Identifying the environmental hot spots of agriculture is crucial in a context where humanity has to produce more food and pollute less. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a powerful tool to evaluate the environmental impacts of agricultural systems, but is still fraught with shortcomings, notably for the evaluation of impacts of freshwater use and of salinisation of water and soil. The core complexity lies in the double status of water and soil resources in LCA which are both a resource and a compartment. The three questions answered by the thesis were: How to better assess the impacts associated with water and salts fluxes? What model should be developed for a relevant inventory of field water and salts fluxes? Is the developed model operational for an LCA study on a perennial crop? The first question was answered through a literature review on salinisation impacts in LCA. It revealed the main environmental mechanisms of salinisation, the factors involved, and discussed the soil and water status, notably through a consistent definition of the technosphere and ecosphere boundary. To answer the second question, a critical analysis of water inventory and agri-food LCA databases showed their inadequacy for the LCA-based ecodesign of cropping systems: they provide estimates of theoretical water consumed, rely on data and methods presenting limitations, and do not support the calculation of both consumptive and degradative water use impacts. For the LCA-based ecodesign of cropping systems, the inventory of water flows should be based on a model simulating evapotranspiration, deep percolation and runoff accounting for crop specificities, pedo-climatic conditions and agricultural managements. For herbaceous crops, the FAO Aquacrop model constitutes a relevant and operational model, but no dedicated model is available to-date for perennials. To fill this gap, a tailored and simple model, so called E.T., was elaborated for the inventory of field water and salt flows for annual

The papar deals with the possibility of different types of seas protection from ballast waters, starting with administrative measures up to the technologies proposals by which those waters could be treated. The problem of ballast waters in the Montenegrin part of Adriatic Sea is in focus in this paper, and the proposal for protection measures are elaborated.

The paper deals with the essential of economic insurance within the whole economy procedure in the water management companies. As it is well known, the fundament of insurance is risk itself. The risk, by its appearance, power and intensity, has its impacts on processes, objects and activities in the water management. That is why is very important to know and apply knowledge, awareness and comprehension about risk management in the field of water management. Any sort of risks must be analyzed, planned, controlled, organized, prevented, repressed, averted and fixed in order to decrease detriments and disadvantages. The best way to preclude all predicted and unpredicted tribulations and costs is to go all-out for the rules of covenanted and unsolicited types of insurance. The paper also gives a brand - new approach to bypassing risks within management by the system of covenanted and unsolicited insurances.

Folgende Thesen werden vom Autor aufgestellt: 1. Der entscheidende Durchbruch bei der Verminderung der Stickstoffbelastung der Gewaesser ist nur durch Verminderung der Belastung aus der Landwirtschaft zu erreichen. Dies erfordert flaechendeckenden Gewaesserschutz. Diese Massnahmen dienen gleichzeitig dem Schutz des Grund- und Trinkwassers vor zu hoher Nitratbelastung als auch dem Schutz der Nord- und Ostsee vor zu hohen Stickstoffeintraegen. 2. Diese Massnahmen muessen rasch in Angriff genommen werden, da es Jahre bis Jahrzehnte dauert, bis Verminderungen der N-Eintraege aus der Landwirtschaft ueber das Sickerwasser auf Grund-, Trink- und Oberflaechenwasser einschliesslich der Meere durchschlagen. 3. Hinsichtlich der Phosphorbelastung wird das Ziel einer ca. 50 %-Verminderung bis 1995, verglichen mit 1985, vornehmlich durch abwassertechnische Massnahmen und die Beibehaltung P-freier Waschmittel aller Voraussicht nach erreicht werden, es sind aber auch hier Massnahmen zur Verminderung der Belastungen aus der Landwirtschaft erforderlich; insbesondere Verminderungen bei der Belastung aus Direkteintraegen, Oberflaechenabschwemmungen und durch erosionsschuetzende Massnahmen.

Der vorliegende Beitrag ist eine stark gekuerzte Fassung eines Aufsatzes von SCHEELE/ISERMEYER/SCHMITT (1992), in dem ein systematischer Ansatz fuer die Beurteilung umweltpolitischer Strategien zur Verringerung umweltgefaehrdender Stickstoffemissionen aus der Landwirtschaft vorgestellt und auf verschiedene Teilprobleme der Stickstoffproblematik angewendet wird.

Die Ziele des Boden- und Gewaesserschutzes lassen sich haeufig durch die gleichen Massnahmen erreichen. Diese Massnahmen beeintraechtigen in vielen Faellen die landwirtschaftliche Nutzung nicht. Sie koennen sogar das Betriebsergebnis verbessern, z. B. durch Einsparungen bei den Duengemitteln, und sie sichern durch die Verminderung der Bodenerosion langfristig die Produktionsgrundlage der Betriebe. Auf die Durchsetzung der hier vorgestellten Massnahmen muesste in der Beratung der Betriebsleiter mehr als in der Vergangenheit hingewirkt werden. Das notwendige Wissen ist vorhanden. Mit der Mulchsaat neben anderen Verfahren steht eine sehr effiziente erosionsmindernde Anbaumethode bereit. Und mit der Allgemeinen Bodenabtragsgleichung existiert ein einfach zu handhabendes Instrument fuer eine differenzierte Eorosionsberatung (SCHWERTMANN et al., 1987; NEUFANG et al., 1990), mit dem sich die zu erwartenden Erfolge einer geplanten Massnahme quantifizieren lassen.

Jegricka water body is part of the Main Drainage Channel System. The whole length of Jegricka (65 km, catchment surface 60.380 ha) is located in south part of Backa, Vojvodina Province. This highly modified water flow has become protected area since 2005 due to its specific natural features - diversity and uniqueness of biotic features, especially for birds and plants. In July 2008 survey of freshwater macroinvertebrates was conducted in order to assess water quality and conservation potential according to biotic characteristics according to conservation criteria within SERCON (System for Evaluating Rivers for Conservation) method. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the importance of macroinvertebrates as indicators of conservation potential of Jegricka water using SERCON. Results of analyses of species composition of freshwater invertebrates fauna showed presence of 12 higher taxonomic groups. Within these groups, 23 families were present at eight RHS river sections along investigated part of Jegricka water body. Togheter with SERCON based conservation criteria for macroinvertebrate, two types of biotic indices Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) and Average Score Per Taxon (ASPT) were calculated in order to assess water quality. Results of the survey showed that Jegricka water body belongs probably to moderately polluted water type according to biotic indices. Results of conservation criteria Naturaless showed that observed and expected faunas are similar. Low values of SERCON family richness criteria based on whole length of water body indicate that Jegricka has low conservation potential, and that adequate rehabilitation measures should be considered in the future.