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Forests in Europe are, at present not endangered by soil erosion, however, this can change with climate change or intensified forest management practices. Using a newly established network of plots in beech forests across Europe, the aims of this study were 1) discrimination of soil properties and erodibility indices in relation to bedrock, 2) determination of geochemical properties and Corg influencing erodibility, and 3) assessment of the effect of soil depth on erodibility indices. Seventy-six soil samples from 20 beech forests were collected in 11 countries to quantify soil properties influencing erodibility indices clay ratio, modified clay ratio, sodium adsorption ratio, and oxides ratio. Results indicate that dominant soil properties, determined by bedrock, that correlate with forest soil erodibility indices are: Corg, pH, EC, Ca and Na ion concentrations, total-water soluble cations, and the % of sand. According to the tested indices, soil susceptibility to erosion follows the sequence: granite>andesite>sandstone>quartzite>limestone. Deeper soil horizons on granite are more susceptible to erosion than surface horizons, while this is not the case for soils on limestones. In conclusion, forest management should consider the predisposition of different soil types to erosion.

Phytomining is a new promising technique that is based on using hyperaccumulating plants which biomass is utilized as a bio-ore for metal extraction. The Ni-hyperaccumulating species Odontarrhena muralis is widely distributed on ultramafic soils in Serbia, and could be a promising candidate for Ni agromining. In the present study, efficiency of a hydrometallurgical process for Ni recovery using biomass of O. muralis wild population through the synthesis of Ni salts from plant ash in the form of ammonium nickel sulfate hexahydrate, Ni(NH4)2(SO4)2 6H2O ? (ANSH) was assessed. The average Ni content in the plant from ultramafic sites in West Serbia was up to 3.300 g kg-1. The mass yield of ANSH crystals from the crude ash was ~12 % with the average purity of 73 % were obtained. By optimizing the purification process before precipitation of ANSH crystals, it is possible to obtain salt crystals of higher purity, which increases the economic profitability of this process. The results of this preliminary study on wild population of O. muralis show the increased potential for implementation of phytomining practices as an alternative way of Ni extraction on ultramafic sites in Serbia.

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