The flora of the town of Blagaj was observed and researched during the vegetation seasons from 2004 to 2014. In total, 723 plant taxa from 102 families are presented in the list, 577 of which are newly found, while the presence of 14 previously reported taxa was not confirmed. Alien taxa present exclusively in culture were not analysed in this work. The most common family is Asteraceae s. l. (11.76%), followed by Poaceae (9.82%), Fabaceae (7.75%) and Lamiaceae (6.50%). The predominant life-forms are therophytes and hemicryptophytes with 265 and 264 taxa, respectively (36.65% and 36.51%). The floral elements spectrum shows the strong prevalence of Mediterranean plants (29.46%), while Central Eu ropean plants are almost absent (0.41%). A total of 38 taxa are found on the National Red List, while 27 taxa are classified as invasive.

This study is related to the St. Ilija locality where S. brachyodon and S. officinalis grow together in the same habitat. The aim of present work is to provide the data on genome size and chromosome number of those two species, and to identify volatile constituents from the wild growing plants. 2C DNA values for both species and analysis of content and chemical composition of the essential oil of S. brachyodon Vandas of Croatian origin have not been reported to date.

To evaluate clinoptilolite, a natural zeolite, as a candidate material for a permeable reactive barrier for removal of strontium from groundwater, we investigated particle release and permeability reduction in clinoptilolite and sand porous media. In flow-through column experiments, we tested the effects of solution chemistry, grain size, and clinoptilolite pretreatment on particle release and hydraulic conductivity. Permeability reduction occurred not in the clinoptilolite itself but only in finer-grained sand down-gradient of the clinoptilolite. Solutions of high ionic strength inhibited particle release and prevented clogging. Clinoptilolite of larger grain size produced slightly less particle release and clogging. Two pretreatments of the clinoptilolite, rinsing to remove fine particles and calcining to improve strength, reduced particle release and clogging. Calcining, however, significantly reduced the strontium binding strength of the clinoptilolite.