Nezmir Hodžić

Long-term environmental change and local habitat variation may affect breeding birds in the Slovenian Karst landscape. The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia), a species associated with open agricultural and wetland mosaics, was used as the focal species. We descriptively reviewed nest records collected between 2005 and 2025 from 17 nesting sites in five municipalities. Because monitoring periods differed among sites and reproductive records were incomplete, the analysis was limited to site-year summaries of nest status, egg records, recorded young, nest persistence, and selected weather variables. Nesting patterns varied markedly among sites. Planina and Nova vas showed persistent occupancy, whereas Rakitnik and Dilce had interrupted occupancy or periods in which the nest was no longer recorded. Persistent occupancy did not consistently coincide with complete reproductive records. Postojna weather records indicated generally higher annual mean temperatures and fewer snowy days in recent years, but these patterns are presented only as regional environmental context. The study demonstrates the value of standardised, long-term nest-level monitoring for identifying local changes that broader regional summaries may obscure.

Festive fireworks can substantially affect air quality by causing short-term increases in particulate matter (PM) concentrations. This study analysed spatial and temporal PM pollution patterns in three Slovenian municipalities—Novo mesto, Hrastnik, and Jesenice—during the 2025/2026 Christmas–New Year holiday period. Using descriptive statistics, threshold-based peak detection, temporal segmentation, Pearson correlation analysis, and normalized descriptive indicators, the study evaluated PM_2.5, PM₁₀, relative humidity, and CO₂ levels from late December to mid-January. Results revealed pronounced short-term pollution episodes, with PM_2.5 peaking at 109 µg/m³ in Novo mesto, 128 µg/m³ in Hrastnik, and 133 µg/m³ in Jesenice. Most peaks occurred during late-night and early-morning hours, although Jesenice showed a more dispersed peak pattern. Fine particles represented the dominant PM fraction, with mean PM_2.5/PM₁₀ ratios ranging from 0.91 to 0.93. Normalized indicators showed that Jesenice had the highest relative variability and peak-to-mean ratios despite the lowest average PM concentrations. These findings show that holiday-period air-quality assessment should consider not only average concentrations, but also short-term peak intensity, timing, and local pollution profiles.