engleski

Evaluation of anthropogenic impact on the marine environment of National park Brijuni in the Croatia

Today, anthropogenic pressure is more and more pronounced, especially when we talk about the coastal zone, where due to the large population and natural beauty of these areas are intertwined many activities, the most important of which are fishing and aquaculture, maritime transport, tourism, agriculture and industry. Excessive anthropogenic pressure results in the appearance of toxic compounds in the environment, especially heavy metals, and the main problem is their ability to accumulate in sediment, which results by entering of these compounds into living organisms and their spread through the food chain due to changes in sediment geochemistry. The national park is considered the most important category of nature protection. Brijuni National Park includes 14 islands with an area of 743.30 ha, while the total sea area covers 2651.70 ha and represents a very popular tourist area. The sediment analysis was carried out at 5 sites in the National Park Brijuni in Croatia to determine the differences between sites with different intensity of anthropogenic influence, different degrees of protection and allowed activities in this area. Locations are divided by the intensity of anthropogenic impacts and the possibility of pollution. Geochemical and mineral characteristics of sediments were defined at these locations in order to determine the differences between these sites based on the different strength of anthropogenic impact on them. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed a homogenous mineral content that reflects the geological structure of National Park Brijuni. By using the X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) it was determined the concentrations of major, minor and potentially toxic elements (PTE) on each site. The pollution level, the geo- accumulation index (IGEO) and the enrichment factor (EF) for each PTE for each location were also calculated. The results point to the need to establish new protection measures and anthropogenic impact monitoring systems.

Anthropogenic impact ; Marine environment ; National park Brijuni

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