Changes in Agricultural Soil Quality and Production Capacity Associated with Severe Flood Events in the Sava River Basin

Vesna Zupanc (), Rozalija Cvejić, Nejc Golob, Aleksa Lipovac, Tihomir Predić and Ružica Stričević
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Vesna Zupanc: Agronomy Department, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Rozalija Cvejić: Agronomy Department, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Nejc Golob: Agronomy Department, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Aleksa Lipovac: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, Nemanjina 6, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia
Tihomir Predić: Institute of Agriculture of Republika Srpska, 78000 Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ružica Stričević: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, Nemanjina 6, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-19

Abstract: Intensifying urbanization in Central Europe is increasingly pushing flood retention areas onto private farmland, yet the agronomic and socio-economic trade-offs remain poorly quantified. We conducted a narrative review of published field data and post-event assessments from 2014–2023 along the transboundary Sava River. Information was collected from research articles, case studies, and environmental monitoring reports, and synthesized in relation to national and EU regulatory thresholds to evaluate how floods altered soil functions and agricultural viability. Water erosion during floods stripped up to 30 cm of topsoil in torrential reaches, while stagnant inundation deposited 5–50 cm of sediments enriched with potentially toxic elements, occasionally causing food crops to exceed EU contaminant limits due to uptake from the soil. Flood sediments also introduced persistent organic pollutants: 13 modern pesticides were detected post-flood in soils, with several exceeding sediment quality guidelines. Waterlogging reduced maize, pumpkin, and forage yields by half where soil remained submerged for more than three days, with farm income falling by approximately 50% in the most affected areas. These impacts contrast with limited public awareness of long-term soil degradation, raising questions about the appropriateness of placing additional dry retention reservoirs—an example of nature-based solutions—on agricultural land. We argue that equitable flood-risk governance in the Sava River Basin requires: (i) a trans-boundary soil quality monitoring network linking agronomic, hydrological, and contaminant datasets; (ii) compensation schemes for agricultural landowners that account for both immediate crop losses and delayed remediation costs; and (iii) integration of strict farmland protection clauses into spatial planning, favoring compact, greener cities over lateral river expansion. Such measures would balance societal flood-safety gains with the long-term productivity and food security functions of agricultural land.

Keywords: agricultural production; extreme weather events; flood risk-governance; nature-based solutions; sediment deposition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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