No abstract

The effect of application of organic fertilizers in defined doses on structure of Carabid communities was studied. The Carabids were pitfall-trapped, in 2004-2006 on experimental plots in the university farm in Kolíňany (District of Nitra, S -N Slovakia), in 5 variants (1st -unfertilized; 2nd -25 t * ha -1 farmyard manure, 3rd -50 t*ha -1 bio sludge; 4th -50 t*ha-1 farmyard manure; 5th -100 t*ha-1 bio sludge) to the selected rotatio ( Based on maximum numbers of species and individuals, the most suitable were the 2. and 3. variants, (25 t*ha-1 farmyard manure and 50 t*ha-1 bio sludge). Out of the applied organic fertilizers, the climatic factors also played an important role.

The aim of this work was to determine and compare the occurrence of epigeic groups in two methods of farming, ecological one and integrated one. The research was conducte in the locality Nitra – Dolná Malanta in the years 2013 and 2014. The monitoring locality is situated in the south-western part of Slovakia, in altitude 175–180 m on highly productive soils. For the collection of biological material, the earth traps method was applied, used during the vegetation period (from April to October), within both farming systems, at Hordeum sativum, Triticum aestivum and Vicia faba undersowing with Medicago sativa. In canopy of these crops, two soil traps were installed, renewed in monthly intervals. The total of 7,722 exemplars of epigeic groups was obtained, of which 4,355 exemplars were in ecological farming and 3,367 exemplars in integrated farming system. In both treatments, 19 epigeic groups were determined, with dominant abundance of Coleoptera, Collembola, Acarina, Araneae. Also other groups such as Diplopoda, Heteroptera, Chilopoda etc. were observed in lower occurrence. Based on the evaluation of influence of the crop in terms of the occurrence of epigeic groups, the most suitable conditions created Vicia faba with undersowing Medicago sativa (integrated farming) and Triticum aestivum (ecological farming). On the basis of calculated indexes, both farming systems can be evaluated as homeostatically balanced, providing present epigeic groups with topical and trophic conditions.

Climate change is one of the most pressing global issues of the twenty-first century. This phenomenon has an increasingly severe impact on water resources and crop production. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of climate change on water resources, crop production, and agricultural sustainability in an arid environment in Iran. To this end, the study constructs a new integrated climate-hydrological-economic model to assess the impact of future climate change on water resources and crop production. Furthermore, the agricultural sustainability is evaluated using the multicriteria decision making (MCDM) technique in the context of climate change. The findings regarding the prediction of climate variables show that the minimum and maximum temperatures are expected to increase by about 5.88% and 6.05%, respectively, while precipitation would decrease by approximately 30.68%. The results of the research reveal that water availability will decrease by about 13.79–15.45% under different climate scenarios. Additionally, the findings show that in the majority of cases crop production will reduce in response to climate scenarios so that rainfed wheat will experience the greatest decline (approximately 59.95%). The results of the MCDM model show that climate change can have adverse effects on economic and environmental aspects and, consequently, on the sustainability of the agricultural system of the study area. Our findings can inform policymakers on effective strategies for mitigating the consequences of climate change on water resources and agricultural production in dry regions.

The aim of this work was to ascertain the influence of applying various doses of organic fertilizers on the occurrence of the Carabidae and Staphylinidae families. The research was carried out in five treatments: 1) control treatment, 2) 25 t ha-1 of farmyard manure, 3) 50 t ha-1 of bio-sludge, 4) 50 t ha-1 of farmyard manure, and 5) 100 t ha-1 of bio-sludge. Coleoptera was represented by 87,324 individuals, Carabidae with a dominance of 80.53 to 86.28%, and Staphylinidae from 5.36 to 8.32%. Carabidae recorded the highest number for the 5 th treatment, for 16,534 individuals, with the lowest number being for the 4 th treatment, for 12,322 individuals. Staphylinidae recorded the highest number for the 4 th treatment, with a frequency of 1,273 individuals, and the lowest number was for the 2 nd treatment, with 934 individuals. When considering the crops grown that produce convenient individual conditions, crops producing shading, Helianthus annuus and Zea mays were preferred. The statistical evaluation did not confirm the effect of treatments, temperature, precipitation, and year of the occurrence of Carabidae. The effect of the treatment was not confirmed statistically in Staphylinidae, and the impact of the year, temperature, and precipitation were significant.