ACTAGEOGRAPHICA GEOGRAFSKI ZBORNIK SLOVENICA 2018 58 1 ACTA GEOGRAPHICA SLOVENICA GEOGRAFSKI ZBORNIK 58-1 • 2018 Contents Milivoj B. Gavrilov, Slobodan B. Marković, Natalija JaNc, Milena Nikolić, aleksandar valJarević, Blaž koMac, Matija ZorN, Milan PuNišić†, Nikola Bačević AssessingaverageannualairtemperaturetrendsusingtheMann–KendalltestinKosovo 7 liza StaNčič, Blaž rePe Post-firesuccession:SelectedexamplesfromtheKarstregion,southwestSlovenia 27 Mirko Grčić, ljiljana Grčić, Mikica SiBiNović ThegeographicalpositionofthetownofRasabasedonPorphyrogenitusandmedievalmaps 39 Special issue – Agriculture in modern landscapes:A factor hindering or facilitating development? Nika raZPotNik viSković, Blaž koMac Agricultureinmodernlandscapes:Afactorhinderingorfacilitatingdevelopment? 51 iwona MarkuSZewSka ConflictsbetweenlegalpolicyandruralareamanagementinPoland 59 Mojca Foški The(non)usefulnessoftheRegisterofExistingAgriculturalandForestLandUseformonitoringtheprocessesinurbanareas 69 Maja PoleNšek, Janez PirNat ForestPatchConnectivity:TheCaseoftheKranj-SoraBasin,Slovenia 83 karmen PaŽek, aleš irGolič, Jernej turk, andreja Borec,Jernej PrišeNk, Matej koleNko, črtomir roZMaN Multi-criteriaassessmentoflessfavouredareas:A statelevel 97 Miomir M. JovaNović, Miško M. MilaNović, Matija ZorN TheuseofNDVIandCORINELandCoverdatabasesforforestmanagementinSerbia 109 Darijo ilić, Jože PaNJaN NitrogenandPhosphorusPollutioninGoričkoNaturePark 125 ISSN 1581-6613 9 771581 661010 ACTA GEOGRAPHICA SLOVENICA 2018 ISSN: 1581-6613 COBISS: 124775936 UDC/UDK: 91© Geografski inštitut Antona Melika ZRCSAZU 2018 International editorial board/mednarodni uredniški odbor: Michael Bründl (Switzerland), Rok Ciglič (Slovenia), MatejGabrovec (Slovenia), Peter Jordan (Austria), Drago Kladnik (Slovenia), Blaž Komac (Slovenia), Andrej Kranjc (Slovenia),Dénes Lóczy (Hungary), Simon McCharty (United Kingdom), Slobodan Marković (Serbia), Milan Orožen Adamič(Slovenija), Drago Perko (Slovenia), Marjan Ravbar (Slovenia), Aleš Smrekar (Slovenia), Annett Steinführer (Germany),Mimi Urbanc (Slovenia), Matija Zorn (Slovenia). Editor-in-Chief/glavni urednik: Blaž Komac; blaz@zrc-sazu.si Executive editor/odgovorni urednik: Drago Perko; drago@zrc-sazu.si Chief editor for physical geography/glavni urednik za fizično geografijo: Matija Zorn; matija.zorn@zrc-sazu.siChief editor for human geography/glavna urednica za humano geografijo: Mimi Urbanc; mimi@zrc-sazu.si Chief editor for regional geography/glavni urednik za regionalno geografijo: Drago Kladnik; drago.kladnik@zrc-sazu.si Chief editor for spatial planning/glavni urednik za regionaln o planiranje: Janez Nared; janez.nared@zrc-sazu.si Chief editor for urban geography/glavni urednik za urbano geografijo: David Bole; david.bole@zrc-sazu.si Chief editor for geographic information systems/glavni urednik za geografske informacijske sisteme: Rok Ciglič; rok.ciglic@zrc-sazu.siChief editor for environmental protection/glavni urednik za varstvo okolja: Aleš Smrekar; ales.smrekar@zrc.sazu Editorial assistant/uredniški pomočnik: Matjaž Geršič; matjaz.gersic@zrc.sazu Published by/izdajatelj: Geografski inštitut Antona Melika ZRC SAZU Issued by/založnik: Založba ZRC Co-issued by/sozaložnik: Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti Address/Naslov: Geografski inštitut Antona Melika ZRC SAZU, Gosposka ulica 13, SI – 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija The papers are available on-line/prispevki so dostopni na medmrežju: http://ags.zrc-sazu.si (ISSN: 1581–8314) Ordering/naročanje: Založba ZRC Novi trg 2, p.p. 306, SI – 1001 Ljubljana, SlovenijaPhone/telefon: +386 (0)1 4706464 Fax/faks: +386 (0)1 4257794E-mail/e-pošta: zalozba@zrc-sazu.si Annual subscription/letna naročnina: 20€ for individuals/za posameznike, 28€ for institutions/za ustanove. Single issue/cena posamezne številke: 12,50€ for individuals/za posameznike, 16€ for institutions/za ustanove. Cartography/kartografija: Geografski inštitut Antona Melika ZRC SAZU Translations/prevodi: DEKS, d.o.o. DTP/prelom: SYNCOMP, d.o.o. Printed by/tiskarna: Collegium Graphicum d. o. o. Print run/naklada: 400 copies/izvodov The journal is subsidized by the Slovenian Research Agency/revija izhaja s podporo Javne agencije za raziskovalnodejavnost Republike Slovenije. The journal is indexed also in/revija je vključena tudi v: SCIE – Science citation index expanded, Scopus, JCR – JournalCitation Report/Science Edition, ERIH PLUS, GEOBASE Journals, Current geographical publications, EBSCOhost,Geoscience e-Journals, Georef, FRANCIS, SJR (SCImago Journal&Country Rank), OCLC WorldCat, and Googlescholar, CrossRef. Front cover photography: Agriculture plays an important role in both protecting and developing farmlandand is an important factor facilitating development of other sectors (photograph: Matej Lipar).Fotografija na naslovnici: Kmetijstvo ima pomembno vlogo pri varovanju in razvoju kmetijskih zemljiščin je pomemben dejavnik tudi pri razvoju drugih sektorjev (fotografija: Matej Lipar). NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS POLLUTION IN GORIČKO NATURE PARK Darijo Ilić, Jože Panjan Ledava River at Domajinci. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3986/AGS.727 UDC: 913:504.5(497.411) 504.5:546.17/.18(497.411) COBISS: 1.01 Nitrogen and Phosphorus Pollution in Goričko Nature Park ABSTRACT: This article deals with the impact of diffuse and point sources of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution on the environment in Goričko Nature Park. The park was divided into three parts: the Ledava, Big Krka (Velika Krka), and Kobilje Creek (Kobiljski potok) basins, which were then compared. The sur­facewatersweremonitoredandtheirchemicalcompositionwasexamined.Allthreeareasarecharacterized by elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds in the water. Nitrogen and phosphorus pollu­tion results from unregulated manure pits on livestock farms, unregulated sewage systems, and runoff of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds from farmland. KEYWORDS:geography,natureprotection,pollution,nitrogen,phosphorus,GoričkoNaturePark,Slovenia One sna ženje z du šikom in fosforjem v Krajin skem par ku Gorič ko POVZETEK: Članek obravnava vpliv raz prše nih in toč kovnih virov na obre me njevanje okolja z dušikom infosforjemnaobmočjuKrajinskegaparkaGoričko.KrajinskiparkGoričkosmorazdelilinatridele:porečja Ledave,Velike Krke in Kobilj ske ga potoka ter med območ ji izvedli pri merjal no anali zo. Z monitoringom površinskih teko čih voda smo preu čili njihovo kemij sko stanje. Za vsa tri območ ja so zna čil ne povišane koncentracijedušikovihinfosforjevihspojinvvodi. Onesnaženjezdušikovimiinfosforjevimispojinami, je posledi ca neu re je nih gnoj nih jam na živi norej skih obratih, neu re je na kanali za cij ska infrastruktu ra in izgube dušikovih in fos forjevih spojin s kme tij skih zemljišč. KLjUČNEBESEDE:geografija,varstvookolja,onesnaženje,dušik,fosfor,KrajinskiparkGoričko,Slovenija Darijo Ilić Public communal enterprise Šalovci, d.o.o. darioilic@yahoo.com Jože Panjan University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering joze.panjan@gov.si The paper was submitted for publication on june 6th, 2013. Ured ništvo je pre jelo prispevek 6. ju nija 2013. 1 Introduction Factorsthatalterthechemical,biological,physical,andhydromorphologicalpropertiesofwaterarethose thatpollutewaterandthushaveanimpactonitscondition.Nutrientsourcesofwatercontamination(pri­marilynitrogenandphosphorus)canbedividedintopointanddiffusesources(Novotny1988).Thepoint sources of one or more pollutants can be defined and illustrated as points on the map from which pollu­tionspreadsintothesurroundingareas;theimpactdecreaseswithdistance.Pointsourcesincludeindustrial anddomesticwastewater,directdischargesfromlivestockfarms,andsoon.Diffusepollutionsources,which cannot be defined as a single point but rather originate from a specific area, include settlements, agricul­ture,andtrafficinfrastructure.Diffusepollutionistheleadingformofpollutionthatisdifficulttocontrol (Novotny 2003; De Wit and Behrendt 1999). Intensive agriculture is especially problematic in this regard, because increased fertilizer use and intensive livestock farming increase nutrient inputs. Healthy drinking water (ground or surface) is recognized as one of the fundamental environmental problems. Water is a partially renewable resource, but excessive contamination, especially by inorganic matter, can turn it into a health risk. In order to prevent this type of contamination as much as possible, water pollution sources must be determined to the greatest possible extent. This is an especially big chal­lenge in the case of diffuse water pollution because the sources must be defined locally. An expressly local approach is required because each area has its own special features. Nitrogenisanimportantelementoftheglobalecosystemandacomponentofmanyorganicandinor­ganicsubstances(Williams2001).Watercontainslowlevelsofnitrogenintheformoforganicorinorganic compounds (Ibanez etal. 2007). The most important inorganic forms of nitrogen include ammonium (as theammoniumionNH4+andammoniaorNH3,whichareinbalanceinawatersolution;theyhaveanoxi- –– dationnumberof–3),nitrate(NO3 withanoxidationnumberof+5),andnitrite(NO2 withanoxidation number of +3). These ionic forms play an important role in the nitrogen cycle. Afternitrogen,phosphorusisthesecondmostimportantelementinprimaryproduction(Greenetal.2007) anditisthemostimportantnutrienttocausetheeutrophicationoffreshwater(LemmunyonandDaniel1998), whichstimulatesalgalgrowth,decreasesdissolvedoxygenlevels,andreduceswatertransparency(Wood1998). Excessphosphorusinwaterfrombothpointanddiffusesourcescanresultinincreasedprimaryproduction and eutrophication, with the potential for seasonal toxic algal blooms, which can have a major negative impact on global water quality (Worsfold 2005). The majority of phosphorus is washed from farmland intosurfacewaters,whereasonlysmallamountsarewashedintothegroundwater(Bryant2004).Phosphorus losses from farmland amount to 0.97–1.85 kg/ha a year (Baker 1984). Phosphorus losses from farmland in Goričko Nature Park can be up to 8.2 kg/ha (Karta presežkov fosforja 2006) as a result of surface runoff (Karta površinskega odtoka 2003). 2 Methods Water quality in Goričko Nature Park was monitored through field measurements and laboratory analy­ses. Field research included measurements of water and air, pH, electrical conductivity, redox potential, turbidity,andoxygen.SamplingwascarriedoutinlinewiththeSlovenianStandard(Kakovostvode…2007). Eleven sites were used for sampling, which was carried out once a month from May 28th, 2008 to May 20th, 2009. Discharge was measured using the float method (Brilly 1992), and chemical parameters (i.e., ammonium,nitrate,nitrite,totalnitrogen,orthophosphate,totalphosphorus,potassium,chemicaloxygen demand(COD),five-daybiochemicaloxygendemand(BOD5),andundissolvedmatter)weredetermined using standard methods (Eaton etal. 1995). 2.1 Description of the study area GoričkoNatureParkislocatedintheextremenorth-eastofSlovenia.Mostofthearea(96%)isaNatura2000 site (Uredba…2004). This is a hilly area with an average elevation between 300 and 350m above sea level and intermittent valleys at an elevation of 220–260m (Digitalni…2001). Acid to neutral soil developed on noncarbonate bedrock (Internet 3). Average annual air temperature is 9.7°C and the average annual precipitation is 761.8mm (Meteorološki podatki…2009). According to Figure 1: Land use by basin in Goričko Nature Park. GabrovecandKastelec(1998),theannualquasi-globalradiationenergy(thesumofdirectanddiffusesolar radiation)oninclinedsurfacesrangesfrom3,300Mj/m2atlowerelevationsofthecentralandeasternparts of Goričko Nature Park to around 4,000–4,800 Mj/m2 in the remaining parts. GoričkoNatureParkwasdividedintothreeparts:theLedava,BigKrka(VelikaKrka),andKobiljeCreek (Kobiljski potok) basins. The Ledava Basin (Internet 1) covers 21.4km2 (46.3%) of Goričko Nature Park, the Big Krka Basin covers14.6km2(31.6%),andtheKobiljeCreekBasincovers7.9km2(17%).Thetotallengthofallwatercourses in the nature park is 664km: 309km in the Ledava Basin, 95km in the Big Krka Basin, and the rest in the Kobilje Creek Basin. These three basins cover a total of nearly 95% of the area of Goričko Nature Park. There are differences (Internet 4) in the land use structure (Figure 1) between individual basins. The share of forest increases from the west; it accounts for 42% of land use in the Ledava Basin, 49% in the Big KrkaBasin,and52%intheKobiljeCreekBasinintheeast.TheKobiljeCreekBasinhasasignificantlysmall­ershareofgrassland(9%)comparedtotheBigKrkaandLedavabasins,wherethepercentagesare16%and 18%, respectively. There are no significant differences between the basins in other land use categories. 3 Results Pollution sources are studied in relation to discharge. In watercourses with predominantly diffuse pollu­tionsources,pollutionincreaseswithdischarge(Novotny1988).Theoppositeistypicalofpointpollution sources, where pollutant concentration decreases with increased discharge. 3.1 Nitrogen compounds Thepresenceofammoniumnitrogen(NH4+)inriverwateristheresultoffaecalpollution(withpeopleand livestockfarmingbeingitsmainsources;Ibanezetal.2007).Therecommendedammoniumlevelsof0.04mg/l Table 1: Correlation coefficients at sampling sites Ledava Ledava Bodonci Bokrači Adrijanci Dolenci Big Small Kobilje Bukovnica Bogojina r2 Nuskova Domajinci Creek Creek Creek Creek Krka Krka Creek Creek Creek [WaterT]/[AirT] 0.92 0.88 0.92 0.93 0.93 0.85 0.87 0.94 0.94 0.92 0.91 [WaterT]/[Oxygen –0.50 –0.84 –0.89 –0.87 –0.80 –0.76 –0.42 –0.88 –0.07 –0.82 –0.84 concentration] [Nitrite]/ 0.27 –0.27 –0.17 0.03 –0.11 0.00 0.33 0.31 0.76 0.02 0.46 [Ammonium] [Turbidity]/ 0.02 –0.05 0.55 0.89 0.77 0.61 0.47 0.75 0.37 0.48 0.86 [Discharge] [Turbidity]/ 0.94 0.93 0.95 0.88 0.99 1.00 0.35 0.10 0.87 0.90 1.00 [Undissolved matter] [Undissolved matter]/ –0.01 –0.15 0.75 0.93 0.77 0.62 0.14 0.36 0.33 0.75 0.87 [Discharge] [Orthophosphate]/ 0.79 –0.06 0.70 0.91 0.87 0.47 0.15 0.25 0.22 0.16 0.90 [Undissolved matter] [Total phosphorus]/ 0.95 0.73 0.91 0.87 0.99 0.58 0.53 0.39 0.81 0.58 0.98 [Undissolved matter] [Nitrate]/[Discharge] 0.95 0.47 0.67 0.81 0.59 0.57 0.31 0.91 0.45 0.27 0.76 specifiedintheDecreeontheQualityofSurfaceWatersfortheLifeofFreshwaterFishSpeciesforSalmonid Waters(Uredba…2002)areregularlyexceededatallthesamplingsites.Itcanbeestablishedthattheaver-age ammonium levels at the Ledava Nuskova sampling site before its inflow into Lake Ledava are lower than at the Ledava Domajinci sampling site after its outflow from Lake Ledava. On the other hand, the meannitratelevels(NO3–)beforeLakeLedavaarehigherthanafterLakeLedava.Henceitcanbeconcluded thatdenitrificationistakingplaceinthepredominantlyanaerobicconditionsinthereservoirLakeLedava. Because the standard deviation for nitrate at the Ledava Domajinci sampling site is typicallysmaller than at the Ledava Nuskova sampling site, this seems to be an ongoing process. Nitrateisasolubleformofnitrogenthatusuallyseepsintogroundwaterquicklyandisthenreleasedinto theriverwaterasbaserunoff.Table1showsthecorrelationcoefficientsfor[NITRATE]/[DISCHARGE],r2>0.4. It can be concluded that this results from the nitrate being washed from farmland due to poor soil perme­ability. The nitrate levels do not exceed the limits specified in the Rules on Drinking Water, but the levels measuredinthesurfacewatercoursesarenonethelesshigh.Aseasonalimpactofnitratebeingwashedfrom farmland can also be observed,with excesses after spring or fall fertilization, depending on precipitation. Basedonwhatisknownaboutthenitrogencycle,nitritesresultfromnitrificationprocesses.Compared to the levels recommended in the Decree on the Quality of Surface Waters for the Life of Freshwater Fish SpeciesforSalmonidWaters(Uredba…2002),theselevelsareelevated,andtheyareconstant.Somesampling sites(KobiljeCreek,BogojinaCreek,SmallKrka,andBigKrka)haveahighcorrelationfor[NITRITE]/[AMMO-NIUM],r2>70,whichmaybeduetonearbysettlements,unregulatedsewagesystems,andlivestockfarming. Such correlations were not established at sampling sites for which the impact of settlements is smaller. Pollution by total nitrogen compounds is presented in Figures 2 to 4. The pollution curves indicate asignificantimpactofdiffusesourcesonthewatercoursesinGoričkoNaturePark.Theimpactislesspro­nounced at the Ledava Domajinci sampling site, which is most likely due to the influence of Lake Ledava, inwhichchemicalprocessesandaccumulationtakeplace.ThisimpactisalsolesspronouncedattheBukovnica Creek sampling site, which is probably due to the creek's lower flow rate, which is regulated by the artifi­cialreservoirLakeBukovnica.Thisisatouristarea,wherealargenumberofvisitorscaninfluencethecurrent conditions in the watercourse. Burden of joint compounds (g/s) 12 10 8 6 4 2 2.5 –2 y = 8.6945 x– 0.336 2 R= 0.9308 y = 5.451 x– 0.4869 2 R = 0.9383 y = 2.5233 x– 0.0067 2 R = 0.8454 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 Discharge(m/s) Ledava Nuskova Ledava Domajinci Linear (Ledava Nuskova) Bodonski potok Linear (Ledava Domajinci) Bokrački potok Linear (Bokrački potok) Figure 2: Total nitrogen pollution in the Ledava Basin. Burden of joint nitrogen compounds (g/s) 18 16 14 yVelika Krka = 3.2979 x + 0.1949 2 R= 0.939 12 10 8 yMala Krka = 6.3466 x– 0.3201 2 R= 0.9423 6 4 2 0 yAdrijanski potok = 3.4686 x - 0.0481 2 R= 0.9655 –2 1 2 3 4 5 6 3 Discharge(m /s) Adrijanski potok Linear (Adrijanski potok) Velika Krka Linear (Velika Krka ) Mala Krka Linear (Mala Krka) Figure 3: Total nitrogen pollution in the Big Krka Basin. 14 Burden of joint nitrogen compounds (g/s) 12 10 yKobiljski potok = 4.5538 x –0.1149 2 R= 0.989 8 6 yBogojinski potok = 6.4345 x –0.1407 4 2 R= 0.9537 2 y Bukovniški potok = 2.9894 x + 0.0071 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 –2 3 Discharge (m /s) Kobiljski potok Linear (Kobiljski potok) Bukovniški potok Linear (Bukovniški potok) Bogojinski potok Linear (Bogojinski potok) Figure 4: Total nitrogen pollution in the Kobilje Creek Basin. 3.2 Phosphorus compounds Themoderatecorrelationof[TOTALPHOSPORUS]/[UNDISSOLVEDMATTER],r2>0.5standsout.When water erodes the soil, the phosphorus bound in the soil particles is washed into watercourses (the impact ofdiffusesourcepollution;Pierzynskyetal.1994).Duringperiodsoflowdischarge,totalphosphoruscon­centrationsaretypicallysmaller,butconstant,andaretheresultofunregulatedsewagesystemsandmanure pits on farms (the impact of point source pollution by total phosphorus). just like with total phosphorus, the correlation for [ORTHOPHOSPHATE]/[UNDISSOLVED MATTER]is also high: r2>0.7 is typical of the Ledava Basin, except at the Ledava Domajinci sampling site, where there is hardly any correlation. It canbeconcludedthatthisisduetotheaccumulationoforthophosphateinLakeLedava,whichisahyper-trophic lake according to the OECD criteria (Poročilo…2007). Pollution by total phosphorus compounds is shown in Figures 5 to 7. The impact of point sources on pollutionintheLedavaBasinissmall,butconstant.Basedontheseresultsitcanbeconcludedthatunreg­ulatedsewagesystemsandfarming(livestockbreeding)contributetobothpointanddiffusesourcepollution. 4 Discussion Extensive surface water quality monitoring was performed in Goričko Nature Park in order to determine thelevelofnitrogenandphosphoruspollutionandotheraccompanyingparameters.Thestudyareawasdivid­edintothreesubareasorthird-orderbasins:theLedava,BigKrka,andKobiljeCreekbasins.Measurements were taken once a month over the course of 1.5 years. Pollution in relation to discharge was calculated for eachsamplingsite.TheresultsshowthatthenutrientreleasedynamicsinGoričkoNatureParkareinhigh correlationwithprecipitationevents.SimilardynamicshavealsobeenestablishedfortheKrkaRiverBasin (Drolc 1998) and the Padež Basin (Rusjan 2008). The chemical composition of the waters included in the study is poor at all sampling sites. During the study the total nitrogen concentrations were high and fair-lystable.Ammoniumandnitrite(asanintermediateproductofnitrification)standoutmorethannitrogen. Figure 5: Pollution by total phosphorus compounds in the Ledava Basin. Burden of joint phosphorus (g/s) 4.0 y = 0.7176 x–0.0102 Velika Krka 3.5 2 R=0.7082 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 y = 1.3852 x–0.1129 Adrijanski potok 2 R=0.587 1.0 y = 0.9606 x–0.0728 Mala Krka 0.5 2 R=0.6723 0.0 123456 –0.5 3 Discharge(m/s) Adrijanski potok Linear (Adrijanski potok) Velika Krka Linear (Velika Krka ) Mala Krka Linear (Mala Krka) Figure 6: Pollution by total phosphorus compounds in the Big Krka Basin. 3.5 yKobiljski potok Burden of joint phosphorus (g/s) 3.0 2 R=0.703 = 1.0719 x + 0.0515 2.5 2.0 yBogojinski potok = 4.0899 x –0.1594 2 R= 0.7847 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 –0.5 0.5 yBukovniški potok = 0.7164 x + 0.0043 2 R= 0.9114 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 3 Discharge (m /s) Kobiljski potok Bukovniški potok Bogojinski potok Linear (Kobiljski potok) Linear (Bukovniški potok) Linear (Bogojinski potok) Figure 7: Pollution by total phosphorus compounds in the Kobilje Creek Basin. It can be concluded that unregulated manure pits on livestock farms are the main reason for the high lev­els of ammonium release. In a study conducted by Lapajne (2006), no final conclusions were reached onthe high ammonium levels in the Ledava Valley, but the researchers did conclude that they were due to emissionsfromthelivestockfarmsorwastewaterfromunregulatedsewagesystems.Themainreasonsfor thehighlevelsofnitrogencompoundslieinthechemicalcompositionofnitrogenandthenitrogenreleas­esfromintensivelyfarmedland(Eickhoutetal.2006),aswellastheloweffectivenessofnitrogenfertilizers (Strebeletal.1989).Beaudoinetal.(2005)establishedthatthelevelsofnitrateswashedfromfarmlanddepend primarily on the type of soil: low levels were determined in deep, poorly permeable clay soil and the high-estlevelswerefoundinshallow,permeablesandysoil.juetal.(2006)establishedahighcorrelationbetweenthe intensity of farming and nitrate levels in groundwater. Another important factor in nutrient release is the natural conditions that affect land use and the use structure of farmland. Thetotalphosphorusconcentrationishighlycorrelatedwithprecipitationevents,becauseitbindstosus­pendedparticlesanderodesintothedrains. Likewise,theexcessivelevelsofphosphoruscompoundsinthe LedavaRiveralsoresultfromfarmrunoffviaprecipitation(Lapajne2006).Sharpleyetal.(1999)alsodeter­minedthattheconcentrationofphosphoruscompoundsincreaseswithprecipitation,andHanrahanetal.(2003)concluded that the majorityofphosphorus transfer takes place periods of intenseprecipitation. Measures for reducing nutrient pollution in rivers should focus on decreasing the nutrient concen­trations at the outflows through tertiary treatment at treatment plants and significant reduction of inputs from agriculture. Drolc and Končan (2002) believe that by implementing all of these water management measures, the total phosphorus emissions in river basins could decrease by 40%. In order to reduce the nutrient release caused by diffuse pollution, certain measures have been proposed (Internet 2) to increase fertilizereffectivenessandhencedecreaseerosionfromfarmland(KomacandZorn2005;Zorn2009),andtopromoteunconventionalfarminginenvironmentallymoresensitiveregions.Somemeasuresfordecreas­ingdiffusesourcesofpollutiondonotcomplywithagriculturalpracticeandeconomics.Tertiarytreatment ofphosphorusandnitrogenatlargetreatmentplantscanalsohelpreducewaterpollution.Despitetheworkcarried out by large treatment plants, minor point sources of pollution still remain a problem. In order to solveiteffectively,tertiarytreatmentatsmalltreatmentplantsshouldbeintroduced.Thesetreatmentplants releasewaterintosmall,environmentallymoresensitivecreeksinthecountryside(WheaterandDaldorf2003),where tertiary treatment could help reduce the pollution of river basins. 5 Conclusion The acquired data show that rivers have only moderate thermal potential and that weather has the mostsignificantimpact on watercourse conditions. This is primarily reflected in the high correlations between waterandairtemperature.Subsequently,thethermalpotentialofwatercourseshasastrongimpactonthe concentrationofdissolvedoxygeninwater.Acomparativeanalysiswasconductedusingthedatacollectedfrom eleven sampling sites used to monitor the surface waters in Goričko Nature Park. Because thestudy area was divided into three parts, the data obtained were also compared by river basin. 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