolation support provide quantitative information for regional planning and environmental monitoring and protection purposes. Consequently, the multi-resolution mapping of soil properties and the analysis of their spatial variability highlighted possible connections with influential factors and processes, including the relationships with different soil types. Finally, quantification of the spatial variability of soil properties by means of variogram models constitutes a basis for optimizing soil sample spacing for mapping purposes in the studied region.
•Short-range and regional spatial variability of soil chemical properties was investigated.•The investigated soil properties (pH, OM, AP and AK) are characterized by different spatial patterns.•The spatial patterns of soil properties suggest the likely influence of antrophic processes.•Occurrence of highly acidic areas are mayor restricting factor for crop production.•Low OM content indicates the need for environmental sustainable management strategies.
