Mateja Breg Valjavec

Vrednotenje nekdanje in sedanje proizvodnje nevarnih odpadkov v Ljubljani z vidika obremenjevanja podtalnice // Evaluating former and current production of hazardous waste in Ljubljana from the perspective of threats to groundwater

Na osrednjem obmocju Ljubljane, ki je danes skoraj v celoti vodovarstveno obmocje pitnih virov, je v osemdesetih letih prejsnjega stoletja delovalo vsaj 170 obratov, ki so proizvajali ali skladiscili okolju nevarne snovi. To so bili predvsem obrati strojne in kovinske dejavnosti (predelava kovin, galvane, lakirnice, izdelava strojev, servisi strojne opreme in vozil), živilske (pivovarne, mlekarne), kemicne (proizvodnja zdravil, barv, obrati za kemicno ciscenje, proizvodnja in skladiscenje kemikalij) ter ostalih dejavnosti (tekstilna industrija, skladiscenje naftnih derivatov). V raziskavi smo podrobneje raziskali danasnjo rabo prostora na znanih obmocjih nevarnih dejavnosti iz osemdesetih let prejsnjega stoletja. Dolocili smo 309 poslovnih enot, katerih sedež je prav na obmocju (zemljiskih parcelah) nekdanjih obratov in so glede na primarno dejavnost potencialni onesnaževalci podtalnice kot vira pitne vode. Ugotavljamo, da so na 76 % obmocij (130 od 170) se vedno prisotne dejavnosti, ki proizvajajo, skladiscijo ali prodajajo nevarne snovi. Prevladujejo vecja obmocja, medtem ko so se manjsa pogosteje preobrazila. Njihovo stopnjo okoljskega tveganja smo dolocili predvsem z vidika podtalnice Ljubljanskega polja, ki je glavni vir pitne vode v prestolnici. Z nadaljnjimi terenskimi analizami tal bo treba preveriti ali so obmocja dejansko onesnažena in jih lahko oznacimo kot kontaminirana obmocja.In the central part of Ljubljana, which today is almost entirely a water-protection area for drinking water, there were at least 170 facilities operating in the 1980s that produced or stored environmentally hazardous substances. These were primarily facilities in the mechanical and metal industries (metal processing, galvanizing, paint shops, machine production, servicing machinery and vehicles), the food industry (brewing, dairy), the chemical industry (producing medicines, paints, dry cleaning, producing and storing chemicals), and other industries (textiles, storing petroleum derivatives). The study investigates in detail today’s use of space at known locations of hazardous industries from the 1980s. We defined 309 business units headquartered at sites (land lots) of former companies (170) whose primary activity created the potential for polluting groundwater as a drinking water source. We determined that at 76% of the sites (130 of 170) activities are still present that produce, store, or sell hazardous substances. These are primarily large sites, whereas small sites have often been transformed. Their level of environmental risk was primarily defined with regard to the groundwater of the Ljubljana Basin, which is the capital’s main source of drinking water. It will be necessary to use further field analysis to check whether the sites are actually polluted and whether they can be defined as contaminated sites.

Bioindication of human-induced soil degradation in enclosed karst depressions (dolines) using Ellenberg indicator values (Classical Karst, Slovenia)

One of the frequently used bioindication methods is Ellenberg indicator values (EIVs), which are commonly applied in Central Europe as bioindicators of ecological characteristics. However, very few studies have tested EIVs as a bioindication of human-induced soil degradation. We tested the ability of EIVs to distinguish between localities of degraded karst depressions (dolines) and localities of semi-natural (agricultural) soils in preserved dolines on the Kras Plateau (Classical Karst, SW Slovenia). We compared the results of bioindications of soil nutrient content (N), soil reaction (R) and soil moisture (M) with measured soil parameters. Low values of organic carbon, a slightly alkaline soil reaction and low organic sulphur content are chemical indicators of soil degradation in dolines, in comparison with preserved reference dolines (high organic carbon, slightly acid reaction, higher S). EIV reaction is the most reliable plant indicator value that can distinguish between degraded and non-degraded soil plots. According to a regression tree, sulphur (S) and C/N are the most important factors for division on the basis of EIV reaction. By applying the EIV reaction of diagnostic plant species, we significantly improved bioindication of soil degradation, although in the case of EIV nutrients, bioindication was not improved.

Mapping War Geoheritage: Recognising Geomorphological Traces of War

Abstract In the topography of war landscapes the remains of war are found in the form of trenches, bombing craters and remnants of war infrastructure. Today war landscapes are “overlaid” by post-war “layers” of cultural landscapes. It requires non-invasive remote-sensing methods, e.g. time series of aerial photographs and high-resolution terrain models (LiDAR digital terrain model) to recognize these landscapes. In the study area on Kras Plateau (SW Slovenia) over one hundred kilometres of World War I trenches are preserved in the NW part of the plateau (app. 72 km2) in the present-day topography and represent tangible war geoheritage. But much of these geoheritage was also lost in post-war periods, e.g. near the village of Vrtojba (SW Slovenia) where in 1917 over 12 km of World War I trenches existed, but a century later no traces of war are visible in the present-day topography. Almost two hundred World War I bomb craters also existed around the village that are also not existent in the topography any more. Many anthropo-geomorphological traces of war are thus preserved only virtually and present intangible war geoheritage.

Modelling habitats in karst landscape by integrating remote sensing and topography data

Abstract Field mapping is an accurate but also time consuming method of detailed mapping of habitat types. Levels of habitat types are usually hierarchically nested at several levels. Our main research question therefore is: ‘How detailed can be modelling of habitat types with decision trees and digital data in karst landscape?’ Similar to studies in other (non-karst) environments we explored the basic properties of the habitats in Dinaric Karst study region (Classical Karst in Southwest Slovenia) and tested modelling of habitat types at three different levels of detail. To seek for the best set of predictor variables we used Rapid-Eye satellite images, airborne images and digital elevation model. We prepared more than 60 explanatory variables and divided habitat polygons into training and testing samples to validate the results. The results proved that modelling with decision trees in Dinaric Karst landscape does not result in high accuracy at high detailed levels. Due to the presence of mine fields in the large area of Dinaric Karst (e.g. in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina) the field mapping in this area is difficult therefore the findings from this study can be used for further development of mapping through remote sensing.

Assessing the suitability of planned garden-plot areas in Ljubljana

suitable infrastructure. We evaluated the appropriateness of the planned locations in the draft City Munici pality of Ljubljana Zoning Implementation Plan on the basis of the fulfillment of key exclusion and attraction criteria that were established based on survey answers included in support of the decision-making with the help of GIS tools. Decision-making by consensus, inclusion of public stakeholders, and establishing dialog between the city government and garden-plot users will need to be ensured in carrying out this plan.