This study examines the travel behaviour of university students and academic staff at four Slovak universities, focusing on differences in transport mode choice and perceptions of mobility factors within the broader context of sustainable mobility in Europe. An online survey was conducted among university participants, assessing their primary travel modes and the perceived importance of five key factors travel cost, travel time, parking availability, environmental impact, and sharing using a five-point Likert scale. The data were analysed using t-tests and MANOVA.The results revealed that staff members predominately used cars, whereas students relied more on walking and public transport. Significant differences were identified between the two groups regarding perceptions of travel cost, ecological considerations, and parking convenience, while travel time and sharing showed no notable variation. Building on these findings, a behavioural MNLogit model was developed to capture the socio-economic determinants of transport mode choice, integrating factors such as environmental awareness, perceived behavioural control, habits, and cost sensitivity. This model provides deeper insight into how attitudinal and contextual variables jointly shape individual mobility behaviour.

The research was carried out to examine the influence of tributary inflows on the hydrochemical properties of the Svete River, which traverses intensive agricultural regions. Sixteen monitoring sites were selected along the main channel and at major tributary junctions. Water samples were collected monthly from surface layers (0 5 cm) over a one-year period, and concentrations of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and selected metals were evaluated. A multi-parameter probe and an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry method were utilized to determine spatiotemporal variations of water quality. Elevated total nitrogen concentrations were observed during the winter and early spring months, reaching up to 14.0 mg L, while concentrations declined to approximately 1.0 mg L in the summer. The total phosphorus concentrations showed more irregular distributions, with peaks of up to 43.0 mg L in June near the river s confluence with Lielupe River. Such fluctuations may be associated with surface runoff, localized anthropogenic inputs, and varied hydrological conditions. Although overall water quality remained acceptable for most sites, the considerable nitrogen and phosphorus loads indicate potential eutrophication risks. It is recommended that the role of agricultural runoff be addressed by adopting advanced nutrient management strategies and promoting wastewater infrastructure improvements in rural settlements. Future efforts should expand the monitoring framework to include emerging contaminants such as microplastics, antibiotics, and pesticide residues.

While urban land use planning receives much attention in land management in Bulgaria, agricultural land use planning has been significantly neglected. Today, more than ever, effective and efficient land use planning is needed to address the global and local challenges, such as protecting prime agricultural lands for food production, achieving sustainable productivity gains, improving water use efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, etc. The objective of the paper is to review the international experience in rural and agricultural land use planning and its theoretical foundations, to identify and analyze the gaps in Bulgarian legislation in this area, and to develop some scientific ideas for including agricultural land planning into Bulgarian Regulatory Framework and its further implementation in practice. The need for agricultural territory planning in Bulgaria is emphasized. Intra-zoning of agricultural land on a holistic basis is proposed as a useful planning method for balancing agricultural development with the environmental protection, while maintaining both land productivity and the quality of natural resources. Information from strategic planning documents and literature resources from the USA, Canada, Australia, European and other countries is presented and analyzed. Issues of building permits, land categorization systems and assessment of land suitability for growing agricultural crops are studied.

Ensuring ecologically grown fodder for organic livestock farming has become an imperative matter for the development of the livestock sector in western Romania. Against this background, but also due to very good production results and the improving effects on soil fertility, more Romanian farmers are choosing to include, each year, fodder legumes in their crop rotation. The research conducted over three experimental years, in two agricultural areas from the Timis Plain, known as favorable for fodder pea crops, had the primarily purpose, to measure the effect of applying the organic fertilizer of poultry manure, which has been macerated and prepared accordingly. During the three experimental years, the climatic conditions from the growing season were sometimes difficult, due to high temperatures and long periods without rainfall, which significantly affected grain productions. The cultivation technology used was conventional and among the technological links, fertilization stood out due to application of poultry manure - 1000 kg/ha, which led to high results. The grain productions obtained in the lower plain, on an eutric alluviosol soil, were, on an average, less with 100 kg per hectare than those obtained in the higher plain on a chernozem soil with better humus content. In this case, the difference is not highly significant, which demonstrates the beneficial effect of applying a high-quality organic fertilizer in appropriate amounts, even on a poorer in nutrients type of soil. The overall average of all the analyzed variants was of 1476 kg of grains per hectare, which is a fairly favorable production result, given the requirements of organic cultivation, as well as, the difficult climatic conditions of the experimental year of 2023-2024. This paper presents both the results obtained for the analyzed cultivation variants (area, soil type, type of fertilization applied), as well as their averages per year and in summary the general average. Thus, this manuscript contains valuable information for legume growers, regarding the production potential of organically cultivated fodder pea from western Romania, mainly for farmers from Timis Plain microregions.

Preservation of natural values is among the major concerns of residents of bioregions. The present research identifies such values by applying the normative approaches of environmental ethics and aesthetics. From the ethical perspective, disagreements can arise from the fact of value pluralism, as there is a variety of natural and other values that cannot be easily quantitatively compared and harmonized. Local communities see natural values not so much through scientific concepts such as biodiversity but directly, particularly through the perceptual impact of landscapes as scenic. This understanding can lead to disagreements with supporters of profit-making enterprises and new projects. In addition, aesthetic values such as the picturesque that are significant for residents could be regarded as superficial and subjective. This leads to the problem of how to assess the significance of the values by taking into account insights of philosophical aesthetics. There are successfully functioning bioregions in several European countries, yet this is a relatively new concept in Latvia. The interviews and discussions with members of local communities revealed their interests and understanding of natural values. The present research aims to justify a community-based approach to the protection of natural values by applying theoretical approaches of environmental ethics and aesthetics, while taking into account the empirical research results.

Environmental discourse has moved from �green� to �sustainable� to �circular.� The emerging paradigm is the regenerative economy, which goes beyond minimizing damage to actively improving ecosystems and communities. This perspective draws on long-standing work in ecological economics, systems ecology, and innovation theory without relying on specific frameworks in this abstract. It stresses that natural resources may be finite, yet the possibilities created by knowledge, technology, and institutional evolution are effectively unbounded. Historical trends consistently show that scarcity stimulates creativity, and technological progress repeatedly expands what societies can achieve. Reducing CO2 is not only compatible with economic growth; it can be a driver of it, through innovation, better design, and improved information flows. The CROSS-REIS project, funded by Horizon Europe, contributes to this agenda by strengthening research capacity and innovation ecosystems relevant to regenerative practices across sectors. By combining engineering judgment, digital tools, and entrepreneurial initiative, regenerative economics reframes climate challenges as opportunities for value creation and for improving human wellbeing.

The main objective of the theme taken in study is to bring a contribution to the development of an intensive technology for corn, in conditions of good favorability. The area under study is part of the Timis Plain and is characterized by climatic conditions conducive to corn cultivation, being framed in the very favorable cultivation area in our country. In order to highlight the behavior of the corn hybrids taken in the study, determinations were made regarding: grain production, depending on the hybrid (kg ha-1); mass of 1000 grains (g) and hectoliter mass (kg/hl). In 2023, the harvest was significantly higher than in 2022, but also much more variable. The t-test indicates a statistically significant difference between the means, suggesting that factors influencing the harvest had a major impact. This large variation in 2023 may be influenced by external factors such as climatic conditions, agricultural technologies, fertilization or crop management. In detail, the TKW values in the two years of the experiment vary between 273 g (for the P 9889 hybrid) and 285 g (for the P 0217 hybrid). The average TKW for all four hybrids is 278g. The highest HW values were recorded in the P9978 hybrid and the P0217 hybrid, reaching 60 kg/hl. As a result of this study we can affirm that the application of an appropriate technology for the corn crop must combine: a balanced fertilization, depending on the expected result (quantity, quality, diseases and pests resistance) and a valuable genotype, these in the context of constantly changing climatic conditions.

This paper presents a comprehensive framework of benchmarks for teaching biodiversity within the Bachelor of Ecology program at Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University, addressing the urgent need for effective educational standards amidst the escalating biodiversity crisis. The proposed benchmarks aim to integrate interdisciplinary and contextually relevant teaching practices, aligning environmental education with international standards while reflecting the unique ecological and conservation challenges of Georgia and the Caucasus region. Core competency areas include taxonomic and ecosystem diversity, conservation biology principles, ecological monitoring techniques, data interpretation, and policy knowledge, coupled with essential fieldwork skills. The benchmarks further promote the development of critical thinking, scientific communication, and problem-solving abilities through both theoretical and experiential learning approaches. This framework not only aspires to enhance the educational experience but also prepares graduates to contribute meaningfully to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development efforts. By situating this initiative within a global context, the paper emphasizes the importance of evolving biodiversity education to meet contemporary challenges, ultimately enriching academic discourse and fostering collaboration among educational institutions worldwide.

The paper deals with the presentation of modern quantitative methods for assessing environmental risks. It evaluates individual methods in terms of their suitability for use in individual phases of the risk assessment process. The qualitative comparison of individual methods and techniques is based on predefined criteria. A multi-criteria decision-making method was used for the comparison of the methods and techniques. Methods of Fault tree analysis, Event tree analysis, Monte Carlo simulation, RM/RA CRAMM methods were analyzed and compered from the crisis management efficiency of use in phase of emergency prevention. The methods compared use mathematical models and statistical analysis to assign numerical values to risks, including steps like identifying hazards, assessing exposure, modeling dose-response relationships, and calculating the probability and consequences of adverse events. The output of the analysis comparing quantitative methods is a clear table showing their suitability for individual phases of risk assessment. This paper employs a structured, multi-tiered methodological framework integrating RM/RA CRAMM, Event Tree Analysis, Fault Tree Analysis, and Monte Carlo Simulation to assess environmental risks with increasing levels of analytical depth. These methods are applied sequentially to align with standard Environmental Risk Assessment stages�screening, scenario analysis, causal analysis, and quantitative uncertainty evaluation. Their combined use enables the transition from semi-quantitative prioritization to fully probabilistic modelling of environmental consequences. The assessed quantitative methods are matched with the key environmental applications and their use in certain situations.

The growing need for a sustainable and climate-resilient future places green energy and digital transformation at the heart of the European Union�s long-term strategic plan. Policies such as the European Green Deal and the Digital Europe Programme envisage a synchronised "twin transition", one that aims to decarbonise the economy and modernise its digital infrastructure simultaneously. While significant attention has been directed towards centralised digital solutions and large-scale grid management systems, less emphasis has been placed on how decentralised technologies can achieve these goals through flexibility, automation, and inclusivity. This paper examines the potential role of decentralised technologies, particularly blockchain infrastructures like Solana, in enabling efficient, transparent, and scalable systems for green energy production, certification, and trading. Using a theoretical approach, the study examines key architectural elements of Solana, including Proof of History, Sealevel, and Turbine, to assess their suitability for real-time energy tokenisation, peer-to-peer trading, and automated green credit verification through smart contracts. The energy efficiency, high throughput, and low transaction costs of Solana highlight its potential as a platform for developing decentralised applications that support climate and sustainability objectives. In addition to the theoretical framework, the article presents the author's architecture for tokenising renewable energy assets using smart contracts and IoT-based data streams. The findings indicate that although platforms like Solana are not included in formal EU regulatory frameworks, their functional features can support the realisation of policy aims, especially in areas such as microgeneration, prosumer participation, and green asset traceability. The paper critically discusses challenges such as network stability, partial validator centralization, and the lack of clear regulatory frameworks for tokenized energy assets. Broader socio-economic and policy implications are addressed, including energy access, digital equity, and inclusion of small-scale producers. In conclusion, the paper proposes that decentralised technologies, when properly planned and integrated, may not replace state-regulated systems but can enhance transparency, accountability, and accessibility in the evolving energy area.