The determination of the effects of cadmium and mercury on the growth, biomass productivity and phytoremediation potential of Miscanthus × giganteus (MxG) grown on contaminated soil was the main aim of this paper. the use of bioenergy plants as an innovative strategy in phytotechnology gives additional benefits, including mitigation and adaptation to climate change, and soil remediation without affecting soil fertility. An experiment was set up as a randomized complete block design with the treatments varied in concentrations of Cd (0, 10 and 100 mg kg −1 soil) and Hg (0, 2 and 20 mg kg −1 soil) added to the soil. Three vegetative years were studied. Yield values ranged from 6.3-15.5 t DM ha −1 , cadmium concentration in plants varied from 45-6758 µg kg −1 and Hg varied from 8.7-108.9 µg kg −1 . Values between treatments and years were significantly different. MxG can accumulate and remove very modest amount (up to 293.8 µg Cd and 4.7 µg Hg) per pot per year in aboveground biomass. Based on this data it can be concluded that MxG, as a valuable energy crop, is a potential candidate for the phytostabilization and biomass production on soils contaminated with Cd and Hg moderately.Phytoremediation is considered as a simple and a natural technology that uses plants which can be utilize for efficient absorption of pollutants from contaminated soils 1,2 . Generally, remediation of heavy metal polluted soils could be classified as physico-chemical and biological remediation techniques 3 . Compared to physico-chemical techniques (vitrification, soil washing, solidification and stabilization), phytoremediation technology could reduce dust emission, risk of exposure to soil, provide erosion control and prevent runoff 4 . Unlike physical and chemical treatments that irreversibly alter soil properties, phytoremediation generally improves physical, chemical, and biological quality of contaminated soils, improving soil quality and functionality and carbon sequestration 5,6 . Phytoremediation is suitable for different types of contaminants (organic, metals and radionuclides), with relatively low financial costs, does not require additional energy delivery (energy is obtained from solar radiation) and with minimally influence to the site destruction and destabilization. Additionally, it contributes to the improvement of the visual aspect of the landscape, provides habitats for animals, and reduces leaching and mobilization of contaminants in soil 7 . Disadvantages of phytoremediation include: long remediation time requirement (the process is slow and requires 3-20 growing seasons to achieve remediation goals); relatively shallow cleaning depths; potentially contamination of the food chain; a site-specific technology (structure of the soil profile, pH, presence of salt or other toxins, water quality including nutrients, oxygen content) with a choice of plants being critical, and the fate of contaminants often unclear (the technology may relocate contaminants from the subsurface to the plant, creating residual waste to be disposed ...

Heavy metals accumulation in crops and soils poses a significant threat to the human health. A study was carried out in 2016 in order to assess hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) ability to accumulate heavy metals and to reveal its possibility as a phytoaccumulator or phytostabilizer. Two soil types from Croatia were used in experimental pots: Gleysoils (alkaline soil) and Stagnic Luvisol (acid soil). Majority of the varieties accumulated more heavy metals in roots than in above-ground biomass. Removal of Cd, Ni, Pb, Hg, Co, Mo and As was higher in acid soil. Potential ability for phytostabilization was observed in alkaline soil in order Cu>Cr> Cd>Mo>Hg>Zn>Ni>Co>As>Pb, while for acid soil in order Zn>Cd>Cr>Ni>Hg>Cu> Mo>As>Co>Pb. Some varieties exhibited a translocation coefficient (TC) more than 1 and shown the ability of hyper-accumulation for Zn, Hg, Mo and Cd. Higher accumulation of heavy metals in some varieties could lead to their general application for phytoaccumulation of heavy metals from polluted soils.

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We consider a nonlinear, moving boundary, fluid-structure interaction problem between a time-dependent incompressible, viscous fluid flow, and an elastic structure composed of a cylindrical shell supported by a mesh of elastic rods. The fluid flow is modeled by the time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations in a three-dimensional cylindrical domain, while the lateral wall of the cylinder is modeled by the two-dimensional linearly elastic Koiter shell equations coupled to a one-dimensional system of conservation laws defined on a graph domain, describing a mesh of curved rods. The mesh-supported shell allows displacements in all three spatial directions. Two-way coupling based on kinematic and dynamic coupling conditions is assumed between the fluid and composite structure, and between the mesh of curved rods and Koiter shell. Problems of this type arise in many applications, including blood flow through arteries treated with vascular prostheses called stents. We prove the existence of a weak solution to this nonlinear, moving boundary problem by using the time discretization via a Lie operator splitting method combined with an Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian approach, and a nontrivial extension of the Aubin-Lions-Simon compactness result to problems on moving domains.

The agricultural sector is a source of greenhouse gas emissions that directly affect the global problem of climate change and contribute approximately 11% in total greenhouse gas emissions in the world and in Croatia too. Irregular and irresponsible agricultural practices, such as excessive tillage and improper fertilization often lead to soil carbon loss and increased carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. This field study provides results how agricultural practices affect carbon dioxide emissions from soil, carbon sequestration and soil quality during the cultivation of winter wheat. The field experiment was conducted in a temperate continental climate on distric Stagnosol. Four investigated treatments were: organic fertilization, mineral fertilization, control treatment and black fallow. The lowest carbon dioxide emission was recorded on bare soil and the highest on organic fertilization treatment. The application of manure, mineral fertilizers and calcification rendered significant effect on some soil chemical characteristics and daily carbon dioxide flux.

Few works have been carried out on the coupled impacts of different management practices and tractor traffic on soil properties and degradation in vineyards, grape productivity and must quality. The influence of different tillage practices (conventional tillage—CT; grass coverage in a given year—INV‐GC; tillage in a given year—INV‐T) and continuous grass coverage (CGC) on bulk density (BD), soil water content (SWC), CO2 emissions, grape yield and must quality have been investigated in a vineyard in Zagreb, Croatia. During 2017, soil properties were analysed in the 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm layers after 3, 6 and 11 tractor traffic passes. The results showed that tractor traffic increased the BD in the CGC, INV‐GC and INV‐T treatments. The BD at the 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm depths was significantly higher in CGC than in CT. During the wet year of 2017, CT and INV‐T had significantly higher SWCs than did CGC and INV‐GC. The CO2 emissions under different management practices were INV‐T (120.3 CO2 ha−1 yr−1) > CGC (111.4 CO2 ha−1 yr−1) > INV‐GC (71.7 CO2 ha−1 yr−1) > CT (51.5 kg CO2 ha−1 yr−1). The effects of soil management on must quality and grape composition measurements were also detected. Grape yield was as follows: CT (5.37 kg vine−1) > INV‐GC (4.43 kg vine−1) > CGC (4.06 kg vine−1) > INV‐T (3.87 kg vine−1). Treatments had a significant impact only on pruning weight, pH value and free amino nitrogen (FAN), whereas no significant differences were found in the cluster number per vine, mean cluster weight, sugar content and titratable acids.

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