The impact of agriculture on the environment in Gorenjske Dobrave from the perspective of energy consumption in the area of Goriče, Letenice, and Srednja vas

Abstract

Under the influence of natural and social conditions, intensive dairy cattle breeding developed in the last decade in part of Gorenjske Dobrave, an area northwest of Ljubljana in the foothills of the

Kamniške-Savinjske Alps. This rigorous specialization has brought exceptional yields but at the same time aroused concern due to its possible negative impact on the environment. This study attempts to evaluate the agriculture from the viewpoint of its effect on the landscape and to point to the possibilities for environmental pollution using a variety of indicators: yield per hectare, the impact of cattle breeding on the land, land use, and energy intensity. Today's agriculture with its modern agrotechnical processes and the use of chemicals increasingly approaches industrial methods of production and has a burdening effect on the environment due to its intensity. Agriculture burdens the environment with the use of mechanization, large energy inputs in the form of mineral and natural fertilizers, pesticides, and various land improvements. It pollutes important spheres of the human environment—air, soil, and water—but the contribution of agriculture is unclear due to the lack of research in this field and because it is difficult to determine the source of harmful materials in the environment, especially in densely settled regions where settling, traffic, industry, and agriculture are closely interwoven. It is clear, however, that with the intensification of agricultural production, the environmental impact and the possibilities for pollution increase. This study primarily points to the influences of agriculture on the environment and the potential possibilities for pollution. Finally, we attempted to show the actual pollution levels based on water and soil analyses.