Topic Review
Ramsar Site Labudovo Okno for Sustainable Tourism
The Ramsar Site Labudovo Okno (LO) is located in Serbia, AP Vojvodina, on the left bank of the Danube. It covers an area of 3733 ha. This wet habitat is valuable for different ecosystems, among which the most important are those inhabited by rare bird species.
  • 151
  • 28 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Constructed Wetlands to Treat Effluents for Water Reuse
Urban and industrial wastewater discharges remain a major source of pollution worldwide. Urban runoff, stormwater overflows, and untreated sewage discharges are increasingly important sources of pollution. Population growth and the change in annual rainfall patterns associated with climate change make it increasingly difficult to meet the growing demand for recreational, industrial, agricultural, and domestic purposes. Thus, the regeneration of used water with the aim of giving it a second use is increasingly imperative. Solutions based on nature, such as constructed wetlands (CWs), offer high possibilities for the sustainable use of water, facilitating its treatment and reuse in situ, as well as contributions to adaptation to climate change through the use and promotion of vegetation, both in urban and rural areas. The circular economy criteria and objectives require opting for technologies and configurations that allow the recovery of nutrients and other resources contained in wastewater while allowing the reuse or recycling of the water itself for different uses. CWs offer very interesting benefits regarding both sustainability and circularity.
  • 145
  • 27 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Estimate Soil Organic Carbon from Remote Sensing
Monitoring soil organic carbon (SOC) typically assumes conducting a labor-intensive soil sampling campaign, followed by laboratory testing, which is both expensive and impractical for generating useful, spatially continuous data products. 
  • 156
  • 27 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Plant Microbial Fuel Cells
PubMed (NCBI) has pointed to an exponential growth of publications on the subject of a “biofuel cell” in the first decade of our century, and this interest persisted throughout the following years. It should be noted that biofuel elements based on microorganisms (microbial fuel cells, MFCs) are a promising technology to produce bioelectricity since they simultaneously solve the problems of contamination with anthropogenic organic waste, which can be used by microorganisms as a source of carbon and energy.
  • 233
  • 27 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Plant-Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR)-Based Biostimulants for Agricultural Production Systems
The application of biostimulants has been proven to be an advantageous tool and an appropriate form of management towards the effective use of natural resources, food security, and the beneficial effects on plant growth and yield. Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are microbes connected with plant roots that can increase plant growth by different methods such as producing plant hormones and molecules to improve plant growth or providing increased mineral nutrition. They can colonize all ecological niches of roots to all stages of crop development, and they can affect plant growth and development directly by modulating plant hormone levels and enhancing nutrient acquisition such as of potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, and essential minerals, or indirectly via reducing the inhibitory impacts of different pathogens in the forms of biocontrol parameters. Many plant-associated species such as Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Streptomyces, Serratia, Arthrobacter, and Rhodococcus can increase plant growth by improving plant disease resistance, synthesizing growth-stimulating plant hormones, and suppressing pathogenic microorganisms. The application of biostimulants is both an environmentally friendly practice and a promising method that can enhance the sustainability of horticultural and agricultural production systems as well as promote the quantity and quality of foods. They can also reduce the global dependence on hazardous agricultural chemicals. 
  • 253
  • 27 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Development and Effects of Organic Farms in Poland
Organic farms should, by definition, place particular emphasis on the protection of agricultural soils, landscape care and activities aimed at producing high-quality agricultural products. In Poland, its development strength largely depends on the presence of areas facing natural or other specific constraints (ANCs). Nearly ¾ of organic utilized agriculture area (UAA) is located in communes with a large share of them. Organic farms achieve lower production effects in comparison to conventional farms, and their disproportions also depend on the quality of natural farming conditions. In Poland, the personal competences of farmers are also an important determinant in joining organic farming.
  • 134
  • 26 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Available Agrometeorological Data Sources in Croatia
Precision agriculture (PA) is a data-driven approach to farming that uses a range of ICT solutions—remote sensing, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI)—to improve and increase crop yields and the profitability of agricultural production, while reducing the amount of resources needed for food production, such as the amount of water, fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides. Croatia consists of three main geographical regions: the Pannonian and para-Pannonian plains in the north and north-east, the central mountain belt in the west and south, and the Croatian coastal area. The Pannonian plains are the most fertile agricultural regions in Croatia, enriched by alluvial deposits from the Sava and Drava rivers. The central mountain belt offers some arable, meadow, and pasture land, while the coastal region is mostly barren and mountainous with little agricultural land.
  • 146
  • 26 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Bisphenol A on Anaerobic Digestion of Sewage Sludge
Anaerobic digestion for stabilizing sewage sludge in WWTPs, which produces biogas and stabilized biosolids, is a mature technology used worldwide. Bisphenol A (BPA) is an alkylphenol composed of acetone and phenol. It is a plastic additive that is most commonly used to produce different industrial and personal care products, e.g., polycarbonate, polysulphone, epoxy, polyacrylate, polyetherimide resins, thermal paper, beverage containers, dental sealant, and so on.
  • 121
  • 26 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Primary Sludge and Biowastes
Primary sludge is a valuable substrate for anaerobic digestion as it contains a higher percentage of fatty acids and lipids compared to secondary sludge, although its carbon-to-nitrogen ratio is relatively low due to its inherent deficiency of carbon. This limiting factor of C/N ratio can be overwhelmed by the co-digestion of primary sludge with organic fractions such as agricultural byproducts and municipal solid wastes. The operating principle of this practice is based on the fact that organic fractions such as agricultural byproducts contain a high percentage of carbon and a low percentage of nitrogen, so the co-digestion of primary sludge with different organic fractions, such as animal manure, agricultural residues, organic fractions of municipal waste, or vegetable residues, may improve the balance of nutrients, provide buffering capacity, adjust the C/N ratio, reduce the concentration of ammonia, and hence its inhibitory effects, and overall promote the process of methanogenesis.
  • 99
  • 26 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Watershed Processes and Streamflow Prediction
Accurate streamflow prediction (SFP) is crucial for water resource management, flood and drought forecasting, and reservoir operations. However, complex interactions between surface and subsurface processes in watersheds make predicting extreme events challenging. This work highlights the importance of incorporating physical understanding and process knowledge into data-driven SFP models for reliable and robust predictions, especially during extreme events.
  • 199
  • 26 Feb 2024
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