Matjaž Glavan

Urban-rural relationships in feeding metropolis : a case study in Ljubljana metropolitan area

Metropolitan areas are characterized by the coexistence of a urban core insisting on natural resources of surrounding rural areas, strictly linked to the former. Inevitably, increasing urbanization and its consequences affect the model of urban development, which then needs to deal with the challenge of sustainability, also aiming to reduce pressures on resources and on supplying capacities of rural agricultural systems in providing food to urban zones, traditionally lacking. It then becomes important to deepen the possibility for the dense core to be supplied through proximity agriculture, able to recreate and improve synergic connections between urban and rural spheres. The paper aims to study the relationships among them for feeding the metropolis, adopting a methodology for the spatial definition of urban centre in metropolitan area and the assessment of its food balance, in order to identify the potentialities of local and proximity agriculture and provide a first evaluation for the possibility to match urban development and production potential. Identified tools are applied to Ljubljana metropolitan area.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of Catchment Modelling with Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) Model

Changed water regime in watercourses and high loads of sediment as a product of surface flow soil erosion can cause reductions in biodiversity, which is becoming one of the main indicators of environmental quality. Especially in the light of the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD) (2000/60/EC) which requires new approaches, methods and tools for improvement, protection and prevention of further decreasing water quality. The main aim of the WFD is to achieve good quality status of water bodies in Europe by 2015 (Volk et al., 2009). Changes in social system and climate may, regardless environmental legislation restrictions, lead to changes in land use and hence in quantity of water flow and sediment concentrations in waters. Merging the different spatial and environmental data is time consuming; therefore, the use of computer modelling tools is necessary.

Goriška Brda (Slovenia) – sustainable natural resource management for the prosperity of a rural area

Favourable future perspectives for rural regions need a balanced enforcement of competitiveness and social cohesion. The Goriska Brda region (72 km2) is situated by the Slovenian-Italian border. Certain areas in Goriska Brda are subject to intensive land use change, mainly from forest and grassland into vineyards. Future challenges in water, soil and land management are closely connected with the researchers’ knowledge in dealing with the sustainable use of natural resources and the development of future socio-economic stability. An integrative combination of socio-economic analyses (e.g. SWOT) and environmental simulations (e.g., a SWAT model) will be made and confronted or upgraded with stakeholder experiences and knowledge, always in dynamic dialogue with regional policy, resulting in consensus.

Assessment of promising agricultural management practices

iSQAPER project - Interactive Soil Quality Assessment in Europe and China for Agricultural Productivity and Environmental Resilience - aims to develop an app to advise farmers on selecting the best Agriculture Management Practice (AMPs) to improve soil quality. For this purpose, a soil quality index has to be developed to account for the changes in soil quality as impacted by the implementation of the AMPs. Some promising AMPs have been suggested over the time to prevent soil degradation. These practices have been randomly adopted by farmers but which practices are most used by farmers and where they are mostly adopted remains unclear. This study is part of the iSQAPER project with the specific aims: 1) map the current distribution of previously selected 18 promising AMPs in several pedo-climatic regions and farming systems located in ten and four study site areas (SSA) along Europe and China, respectively; and 2) identify the soil threats occurring in those areas. In each SSA, farmers using promising AMPs were identified and questionnaires were used to assess farmers perception on soil threats significance in the area. 138 plots/farms using 18 promising AMPs, were identified in Europe (112) and China (26).Results show that promising AMPs used in Europe are Crop rotation (15%), Manuring & Composting (15%) and Min-till (14%), whereas in China are Manuring & Composting (18%), Residue maintenance (18%) and Integrated pest and disease management (12%). In Europe, soil erosion is the main threat in agricultural Mediterranean areas while soil-borne pests and diseases is more frequent in the SSAs from France and The Netherlands. In China, soil erosion, SOM decline, compaction and poor soil structure are among the most significant. This work provides important information for policy makers and the development of strategies to support and promote agricultural management practices with benefits for soil quality.

Modelling Impact of Adjusted Agricultural Practices on Nitrogen Leaching to Groundwater

The aim of the research was to determine how changes in the management of agricul‐ tural land (cultivation techniques, fertilisation, type of crop and crop rotation) influence on the leaching of nitrogen from the soil profile. Research was conducted in the Drava River plain in Slovenia. The impact of 31 different scenarios of potential change in agricultural land management was evaluated using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. The research was located on the shallow aquifer with alluvial bedrock composite from carbonate and silicate layers, which is the main source of drinking water in the area. The results of the SWAT model version 2009 showed that with the constant climate and land management technology, the magnitude of nitrogen leaching from the soil profile is mainly influenced by soil properties. The most drastic effect on the increase of nitrogen leaching showed vegetable production technology, followed by cereals (corn, wheat and barley). Vegetable production even in ecological production by Slovenian standards can result in similar leaching potential as conventional farming, due to unfavourable conditions originating from soil properties (shallow soil profile). Effects of grassland production may lead to 76–98% reduction in nitrogen loss from soil profile in comparison to current practices.

Innovative Soil Management Practices (SMP) Assessment in Europe and China

(1) Instituto das Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas (ICAAM), University of Évora, Núcleo da Mitra Apartado 94 7006-554 Évora, Portugal (lbarao@uevora.pt), (2) 2 Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, Hallerstrasse 10, 2012 Bern, Switzerland, (3) University of Pannonia (UP), Deák F. u. 16., H-8360 Keszthely, Hungary, (4) Wageningen University (WU), The Netherlands, (5) Stichting Dienst Landbouwkundig Onderzoek (DLO), The Netherlands, (6) Gaec de la Branchette (GB), France, (7) Research Centre for Natural Resources, Environment and Society (CERNAS), College of Agriculture, Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal, (8) University of Miguel Hernández (UMH), Spain, (9) Agricultural University Athens (AUA), Greece, (10) University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, (11) Institute for Soil Sciences and Agricultural Chemistry, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Herman Ottó út. 15., H-1022 Budapest, Hungary, (12) National Research and Development Institute for Soil Science, Agrochemistry and Environmental Protection (ICPA), Romania, (13) Institute of Agrophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Doświadczalna 4, 20-290 Lublin, Poland, (14) Estonian University of Life Sciences, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonia, (15) 15 Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (IARRP, CAAS), China, (16) Soil and Fertilizer Institute of the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (SFI), China, (17) Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources (ISWC), China

Modelling Agri‐Environmental Measures for Minimizing Soil Erosion While Protecting Valuable Agricultural Land

Erosion processes in river basins and the consequent transport of sediment and sediment‐ bound pollutants to reservoirs cause hydromorphological changes and eutrophication, as well as the loss of reservoir storage capacity. This chapter deals with the optimal selection and implementation of agri‐environmental measures in river basins to reduce sediment yield and load. The main aim of this was to contribute to more efficient river basin management by minimizing soil erosion, while protecting valuable agricultural land. This includes implementing measures at the most critical source areas, where they are most effective and necessary. The river Ledava basin was selected as the study area. It covers an area of 105 km2 in northeast Slovenia and southeast Austria. The results of monitoring the river Ledava discharge reveal that the average annual concentration of sediment in the water body exceeded the recommended value of 25 mg/l by 46.7%. Using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), we were able to determine critical source areas and simulate the effects of eight different agri‐environmental scenarios on sediment yield reduction. The results show that critical source areas comprise 12% of the river basin. Most of the scenarios reduced sediment load in the river Ledava where steeper slopes in the sub‐basin prevail and where high average annual sediment transport from hydro‐ logic response units (HRUs) has been identified. The impact of the scenarios on the average annual sediment load (ton/year) in the river was lower than for the sediment yield (ton/ha) at the HRU level.