Search

The future capacity of soils to support life on Earth is becoming questionable and in such a situation an important attention is given to soil science and land use–soil policy. This paper presents the historical overview, conducted activities and roles of the Yugoslav and Serbian Soil Science Society (SSSS) from its begining to recent days, as well as future plans. The material tackles the development of soil science in Serbia: foundation of the Soil Society, international cooperation, publication of the journal ''Soil and Plant'' and other publishing activities, structural organization of the Society, organization of congresses and symposia, and impact of the Society to overall well being by development of various programmes. It also highlights the coordination, consulting, and supporting role of the Society in preparation of the soil map of Yugoslavia. The role of SSSS today is aimed at the general scientific, cultural and educational development and benefit of the Republic of Serbia. The Society has its bodies, eight (nine) commissions, eleven subcommissions and four working groups. In the coming period, the Society will continue its organizational, publishing, educational, and cooperation activities, but also strive to include soils and soil science among national priorities. The permanent legacy of the Society is the inclusion of soil at the core of policies that support environmental protection and sustainable development in line with new challenges.

Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) is the most applied model for soil erosion assessment. It takes into consideration five soil erosion factors: rainfall erosivity, topographic factor, vegetation cover, applied conservation practices, and soil erodibility. Soil erodibilty factor (K-factor) is a measure of inheritant reistance of soils to erosion. In the formulation of USLE model, K-factor was determined experimentally. Experimental determinations are costly and time- consuming, so the authors have encouraged scientists to utilise USLE nomograph or derived equations. This paper aims to compare USLE nomograph and soil erodibility equation which was derived from nomograph by the same authors. A total number of 108 soil samples have been collected on agricultural land of Western Serbia. For the determination of K-values, particle size distribution and soil organic matter content were determined in the laboratory, whereas soil permeability and soil structure were assessed according to the nomograph. The results have been compared using basic statistics. The average K-values obtained by nomograph and derived equation are 0.034±0.010 and 0.029±0.012, which is 14.7% difference. Coefficient of determination (R2) amounts to 0.5802, which indicates deviation of 23.9%, although there is statistically significant correlation between two methods. Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) is 0.008, which is 23–27% difference. The RMSE is not low, whereas index of agreement amounts to 0.93, which represent good agreement, and also there is significant correlation. These results are ambiguous. We think that 15% of absolute error is a threshold value for good correlation, which occur on only 56% of samples. K-factor is an important part of various soil erosion models and it is of high importance to determine it in the best manner. Therefore, the obtained results indicate the gaps in the determination of K-factor and could contribute to further improvment of soil erodibilty determination and con

UVOD i CILjEVI: U okviru klasifikacije zemljišta u genetskim klasifikacionim sistemima se nekada javljaju dileme kome tipu zemljišta pripadaju neke zemljišne jedinice, jer ne postoje direktno utvrđeni kvantitativni pokazatelji koji razgraničavaju pojedine zemljišne jedinice ili pojedine pedogenetske procese, i utvrđuju hijerarhiju među njima za potrebe klasifikacije. U okviru šire studije, u podnožju krečnjačkog masiva planine Vukan, na potesu Veliko polje, otvoreno je 42 zemljišna profila. Karbonatna skeletna zemljišta na jedrim krečnjacima sa izraženim humusno-akumulativnim horizontom su identifikovana na oko 40% područja, odnosno na 15 otvorenih profila. MATERIJAL i METOD: Istraživanja su obuhvatala otvaranje profila zemljišta do 90 cm dubine, odnosno do dubine matične stene, detaljan opis zemljišta na terenu, kao i uzimanje uzoraka zemljišta u narušenom i nenarušenom stanju za laboratorisjke analize, kao i klasifikaciju zemljišta prema domaćem i međunarodnom sistemu (WRB) klasifikacije. REZULTATI i ZAKLjUČCI: Zemljišta su klasifikovana kao koluvijalni kalkomelanosoli. Koluvijalni kalkomelanosoli su identifikovani na nadmorskoj visini od svega 185–210 m, što je neuobičajeno za ovaj tip zemljišta. Iz istog razloga i njegove ostale fizičko-hemijske osobine odstupaju od do sada opisanih koluvijalnih kalkomelanosola. Teren pod kalkomelanosolima se koristi kao ekstenzivni pašnjak, dominantan nagib terena je 2–5%, a skeletnost površine iznosi 10–80% u zavisnosti od profila. Građa većine ispitivanih profila je A – R. Boja humusnoakumulativnog horizonta je veoma tamna braon i veoma tamna braon siva, nešto svetlija od tipičnih crnica. Koluvijalni kalkomelanosoli se odlikuju dubinom 40–70 cm, a sadržaj skeleta se povećava sa dubinom. Veličina skeleta je 2–200 mm, a oblik je nepravilan – uglast. Struktura zemljišta je umereno izražena, dominantna veličina zrnastih agregata je 1–5 mm. Veoma visok sadržaj kalcijum-karbonata u supstratu, 90–99% u 12 profila ukazuje na jedre kr

National soil classification system (NSCS) used in Serbia is based on the principles of genetic classification. It is utilizes the concept of genetic soil horizons. The world reference base (WRB) for soil resources is based on soil properties defined in terms of diagnostic horizons, diagnostic properties, and diagnostic materials, which to the greatest extent possible should be measurable and observable in the field. The difference between genetic vs. diagnostic horizons creates an obstacle in correlation of soil types from NSCS with reference soil groups (RSG's) of WRB for soil resources, whereas the advantage in this work is that most of the soil names of national system correlate to the revised legend of the Soil Map of the World which is an forerunner of WRB for soil resources. This work aims to compare Ranker soil type of NSCS with corresponding RSG from WRB for soil resources, namely with Leptosols, as they have been reported in Serbia and abroad, as an appropriate reference soil group. The comparison was conducted on the base of qualitative and semi–quantitative information collected from the literature and experience of the authors – theretical approach. It was conducted in two ways: a) Leptosols vs. Rankers, meaning which Leptosols of WRB for soil resources are Rankers in NSCS, and b) Rankers vs. Leptosols, meaning which Rankers of NSCS are Leptosols in WRB. The conclusion of our work is that Leptosols RSG can correspond to Rankers in NSCS, but some WRB Leptosols are also Lithosols, Technosols, soils of Subaquatic soil order, Eugleys, Humogleys, Peat Soils, Rendzinas, Kalkomelanosols, Eutric and Dystric Cambisols, whereas Gypsiric Leptosols can not be classified according to NSCS. Observing in different direction, the results show that Ranker Soils could be also part of some other RSG with Leptic principal qualifier, such as Andosols, Phaeozems, Umbrisols, Cambisols, and Regosols. This work represents a small contribution to soil science in Serbia as WRB is

Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) is the most applied model for soil erosion assessment. It takes into consideration five soil erosion factors among which soil erodibilty factor (K) is a measure of inheritant reistance of soils to erosion. In the formulation of USLE model, K–factor was determined experimentally, and then the authors created USLE nomograph to facilitate the work, and in the next step, created the equation for faster K–factor determination. This paper aims to compare K–factor obtained by USLE nomograph and USLE equation. A total number of 108 soil samples have been collected in Western Serbia. For the determination of K–values, particle size distribution and soil organic matter were analyzed in the laboratory, whereas soil permeability and soil structure were assessed according to the USLE document procedure. The results have been compared using basic statistics. The average K–values obtained by nomograph and equation differ for almost 15%. There is statistically significant correlation between the two methods, but coefficient of determination amounts to 0.5802, which indicates pretty high deviation. Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) amounts to 0.008, which is quite high, whereas index of agreement amounts to 0.93, representing good agreement. These results are ambiguous. We think that 15% of absolute error is a threshold value between single samples, which occur in only 56% of the cases. Therefore, the obtained results indicate the gaps in the determination of K–factor and could contribute to further improvment of soil erodibilty determination and consequently, soil erosion assessment.

Zemljišta obrazovana na krečnjacima zauzimaju veliku površinu u Srbiji, ali veoma malo podataka ima o njihovim osobinama. U ovom radu su prikazane fizičke i hemijske osobine posmeđenog kalkomelanosola i srednje dubokog kalkokambisola na planini Ozren. Na prevoju Vlasina odabran je lokalitet sa posmeđenim kalkomelanosolom pod prirodnom travnom vegetacijoma, a u blizini Ozrenskih livada odabran je lokalitet s kalkokambisolom pod prirodnom mešovitom šumom. Na navedenim lokalitetima iskopani su profili do matičnog supstrata iz kojih su po genetičkim horizontima uzeti uzorci u narušenom i nenarušenom stanju za laboratorijske analize. Određen je mehanički sastav, agregatni sastav i vodootpornost strukturnih agregata, gustina suvog zemljišta, ukupna poroznost, vazdušni kapacitet, vododrživa sposobnost, vodopropustljivost, pH vrednosti, sadržaj humusa, sadržaj fiziološki aktivnog fosfora (P2O5) i kalijuma (K2O), hidrolitička kiselost, kapacitet adsorpcije katjona (CEC), suma razmenljivih baznih katjona, te stepen zasićenosti razmenljivim baznim katjonima. Humusno akumulativni horizont, Amo, posmeđenog kalkomelanosola je praškasto glinaste teksture. Kambični (B)rz horizont oba zemljišta je glinovite teksture. Amo horizont kalkomelanosola odlukuje se mrvičastom strukturom (0,5–5 mm) veoma visoke vodootpornosti. Ukupna poroznost, vazdušni kapacitet i vodopropustljivost oba zemljišta je visoka. Njihova vododrživa sposobnost je visoka. Amo horizont kalkomelanosola se odlikuje visokim sadržajem humusa (>10%). Hemijska reakcija (pH u H2O) Amo horizonta je neutralna, dok je u (B)rz horizontima oba zemljišta umereno kisela. Oba zemljišta imaju visoke vrednosti CEC (>58 cmol kg–1) i veoma su zasićena baznim katjonima (>95%). Posmeđeni kalkomelanosol je srednje do visoko obezbeđen K2O, a kalkokambisol je srednje obezbeđen; dok su oba zemljišta veoma siromašna P2O5. Budući da ovo istraživanje pokazuje prilično povoljne fizičke i hemijske osobine istraženih zemljišta na ovom području zb

Scarce water resources severely limit maize (Zea mays L.) cultivation in the temperate regions of northern Serbia. A two-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of irrigation and planting density on yield and water use efficiency in temperate climate under sprinkler irrigation. The experiment included five irrigation treatments (full irrigated treatment – FIT; 80% FIT, 60% FIT, 40% FIT, and rainfed) and three planting densities (PD1: 54,900 plants ha–1 ; PD2: 64,900 plants ha–1; PD3: 75,200 plants ha–1). There was increase in yield with the irrigation (1.05–80.00%) as compared to the rainfed crop. Results showed that decreasing irrigation rates resulted in a decrease in yield, crop water use efficiency (WUE), and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE). Planting density had significant effects on yield, WUE, and IWUE which differed in both years. Increasing planting density gradually increased yield, WUE, and IWUE. For the pooled data, irrigation rate, planting density and their interaction was significant (P < 0.05). The highest two-year average yield, WUE, and IWUE were found for FIT-PD3 (14,612 kg ha–1), rainfed-PD2 (2.764 kg m–3), and 60% FITPD3 (2.356 kg m–3), respectively. The results revealed that irrigation is necessary for maize cultivation because rainfall is insufficient to meet the crop water needs. In addition, if water becomes a limiting factor, 80% FIT-PD3 with average yield loss of 15% would be the best agronomic practices for growing maize with a sprinkler irrigation system in a temperate climate of Serbia.

The eutrophication of groundwater through widespread diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilization and excessive farm fertilizer is one of the major problems in European agriculture. Organomineral microgranular fertilizers that have a reduced phosphorus (P) content, alone or in combination with biostimulants, offer promising alternatives to DAP fertilization. We conducted a field experiment with maize (Zea mays) on a marshland soil site in order to compare the yield increase and the phosphorus balance of DAP and microgranular fertilizer variants. P content of the soil on the study site is 3.9 g P per 100 g soil. Treatments involved a combination of two fertilizers, namely DAP or a P-reduced microgranular slow-release organomineral fertilizer (Startec) and the biostimulants mycorrhiza, humic substances and soil bacteria, applied individually or along with two of the above biostimulants. Fertilizer variants were also tested individually without additional biostimulants. One in four plots was used as a control, treated only with biogas slurry, to identify site-specific spatial variability and to implement correction factors to process raw data using standardized methods. Startec performed as well as DAP in terms of both the yield and corn cob ratio, while the P excess was lower in plots treated with Startec (av. = 4.5 kg P2O5 ha-1) compared to DAP (av. = 43.7 kg P2O5 ha-1). The latter differences are of statistical significance. Individual biostimulants and a combination of multiple biostimulants rarely resulted in significantly higher yields, with the exception of some combinations with humic substances and mycorrhiza in individual years. The influence of the climatic conditions in each of the years was higher than the influence of the biostimulants. However, average increases in yield over three years would be economically beneficial for farmers in the case of the applied humic substances product and mycorrhiza. An adequate alternative to DAP was found in the form of a Pr

Climate change in Europe will lead to new precipitation patterns over the coming years and the annual temperature will increase significantly. These changes in climate variables and the resulting effects on agricultural productivity must be differentiated regionally. Plant production depends on sufficient rainfall in summer and, in some regions, on the amount of rainfall in winter. In Central Europe, the amount of precipitation in summer will decrease in the coming decades due to climate change, while in some regions, the amount of winter precipitation will increase significantly. Agricultural production is likely to suffer severely as a result of rising summer temperatures and low water retention capacities in the soil. The effects of reduced summer precipitation and increased air temperatures are partially offset by the expected increased CO2 concentration. Therefore, the effects that changed climatic conditions have on crop production are sometimes less drastic in terms of crop yields. The greatest impact of climate change on land use is expected from increasing evapotranspiration and lower amounts of precipitation in the production of leachate. In addition to the expected mean changes, the occurrence of extreme weather conditions is key. Periods of drought in the growing season and heavy flooding as a result of extreme rainfall are to be expected. However, these events are very difficult or even impossible to predict. In addition to the effects that climate change will have on regional crop production, global changes will have a strong impact on world markets for agricultural products. Another consequence of climate change and population growth is a higher demand for agricultural products on world markets. This will lead to dramatic local land use changes and an intensification of agriculture that will transform existing crop production systems. The intensification caused by rising land and lease prices will primarily affect the maximization of the use of fertil

Knowledge of hydro-physical properties is an essential prerequisite for assessing the suitability and quality of growing media. The method used for sample preparation is important for the measurement results. Three different sample preparation methods were compared. The methods differed in terms of the way the 250°cm3 steel cylinder was filled and the height of preloading. Measurements on loosely filled cylinders were included. The comparison was carried out on 15 growing media using the HYPROP device. HYPROP enables a complex analysis of the hydro-physical properties with high accuracy and reproducibility. The water retention curve, the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity function, the dry bulk density, the shrinkage and the rewetting properties can be measured simultaneously. The air capacity and the amount of plant-available water in pots depend on the height of the pot. In the field, it is related to the field capacity. The quality assessment was carried out both for flowerpots of different height and for field conditions with free drainage. Loosely filled samples consolidated hydraulically shortly after the start of the measurement. These geometric changes can be taken into account with the HYPROP. The sample preparation method – preloading or loose filling – yielded significantly different results for the pore volume, dry bulk density, plant available water and air capacity. The total pore volume of the loosely filled cylinders varied between 86.8 and 95.2°% by vol. (preloaded 81.3 and 87.7°% by vol.). The most critical factor was the air capacity. Loosely filled substrate samples achieved the highest air capacities, but also did not reach the critical value of 10°% by volume in shallow flowerpots, e.g. in 10 cm pots with 5.8°% by volume. The sample preparation method, measurement and quality assessment of the hydro-physical properties of growing media should be adapted to the conditions of use – whether they are used in a field with free drainage or in pots or

INTRODUCTION and OBJECTIVES: Remote sensing is the process of detecting and monitoring the physical characteristics of an area by measuring its reflected and emitted radiation at a distance, and in a narrower sense includes the analysis and interpretation of various images of parts of the Earth's surface. The application of satellite images with modern technology and software is possible in all phases of research of various natural phenomena, and their analysis are carried out by computer-aided and visual procedures. The aim of this research is to present the basic aspects of remote sensing and modern technologies in assessing the water supply of natural grasslands, as well as the presentation of possibility for faster data collection while reducing costs, and easier understanding of the whole research area. MATERIAL and METHOD: The trial was set on March 22nd of 2022 on a natural grassland in the village of Mitrovo polje on the mountain Goč (43° 30′ 22′ N latitude, 20° 52′ 26′ E longitude, 700 m a.s.l.) in the Aleksandrovac municipality. Disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected to determine soil texture, soil water retention characteristics and soil chemical properties. Continuous measurement of soil moisture was performed with TDR probes in three replicates and sensors for monitoring soil temperature were installed. The satellite images (SENTINEL 2) with a resolution 10 m, in a time interval of about a week, created in relatively clear weather (cloudiness <30%), starting from March 22 to May 21st were used, while soil moisture data were collected on a daily basis. Data on precipitation and air temperature for the observed period were taken from the Agrosens portal. The supply of natural grassland with water and assessment of soil moisture are determined by the index of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), as the most applicable vegetation index. NDVI is defined as the ratio of differences between individual values of reflective wavelengths o

Over the last two decades, Serbian agriculture has suffered increased losses and damages due to the more frequent occurrence of the extreme weather events caused by the climate change. The most significant losses are recorded in years with droughts and high summer temperature (such as 2012 and 2017). Significant losses in orchards are caused by the frost in late winter or early spring, when the flowering occurs early, due to a prolonged period of unusually high temperatures. On the other hand, damages caused by low winter temperatures are decreasing. In order to assess the risk levels brought by the climate change and extreme weather events to the agricultural plant production in different regions of the country, analyzed are frequency of the occurrence of the weather events that may have significant negative effect to the yields of the most important crops (corn, maize, sunflower, soybeans) and fruits (plum, peach, raspberry, apple, wine grape), as well as pastures and meadows. Vulnerability is assessed through the analysis of agricultural production structure in the administrative districts of Serbia. Weather events with potentially negative effect to yields and most vulnerable phenophases are defined for each crop or fruit considered in the analysis. For each plant and each potentially dangerous weather event one or more bioclimatic indices were adopted and calculated for the past, present and future. For the present (2000-2019), daily data on temperature and precipitation were used from the eOBS gridded observations dataset. Results of 8 regional climate models from the EURO-CORDEX initiative were combined into an ensemble. The ensemble was constructed upon the evaluation of their ability to simulate past climate characteristics over the country. The chosen simulations are done under the RCP8.5 IPCC greenhouse gasses emission scenario, for the periods 1986-2005, 2021-2040, 2041-2060 and 2081-2100. Results showed that projected frequencies of the events such are

Natural grasslands and pastures occupy 5.96% of the country territory. According to European Space Agency, changes in land cover from 2000–2015 indicate decrease in total grassland area of 1765 km2 (30.03%), emphasizing dominant conversion of grasslands to forests. Ongoing depopulation trend, rural to urban migrations, and decrease in livestock population are some of main factors impacting grasslands. This trend favors further naturalization of pastures striving to increase the areas under natural grasslands. Such conversion will contribute to overall change in biodiversity richness, especially in areas with saline soils and high mountain regions with increased level of endemic species. Grasslands play important role in overall sustainability, but their importance it is not properly addressed. Environmental experts should recognize drivers of grasslands degradation and propose appropriate conservation and restoration measures. The priority should be avoidance of grassland degradation that requires good assessment of their current conditions and monitoring of plant, soil, climate conditions and land use activities. Further measures are deduced to sustainable land management practices and smooth human interventions, whereas the aftermost adopted measures should be related to restoration. Grasslands should have more emphasized role in our society and LDN principles should be applied for their preservation.

Soil structure pertains to the natural organization of soil particles into various forms as a result of pedogenic processes. On one hand, it is formed in interaction of physical, chemical, mineralogical, and biological factors, whereas on the other hand it affects them. Soil structure can differ in grade of development, size and type of aggregates, and their stability to mechanical pressure and water, which is often soil-horizon or soil-type dependent. This paper aims to analyze the structure of Calcomelanosols of mountain Rtanj, Serbia, as that is the most widespread soil type in this area. Calcomelanosols are soils from the national classification system that often correspond to Rendzic Leptosols in the World Reference Base (WRB) for soil resources. Soil structure is analyzed in terms of soil dry aggregate size distribution (ASD) and soil aggregate stability to water (WAS), and related soil structure indices, as they are essential parameters in understanding the structural state of the soil. Eight soil profiles have been excavated, described and sampled in the field. Soil horizon sequence of all profiles was A – R, with humus-accumulative horizon overlying calcareous bedrock. Six profiles of Calcomelanosols correspond to Rendzic Leptosols of WRB, whereas other two profiles correspond to Leptic Rendzic Phaeozems and Leptic Chernic Rendzic Phaeozems. Basic physical and chemical soil properties were determined. Both ASD and WAS were determined by Savinov's method. The following soil structure indices were calculated: dry mean weight diameter (dMWD), wet mean weight diameter (wMWD), dry geometric mean diameter (dGMD), wet geometric mean diameter (wGMD) and structural stability index (SI). The results indicate favorable structure of the examined Calcomelanosols. The content of agronomically most valuable aggregates (0.25–10 mm) in all soil profiles exceeds 80% (90.5±3.6% on average). Among these aggregates, very fine, fine and medium size aggregates dominate. Dry MWD s

Environmental problems related to the application of herbicides are causing a concern due to their increasing presence in soil, groundwater and surface water. Numerous methods have been developed in order to reduce herbicide mobility and protect natural water resources. The results presented in this paper show the interaction of herbicide S- metolachlor with inorganic and organically modified montmorillonite from Bogovina (Boljevac municipality, Serbia). Clay sample from Bogovina represents Ca-Na montmorillonite with a small amount of quartz, cristobalite and carbonate minerals. Organic montmorillonites were obtained after modification with different concentrations of organic complex (HDTMA and PTMA), whereas inorganic modification was performed with 1M NaCl solution. The interaction between minerals and herbicide was monitored using infrared spectroscopy. IR bands observed in the inorganic modified montmorillonite (Na-montmorillonite) are typical for smectites with a high Al content in the octahedron position. The intercalation of HDTMA+ cations into the interlayer space produces redshift of the IR bands that originate from the vibrations of the adsorbed water, as a consequence of the hydrogen bond strength reduction in HDTMA-montmorillonite. Also, the intensity of these bands decreases significantly with the increasing concentration of HDTMA+ cation. All these changes are related to the decreasing of the water content in the interlayer space by increasing the content of HDTMA. The occurrence of the stretching CH2 vibrations is generally the main difference in the spectrum of HDTMA modified montmorillonite in comparison with the spectrum of inorganically modified montmorillonite. The wavenumber, intensity and width of these bands are sensitive to conformation in hydrocarbon chains. After the organic modification of the montmorillonite with the PTMA complex, stretching vibrations of the phenyl ring occurred. Analysis of FTIR spectroscopy data showed that the hydroge