Intensive poultry production may result in substantial emissions of pollutants into the environment, including pharmaceuticals and other chemicals used in poultry farming. The objective of this study was to verify the presence of ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, carbamazepine, metoclopramide, trimethoprim, diflufenican, flufenacet, and p,p′-DDE in soil and water in the immediate vicinity of a poultry manure heap. The influence of soil contaminants on the growth and selected physiological parameters of seed peas and common duckweed (as indicator plants) was tested. It has been proven that the cultivation of pea plants on soil coming from the close proximity of a heap of manure results in a deterioration of both morphological parameters (root length, shoot length) and physiological parameters (chlorophyll absorption, aminolevulinic acid dehydrogenase (ALAD) activity, aminolevulinic acid (ALA) content, lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial damage or production of HSP70 proteins). Similarly, water extracts from cultivated soils had a significant effect on duckweed, and it was found that contaminant leachates are indeed detectable in soil, groundwater, and deep water. Special attention should, therefore, be paid to the location, methods of storage, and use of poultry fertilizer.

This study investigates the potential of integrated multispectral and thermal UAV remote sensing for detecting and mapping hidden archaeological structures of Proto-Colchian and Colchian settlement systems of the 3rd–1st millennium BCE, within the Rioni River basin in western Georgia. Characteristic settlement mounds (Dikhagudzuba), moats/ditches, and possible paleochannel networks represent a unique example of large-scale adaptation to waterlogged environments, and limited archaeological excavations have significantly hindered the identification and interpretation of these buried landscape features. Pilot UAV surveys were conducted at four archaeological sites differing in location, geomorphological setting, land use, and degree of preservation using DJI Mavic 3M multispectral and DJI Matrice 4T thermal UAV platforms. Multispectral imagery enabled the detection of vegetation and soil-moisture anomalies associated with buried ditches, embankments, canals, and settlement structures, while thermal data revealed differences in thermal inertia related to subsurface archaeological remains and palaeohydrological features. The study covered approximately 15.4 ha and produced 5836 RGB, 2219 multispectral, and 3617 thermal images with spatial resolutions ranging from 1.87 to 4.61 cm. The integration of high-resolution elevation models, RGB imagery, vegetation indices (ExG and normalized EVI2), and thermal data enabled the identification and characterization of microtopographic, vegetation, moisture, and thermal anomalies associated with archaeological and palaeohydrological features. The investigated mounds cover 2754–4685 m², reach approximately 9–10 m in height, and are surrounded by moats/ditches covering 4265–6520 m² and ramparts reaching approximately 2–3.5 m in height. The results demonstrate that combined UAV-based multispectral and thermal remote sensing provides a highly effective non-invasive tool for archaeological prospection in dynamic wetland landscapes. The proposed approach significantly improves the detection of buried archaeological features and paleochannels, while also supporting landscape-scale analyses, monitoring of archaeological heritage, and the development of predictive archaeological models for western Georgia.