Contamination of urban areas is directly connected with the lack of adequate waste management planning. Problems mostly arise in former military bases, garages, warehouses and areas with other facilities. For many decades environmental problems caused by pollution in areas of military use were not managed in Latvia. The aim of this research is to assess visual environmental quality and study heavy metal contents in soil of ‘Jaunais Mežaparks’ after demolishing works in the capital of Latvia – Riga, as well as to provide comparison to the former military ‘Daugavgrīva’ site. Research was carried out from November 2011 to February 2012 by soil sampling and further analysis and comparison of the heavy metal content in soil with target and boundary levels in legislation. ‘Jaunais Mežaparks’ is a former military area which is planned to be reused in future. The former military site is planned to be used as the residential neighborhood and is situated close to important recreational object in Mežaparks area – Lake Ķīšezers. According to Riga Development Plan old military sites must be remediated in accordance with environmental legislation if the contamination exceeds critical concentration values. Thus, this case study includes assessment of visual pollution as well as soil heavy metal contamination study. Recommended actions as well as direct remediation technologies to reduce the poisonous impact of contamination to environment in this area are proposed.

Legumes are becoming more popular in food and feed consumption. They are promoted by EU policy related to healthy lifestyle and environmental policy. Legumes can be grown in crop rotation as monocrop or in different kind of intercropping systems. It is a well-known fact that legumes play an important role in fixation of the atmospheric N, whereas their influence on other biological and chemical aspects of the soil ecosystem is only explored partially. The experimental trial was established at the Pūre Horticultural Research Centre with the aim of studying the influence of legumes on the soil properties in the intercrop with strawberries (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.). Different genotypes were included in the trial as intercrops: two local broad beans (Vicia faba var. major L.) genotypes, two pea (Pisum sativum L.) cultivars and clover (Trifolium hybridum L.). Two control treatments were included in the trial: with and without nitrogen fertilizer usage. Strawberries were planted in May of 2014 and maintained in the field for three years. Results showed that there were significant differences between treatments in soil respiration rate (SRR) and SRR dynamic throughout the experiment time. Dehydrogenase activity had similar results, though no significant differences between treatments were observed in the third year. No significant difference between treatments was found in the soil organic matter. Obtained data shows that legumes have a significant influence on the soil biological properties but not on biochemical properties. Further research needs to be carried out to determine legume influence on soil environment in more detail.

The aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of drainage on soil carbon stock in a transitional mire drained for forestry. The study site is located in the central part of Latvia representing hemiboreal vegetation zone. Site was drained in 1960. It is located in a catchment area of the river Veseta. An undrained site at the same catchment area was chosen for control (ca. 2.5 km between sites). In both sites, the depth of peat is 4 – 4.5 m. Drained site is dominated by coniferous trees. Soil samples collected in 2014 were used to determine bulk density and carbon content, and to calculate soil carbon stock. Samples were collected down to 80 cm depth. Ground surface elevation was measured before and several times after the drainage to determine peat subsidence. Carbon stock has increased by 0.3 tons haE-1 yr**1 after drainage, although peat has subsided on average by 26 cm (13 – 48 cm). Subsidence was mainly caused by physical shrinkage of peat not by organic matter oxidation. Drainage was followed by compaction of aerated soil layer, which has caused most of the subsidence, especially during the first years after drainage. Soil bulk density has increased almost twice at soil surface layer 0 – 10 cm (from 75 kg m**3 to 141 kg m**3). Differences decrease at deeper sampling depths. It is concluded that drainage is not always followed by reduction of carbon stock in soil. Increased above and below ground litter production rates may offset accelerated decomposition of organic matter after drainage.

The aim of the study was to compare weed species diversity in organic and conventional farms in Poland. The study was carried out between 2012 and 2014 on production fields located in Lublin province, one of the easternmost regions of Poland. The results showed that diversity and abundance of weeds in spring cereals were generally higher in organic farming system than in conventional one. No significant differences between systems were found in 2013, because local flooding of fields in spring made impossible the execution of agricultural weed management treatment for some farmers. Both above-ground and soil seed bank weed communities were the mainstay of valuable weed species, which is confirmed by the presence of the species threatened with extinction, for example, summer pheasant’s-eye (Adonis aestivalis), poorman’s blue weatherglass (Anagallis foemina) and others in both tested farming systems. Dwarf everlast (Helichrysum arenarium) was the only found species that is subject to partial protection by Polish law. Both organic farms, run under CAP policy and support, and conventional extensive farms of the province of Lublin were the mainstay of biodiversity. Future rural development and CAP should be adapted and implemented regionally. Traditional extensive farms could contribute to the biodiversity and valuable plant species conservation.

The assessment and conservation of agricultural biodiversity is one of the current goals of European Union policies, which are reflected in European Biodiversity Strategy. The biodiversity of soil seed bank and above-ground weed flora were investigated in spring cereals in organic and conventional farming system. The study was carried out between 2012 and 2014. Species of above-ground wild flora were counted on a surface of 1 square m in the field. Soil for seed bank evaluation was taken from the field and evaluated by seedling emergence method in a greenhouse. There were no significant differences in number of species between two communities. Biodiversity of weed community, described by Shannon’s diversity index and Simpson’s dominance index, was significantly better maintained in the soil seed bank than in above-ground flora in both farming systems. A strong, positive correlation between the number of species, Shannon’s diversity index, Simpson’s dominance index of soil seed bank and above-ground weed species was found in both farming systems, while abundance of seeds and above-ground weeds was significantly, positively correlated only in the conventional farming system. Qualitative composition of weed flora depended more on the type of community (soil seed bank or above-ground weed communities) than the farming system.

Rhododendron spp. plants were surveyed for Phytophthora infection in Lithuania during 2010 – 2016. This study aims to identify Phytophthora genus pathogen which infects rhododendrons in Lithuania. Samples were taken from young sick plants with visible infection symptoms. Soil sampling was performed from the rhizosphere of sick plants. DNA from soil and plant was tested for the presence of Phytophthora genus pathogens. Data showed positive results of Phytophthora genus specific probe during real-time PCR. All tested diseased leaves and soil samples have indicated Phytophthora sp. infection during Alert-LF® Phytophthora spp. analysis. The extracted DNA concentrations were not very high for Phytophthora species identification, but in most cases, it was high enough for further researches.

Natural processes and human activity play a crucial role in altering the nitrogen cycle and increasing nitrogen oxide (N2O) emissions. Nitrous oxide isotopes 15N and 18O are important parameters that can help to explain the sources of N2O gas, as well as their circulation under different soil physical properties. The main goal of the study is to analyse the possibilities of using dinitrogen isotopes 15N and 18O, measured in soil samples, for the identification of N2O sources. A total of 16 plots were sampled. Each soil sample was assigned a code. Wetting of the samples was carried out to create wet aerobic conditions and wet anaerobic conditions. N2O measurements were performed in laboratory conditions using the Picarro G5131-i device. The 15Nα and 15Nβ values obtained in the measurement data were used to calculate the δ15NSP and δ15Nbulk values. The obtained δ15NSP and δ15Nbul values were analysed using two methods – descriptive statistics and Kruskal-Wallis test. The test showed that there are statistically significant differences between δ15NSP values (p-value <0.0001), and δ15Nbulk there was no significant difference (p-value 0.885).