The main purpose of this analysis is to identify places in Europe that can be described as very diverse according to various natural landscape types or landscape regions. In order to obtain these “hotspots,” several geographical divisions of Europe were examined. The analysis was performed for most of Europe at 5 km resolution. First, maps of landscape variety were produced based on each division of Europe taken into account. This step was carried out for each cell by counting the number of different unique natural landscape types or regions that are present in a radius of 50 km around the cell. Several maps of landscape diversity were produced using this method. Each of them was then weighted; the cell values were divided by the number of all unique types or regions in a division. In the final stage, all of the maps were synthesized (averaged) into one map showing landscape diversity for Europe. With this data it was possible to determine Europe’s landscape hotspots and to define the most naturally heterogeneous countries. Among all of the European countries, Slovenia has the highest average landscape diversity; the highest absolute landscape diversity is located in the Norwegian part of southern Scandinavia.

This article presents central settlements in Slovenia and their main characteristics in 2016. We defined central settlements based on services of general interest and the population of an individual settlement, and developed the analysis further by using competitiveness indicators. We defined 360 central settlements at six levels of centrality, among which the significance of Ljubljana as a national center of international importance and the significance of intermunicipal, local, and rural centers are increasing. The significance of certain regional centers at the second and third levels of centrality is decreasing. The level of services of general interest supplied to Slovenian territory is relatively appropriate, but it should be improved by promoting competitiveness, especially in centers of national and regional importance.

The proposed European Union indicators for defining areas less suitable for agriculture in Slovenia are not entirely appropriate because taking them into account would omit some distinctly and clearly unsuitable areas–for example, Suha krajina (Dry Carniola) and Bela krajina (White Carniola)–and farmers would be unjustifiably financially harmed. In such a case, every European Union member state has the right to propose an additional indicator to reduce such discrepancies. With regard to actual natural conditions, in Slovenia especially some karst landscapes would be unjustifiably omitted, and so we have proposed a karst indicator as an additional criterion based on the distribution of karst (i.e., carbonate) rocks. Through spatial coverage of karst rocks and soils, we determined whether more reasonable and less strict application of European criteria regarding soil could be satisfactory for better results in defining areas less suitable for agriculture in Slovenia.

One of the methods of water resource management is to construct small retention ponds. Within the framework of the “Possible ecological control of flood hazard in the hilly regions of Hungary and Slovenia“ project the management of small ponds and their impact on flood prevention were studied in selected catchments. Data on pond management were gathered from interviews with pond owners. In a pilot study, we conducted an inventarisation and classification of all retention ponds. Primarily they were constructed for more specific use: fishing, irrigation, watering livestock. These functions have been gradually replaced by leisure-time activities, aesthetics, and tourism. Spring, stream and rainfall-fed ponds prevail in the pilot area and reduce the flood risk. Due to the increased variability of precipitation patterns ponds are also becoming an important measure to limit drought consequences at a local level.

Karst landscapes have an abundance of enclosed depressions. Many studies have detected depressions and have calculated geomorphometric characteristics with computer techniques. These outcomes are somewhat determined by the methods and data used. We aim to highlight the applicability of high-resolution relief laser scanning data in geomorphological studies of karst depressions. We set two goals: geomorphometrically to characterize depressions in different karst plateaus and to examine the influence of data preprocessing and detection methods on the results. The study was performed in three areas of the Slovene Dinaric Karst using the following steps: preprocessing digital elevation models (DEMs), enclosed depression detection, calculating geomorphometric characteristics, and comparing the characteristics of selected areas. We discovered that different combinations of methods influenced the number and geomorphometric characteristics of depressions. The range of detected depressions in the three areas were 442–491, 364–403, and 366–504, and the share of the depressions’ area confirmed with all the approaches was 23%, 29%, and 47%, which resulted in different geomorphometric properties. Comparisons between the study areas were also influenced by the methods, which was confirmed by the Mann–Whitney test. We concluded that preprocessing of high-resolution relief data and the detection methods in karst environments significantly impact analyses and must be taken into account when interpreting geomorphometric results.

Cultivated terraces distinctively mark the landscape and are a result of human adaptation to steep areas. Terraces were studied with regard to their morphometric qualities, ownership structure, and land use at eight pilot sites in various landscape types in Slovenia. Twenty-six detailed interviews were carried out with local residents and experts. In current agricultural practice, terraces mostly represent obstacles, and for owners they create a loss rather than profit; however, they represented an advantage in the past, when they were cultivated manually. Land use is intensifying on economically profitable terraces. Among those examined, the Jeruzalem terraces stand out because these are the youngest ones (created in socialist Yugoslavia around 1965). Because of their aesthetic value, they are the best known among the public. Profitability in particular will be an important driving force for the future maintenance of terraces.