Slovak Part Research Articles

A preliminary key for the genera of sinistral Triphoridae

A preliminary key for the discrimination of sinistral Triphoridae genera, limited to those represented by living species, is presented. Some images are provided to display the characters used in the key. A series of notes highlights doubts and uncertainties, which would require more in-depth studies than those available today.

Seismic reflection data driven tectono-sedimentary analysis and hydrocarbon field characterization of the Slovak part of Transcarpathian Basin

Seismic reflection data driven tectono-sedimentary analysis and hydrocarbon field characterization of the Slovak part of Transcarpathian Basin

Development of forest ecosystems on biota monitoring plots in the area of influence of Gabčíkovo Waterwork

Abstract The construction and operation of waterworks has a significant impact on natural ecosystems. The evaluation of their negative impact and the proposal to minimize their impact, as well as the revitalization, especially of large rivers, have been given great importance in recent decades. The main goal of the study is to present impact of Gabčíkovo Waterwork on forest ecosystems after 30 years of damming. Specially evaluated are monitoring sites where changes are observed in the Slovak part of the so-called inland delta, i.e., between old and new riverbed of the Danube. The assessment of changes in terrestrial vegetation on selected monitoring sites was compared with the assessment of parallel measured soil moisture data. At the same time, data from the National Forestry Centre were also used to monitor changes in the state of forest ecosystems in the whole area of interest. When comparing the species composition from state to 2015 and from the period before GW was put into operation (in 1990) an increase was found in the area share of hardwood floodplain forest by 5.77% and the area shares of softwood floodplain forests decreased by 1.71%. Between 1990 and 2015, 68.43% of the territory remained unchanged at the level of forest type groups. A change in habitat conditions towards drier forest types was recorded on 23.61% of the territory.

National retailing after the Second World War: structural changes, differences and the impact of the socialist model on the Czech and Slovak Republics (1953–1989)

ABSTRACT Changes in retail structures, processes, and culture in post-war Europe were strongly affected by the post-war economic boom, the origin of a mass consumer society, and the adaptation of innovations from the United States. Retail structures and the culture of consumption remained different in the Czech and Slovak parts of the former Czechoslovakia after the Second World War, which influenced the development of retail trade in both countries. After the rise to power of the communists, retail was nationalised, leading to centralising trends in the Czech Republic and decentralisation trends in Slovakia. As a result, the retail structure differed in the two countries. While the Czech Republic showed a preference for larger stores, Slovakia focused more on smaller stores, particularly in rural areas. Although the post-war period brought positive changes, such as the growth of retail trade and the restoration of the population’s purchasing power, the socialist economic model, which was controlled by state-owned enterprises, led to insufficient development and investment in retail and a lack of innovation and efficiency. The post-war period represented a key era for the transformation of European retail; the development trends in post-socialist countries, however, differed from other, capitalist countries.

Traditional smoking of Wallachian cheeses and sausages in Polish and Slovak parts of the Carpathian Mountains

AbstractWallachian expansion brought to the Carpathian Mountains a system of shepherd economy—farming, production of Wallachian cheeses, animals adapted to life in difficult mountain conditions—mainly sheep of the Cakiel breed group. Mountain sheep's milk is used to produce traditional cheeses: bundz, bryndza podhalańska, oscypek, redykołka—on the Polish side and Slovenská bryndza, Slovenská parenica, Slovenský oštiepok, Ovčí hrudkový syr salašnícky—on the Slovak side. Also sausages are made from sheep meat. These cheeses and sausages are salted and then traditionally smoked. The source of heat and smoke is hard wood with appropriate humidity, burned in the hearth located in the shepherd's hut, over which the cheeses are placed under the roof. Among several hundred smoke components, there are also polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which, on the one hand, give the smoked product its taste and aroma, and on the other hand have carcinogenic and mutagenic properties. Sausages and cheeses from Poland and Slovakia, made from milk and meat of native sheep breeds, preserved by traditional smoking, were analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons content. The analyzed cheeses were characterized by a trace or low content of benzo[a]pyrene and the sum of benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene and chrysene. In cheeses from outer Eastern Carpathians subprovince (Bieszczady), the high content of naphthalene, acenaphthylene, fluorene and phenanthrene is noteworthy. Polish lamb sausages were characterized by a higher content of benzo(a)pyrene and the sum of benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene and chrysene. The differences result from the method of smoking (warm or cold in the south of the Carpathians—hot in the north) and the type of wood used for smoking.

K slovenským národně‑emancipačním snahám na půdě Československé strany národně socialistické

This study investigates the establishment of the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party in Slovakia during the period of the First Czechoslovak Republic from 1918 to 1938. It examines the centralist approach employed by the party to manage the Slovak provincial organization, which eventually clashed with the predominantly nationalist-driven efforts of the Slovak party leadership. The tensions between the Czech and Slovak parts of the party arose due to the absence of a provincial party executive committee, a lack of programmatic theses that considered the specific needs of the region, unresolved issues of financing the party’s activities, and differing views on the political competences of the central and provincial party centres. These issues led to an internal party crisis in Slovakia in the mid-1930s, which was resolved by loosening the Slovak party organization’s ties to Prague

Debris flow activity in the Slovak part of the High Tatras in the light of lichenometric dating

Rock walls and talus slopes, which are the most common features of high-mountain relief, have been researched for many years. Geomorphologists have taken particular interest in debris flows, which play a major role in the development of talus slopes. This paper presents the results of the first lichenometric dating of debris flows on the southern slopes of the Tatra Mountains. The greatest debris flow activity took place in the Little Ice Age and in the last two decades.

Petroleum play types and source rocks in the Pannonian basin, insight from the Slovak part of the Danube Basin

The Danube Basin represents a Miocene depocenter located on the NW margin of the Alpine-Pannonian-Carpathian region and is considered a partial sub-basin of the larger Pannonian Basin System. The gradual opening of the northern Slovak part of the basin during a 4-stage rifting event between the Badenian, Sarmatian (Langhian, Serravallian) to Pannonian (Tortonian) time reflected not only on the sedimentary fill and the development of volcanic fields but also on individual elements of the petroleum system. The presence of effective petroleum systems is supported by several gas and condensate deposits together with abundant hydrocarbon shows. The study offers new insight into the petroleum plays in Danube Basin based on new and vintage reflection seismic lines and organic geochemistry data. The novel findings reveal that within the older sub-basins (Blatné and Želiezovce) the main source rock is the lower Badenian mudstone with mixed Type III/II kerogen. Paleogene shales with Type II kerogen together with Pre-Cenozoic basement Type III/II rocks cannot be excluded. In the younger sub-basins (Komjatice and Gabčíkovo-Győr) the main source rocks are upper Badenian – Sarmatian, and Pannonian mudstones with Type III/II kerogen. Two gas play groups are defined. 1) Plays in older sub-basins characterized by structural traps mostly in the Badenian reservoirs. 2) Plays in younger sub-basins characterized by stratigraphic and structural traps in Sarmatian and Pannonian reservoirs. Non-hydrocarbon gas risk arises from CO2 and N2 contents sourced from buried volcanic fields. The volume of inert gasses trapped in particular sub-basins is dependent on the timing and type of volcanism. It is lower in the older sub-basins and higher in the younger ones, at the same time, the risk is lower in stratigraphically highest reservoir intervals.

Radiocarbon Dated Pulse and Cereal Crops Indicate Diachronic Use of Iron Age Extreme Upland Sites in the Western Carpathians, Slovakia

Abstract Mountain summits in the Slovak part of the Western Carpathians bear evidence of human presence from the Late Bronze to the Late Iron Age. According to fire-induced changes in archaeological record and finds of weaponry, some of the extreme upland sites (EUS) were viewed as places of safety or refugia violently destroyed within a short period. We have focussed on three sites with summits at 1300–1550 m a. s. l. and found out that two of them were used in 650–400 calBC and 390–150 calBC, respectively. By the first systematic use of 14C dating and targeted 14C sampling, we have overcome the inherent chronological imprecision of their artefactual record and opened new vistas for interpretation of this type of sites.

Slovak Share in the Unification and Codification Efforts in Interwar Czechoslovakia

The creation of the Czechoslovak Republic and its legal system had its basis in the Act No. 11/1918 Coll. The Act preserved in force former Hungarian law in the territory of Slovakia. In Czech lands, former Austrian law was to be used further on. Quite understandably, attempts were present already in the interwar period to unify the legal system of Czechoslovakia. Analysis of the process and results of unification of law in Czechoslovakia reveals the participation of broad-scale of Slovak lawyers in the process and partial influence of law valid in Slovakia in the projects of new Czechoslovak codes. In the area of substantive law, the revised Austrian Civil Code (ABGB) was to become the basis of the new Czechoslovak Civil Code and therefore, not much space was left for “Slovak law”to influence the final version of the Civil Code project. In the area of procedural law, however, the codes of civil procedure valid in the Czech part and in the Slovak part of the Republic were not as different as it was the case with the substantive civil law. Therefore, the unification process was easier and many institutes of law valid in Slovakia were to be preserved in the project of the Czechoslovak Civil Procedure Code. Unfortunately, the events of the years 1938–1939 was the reason for none of the prepared projects being actually enacted. It was only after the Second World War (mostly in 1950) that the legal order was finally unified in Czechoslovakia.

Karyological and morphological differentiation of the Tanacetum corymbosum group (Asteraceae) in the Slovak part of the Carpathians

Karyological and morphological differentiation of the Tanacetum corymbosum group (Asteraceae) in the Slovak part of the Carpathians

Communist Funeral Reform in Central Europe (1948-1989): From Religious to Civil Funerals in Czechoslovakia and Hungary.

The authors examine funeral reform in the second half of the 20th century in Central and Eastern Europe via the historical comparative analysis approach. Examining the case studies of Czechoslovakia and Hungary, the article argues that although the newly-developed civil (socialist) funeral ceremonies in the two countries followed a similar pattern, in the Czech part of Czechoslovakia, civil funerals followed by cremation became the norm during the forty years of communist rule, whereas in Hungary they did not become the popularly accepted approach, in a similar way to the Slovak part of Czechoslovakia, where Roman Catholic funerals and inhumation remained dominant. The significant difference in the results of efforts toward reform was due principally to differing cultural histories, attitudes toward both religion and cremation and the availability of the infrastructure required for conducting civil funerals.

A new diatom training set for the reconstruction of past water pH in the Tatra Mountain lakes

Lakes located in the Polish and Slovak parts of the Tatra Mountains were included in the Tatra diatom database (POL_SLOV training set). The relationship between the diatoms and the water chemistry in the surface sediments of 33 lakes was the basis for the statistical and numerical techniques for quantitative pH reconstruction. The reconstruction of the past water pH was performed using the alpine (AL:PE) and POL_SLOV training sets to compare the reliability of the databases for the Tatra lakes. The results showed that the POL_SLOV training set had better statistical parameters (R2 higher by 0.16, RMSE and max. bias lower by 0.2 and 0.36, respectively) compared to the AL:PE training set. The better performance of the POL_SLOV training set is particularly visible in the case of Przedni Staw Polski where the curve of the inferred water pH shows an opposite trend for the period from the 1960s to 1990 compared to that based on the AL:PE dataset. The reliability of the inferred pH was confirmed by the comparison with current instrumental measurements.

AquaBOL.SK - how far have we come with the Slovak reference barcode database since DNAqua-Net was launched?

Essential for implementation of molecular tools in bioassessments are comprehensive databases with high-quality reference DNA sequence data. A recent survey arising from the DNAqua-Net EU COST Action WG1 has revealed significant gaps in the barcode reference data of aquatic biota both on a taxonomic and a geographical level (Weigand 2019). Although reference barcode libraries of all main freshwater groups are continuously improved through a number of national DNA-barcoding campaigns, still little data is available from Central and Eastern Europe. In Slovakia, the barcode coverage of the aquatic biota was very low when DNAqua-Net started. At the end of 2016 only 165 public records (60 OTUs) were available in BOLD (< 3 % of aquatic macroinvertebrates reported from Slovakia), and most of them were mined from GenBank. This led us to launch the campaign “Barcoding aquatic biota of Slovakia” (www.AquaBOL.SK), aiming to improve this unpleasant state. Since many common species in Slovakia are covered by barcodes from other countries, initially we focused on least explored habitat types within Europe - alpine glacial lakes in Tatra Mts and karstic springs. Both are located in Western and Slovak part of Eastern Carpathians, which are considered one of the most valuable biodiversity centers in Europe. More than 2700 sequences of COI-5P (337 BINs), originating in Slovakia, are currently in our dataset. Mostly they represent aquatic insects (86 %) and crustaceans (12 %), followed by minor taxonomic groups. From insects, the best covered orders are Coleoptera (43 % of sequences, 21% of species), followed by Trichoptera (22 % of sequences, 24 % of species) and Ephemeroptera (18 % of sequences, 33 % of species). And even if other groups (Hemiptera, Plecoptera) represent only around 5 % of all sequences each, their species coverage is already 21 % or 28 %, respectively. Relatively high number of unique BINs (35 out of 337) from our area, and separate intraspecific lineages within BINs of many widespread species, supports the premise that the Western Carpathians belong to the most important biodiversity hotspots. Our local reference database, continuously updated, is useful for the analysis and interpretation of metabarcoding data - a prerequisite for effective and nondestructive monitoring of aquatic biotopes including vulnerable, threatened, and protected habitats. It is also beneficial for a number of other purposes such as taxonomic revisions and phylogenetic analyses. This contribution was partially supported by VEGA2/0030/17, VEGA2/0084/2021 and COST CA15219.

Vliv diagenetických procesů na asociaci těžkých minerálů v pískovcích z lokality Slivotín (ždánická jednotka, flyšové pásmo Vnějších Západních Karpat, Česká republika)

An electron microprobe study of polished sections prepared from a sample of fine-grained sandstone from the locality Slivotín (Ždánice-Hustopeče Formation, Ždánice Unit, Flysch Belt of the Outer Western Carpathians, Czech Republic) allowed to yield in addition to data on chemical composition also the detailed information on in situ textural relationships of individual minerals. During our study, emphasis was given to accessory phases belonging to the translucent heavy mineral fraction. The detrital garnet (Alm36-82Grs2-45Prp2-22Sps0-15) was extensively dissolved and replaced by calcite cement from its margins and along the cracks. Detrital fluorapatite was dissolved in a similar way, however, dissolution episode was followed by growth of authigenic rims composed of carbonate-fluorapatite. Other observed heavy minerals (zircon, chrome spinel, TiO2 phase, monazite, tourmaline) probably remained unaltered by diagenetic processes. The chemical composition of chrome spinels varies mostly between magnesiochromite and chromite, whereas spinel is very rare. The chemical composition of garnets and chrome spinels is comparable with published data from Czech, Polish and Slovak parts of the Flysch Belt of the Western Carpathians, and indicates the primary source of detrital material in rocks of deeper parts of orogen, characterized especially by the presence of catazonal metamorphites and almost lacking volcanic rocks. Redeposition of heavy minerals from older sediments cannot also be ruled out. The pronounced diagenetic alteration of garnet, if not very scarce in the area of Flysch Belt, could help to explain the earlier observations of wide fluctuations of contents of garnet in heavy mineral concentrates.

Where is There Chance to Find Deep Prospects Below the Outer Western Carpathian Thrust Belt?

In the period of 80 and 90th, the intensive deep drilling and seismic profiling program in the Outer Western Carpathian belt has been realized for confirming the idea about the existence and opening of new promising plays beneath some of these thin-skinned belts. Many trans-Carpathian 2D seismic transects opened discussion on the understanding of the complex structure of thrust belts and its basement. The recent development of exploration, based on the new modern play concepts, has brought new light on this problem. The new 3D and the reprocessed 2D seismic sections from Czech and Slovak part of the Western Carpathian Flysch Belt disclosed several potentially new prospects, combined with the cover of the foreland of European plate. New significant reserves of hydrocarbons may occur in subthrust autochthonous and parautochthonous series buried below the frontal zones of thin-skinned thrust belts. The study of the deepest parts of the Carpathian Flysch belt has been based on the complex geochemical, structural analyses and geophysical Data reprocessing, supplied by verification along the chosen balanced sections. Four examples of 2D seismic transects, with registration up to 9-12 seconds, that present different tectonic style of structures of Flysch Belt and its platform basement, influenced by older large-scale faults, is presented from the western, northern and eastern parts of the Outer Western Carpathians. From point of view of hydrocarbon prospection, the most important features of the seismic profiles are the anticline structures of the North European Platform (NEP) below the thrust stack of the Flysch Belt. From the west to east the Týnec-Cunín, Drietoma, Orava and Zbudza elevations can be distinguished, created by a passive margin of the European plate, in the second and third structures probably by parautochthonous blocks of the same plate.

Long-Term Changes of Softwood Floodplain Forests—Did the Disappearance of Wet Vegetation Accelerate the Invasion Process?

Objectives: We followed the long-term changes of softwood floodplain forests strongly altered by water regime changes and examine the behaviour of neophytes in this environment. Here we ask: (1) How did the composition of neophyte and native species change? (2) How did the presence of species that prefer wetter conditions change? (3) What traditionally distinguished type of softwood floodplain forests (a wetter one or a more mesophilous one) do neophytes prefer? (4) What environmental factors affect the native species richness and the occurrence and cover of neophytes? Materials and Methods: Historical and recent phytosociological relevés of the association Salicetum albae of the Slovak part of the inland delta of the Danube River were used (177 plots together). For each plot, the number and cover of neophytes and number of native species were measured, and the Shannon-Wiener diversity index, the stand structure (cover of tree, shrub and herb layer) and the mean of Ellenberg indicator values were calculated and compared among time periods. Temporal trends of the soil moisture characterized by indicator values calculated for each plot were determined using a Linear Model. The synoptic table of traditional vegetation types was done to show preferences of neophytes for particular softwood forest types. The effect of site conditions on native species richness and occurrence of neophytes was determined using the Generalized Linear Model. Results: The relative number and cover of neophyte species increased and the absolute number of native species decreased over time; the vegetation of the area has changed from variable hygrophilous and mesophilous to homogenised mesophilous; most non-native species prefer the mesophilous vegetation of the floodplain forests; the wetter parts of the floodplain more successfully resisted invasions. Conclusions: The vegetation of the researched area has considerably changed over time to become less diverse and less hygrophilous, and has more invasive species. To preserve floodplain forests, natural hydrological and connectivity patterns should be adequately protected.

Detection of microbiota in the vineyards of the Tokaj wine region

Tokaj is an important Central European wine-growing area with controlled planting and authorized varieties of white vines. This area has a specific microflora composition which changes based on its climate dependence, as well as during the fermentation process of wine production. Therefore, the aim of this study was, by culture examination of the samples, to detect the microbiota of soil, leaves, berries and fermentation must from two vineyards from the Slovak part of Tokaj. The highest total viable count (5.60 ±0.01 log cfu.g-1) and the highest total yeast and mould count (4.32 ±0.01 log cfu.g-1) in soil samples were recorded in vineyard Berecký. The highest total viable count in soil samples (6.71 ±0.01 log cfu.g-1) was confirmed by examination of samples originating from the vineyard of Čierna Hora. When determining the total yeast and mould count, the highest numbers were recorded in the must samples (4.15 ±0.01 log cfu.mL-1). Lactic acid bacteria were collected in samples from both vineyards, only in very low numbers. Overall, statistically significant differences (p <0.001) were detected by comparing the microbiota of the samples taken from the Berecký and Čierna Hora vineyards. The specific characterisation and identification of yeast was carried out using ITS-PCR-RFLP methods. The analysis confirmed the presence of yeasts of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Zygosaccharomyces bailii, Zygosaccharomyces rouxii, Candida parapsilosis and Candida tenuis and their subsequent transfer to the must at varying percentages.

Geophysical and geological interpretation of the Vienna Basin pre-Neogene basement (Slovak part of the Vienna Basin)

Abstract The Vienna Basin is situated at the contact of the Bohemian Massif, Western Carpathians, and Eastern Alps. Deep borehole data and an existing magnetotelluric profile were used in density modelling of the pre-Neogene basement in the Slovak part of the Vienna Basin. Density modelling was carried out along a profile oriented in a NW–SE direction, across the expected contacts of the main geological structures. From bottom to top, four structural floors have been defined. Bohemian Massif crystalline basement with the autochthonous Mesozoic sedimentary cover sequence. The accretionary sedimentary wedge of the Flysch Belt above the Bohemian Massif rocks sequences. The Mesozoic sediments considered to be part of the Carpathian Klippen Belt together with Mesozoic cover nappes of Alpine and Carpathian provenance are thrust over the Flysch Belt creating the third structural floor. The Neogene sediments form the highest structural floor overlying tectonic contacts of the Flysch sediments and Klippen Belt as well as the Klippen Belt and the Alpine/Carpathians nappe structures.

Cross-Border Comparison of Non-Forest Woody Vegetation in the White Carpathians (Central Europe) Over Last 65 Years

Abstract Landscape structure is determined by human activities and natural processes. Despite both influences are described in many studies, there remains still question, how the landscape structure reflects the individual socio-economic predictors. To answer this question we compared landscape structure, with emphasis on non-forest woody vegetation, of two states, however, with common socio-economic and political history. Non-forest woody vegetation represents characteristic feature in rural landscape, which increases water retention, biodiversity and bio-migration using green structures. In our study we supposed, that non-forest woody vegetation will have high sensitivity to societal changes and nature conservation measures. On an example of border region in former Czechoslovakia we compared three classes of non-forest woody vegetation (solitaires, patches and linear elements) in three time horizons (1950, 1986, 2011). The most significant differences in spatial structure of non-forest woody vegetation between countries were in the number and area of solitaires, which decreased during the entire period. However, the largest solitaire decrease was in 1950-1986, mainly in correspondence with socialist collective farming. Moreover, the decrease was higher in the Slovak part compared to the Czech part. The primary reason for this was the removal of non-forest woody vegetation on one side and the joining crowns into bigger patches on the other side. The current trend of increasing area of patch and linear elements is related to natural succession. We assume that the main drivers of different development in non-forest woody vegetation in the border region after the split of Czechoslovakia were different management measures applied in nature and landscape conservation and social development.