Trajce Stafilov

Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje · Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

When screening the content of trace elements in minerals or other inorganic compounds, the detection limit is raised and determination by spectroscopic techniques is often questionable or even impossible due to their interference with the matrix elements of the minerals. Thus, some valuable trace elements may remain undetected, which lowers the est...

About a century ago, B was recognised as an essential element for the normal growth of plants and terrestrial organisms. Limitations for plant development have been recognised in agricultural systems, particularly in highly weathered soil. Boron is rarely analysed in whole rock or soil analysis, as it requires specific analytical techniques. It is...

This study examined the nitrogen content in moss samples collected across Macedonia over a 15-year period (2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020) from 72 consistent sampling locations. The nitrogen content was determined using the Kjeldahl method, providing insight into the trends of atmospheric nitrogen deposition across different regions. Descriptive statist...

Mining waste is unwanted, currently uneconomical, solid and liquid materials found in or near mines. Kosovo has large reserves of mineral resources and as a result of their exploitation, many landfills have been created. These landfills pose a major risk of environmental pollution and also a potential for economic development. The objective of this...

The aim of this study is to investigate the distribution of lanthanum, thorium, and uranium content in soils from the Mitrovica region in the Republic of Kosovo. For this purpose, 156 samples of topsoil (0–5 cm) were considered in a sampling network of 1.4 × 1.4 km ² . The soil samples were prepared using the aqua regia digestion method and analyze...

This study was conducted on the distribution of manganese content in the soils of the city of Mitrovica and its surroundings in Kosovo. A total of 156 topsoil samples were taken in the entire study region (sampling grid of 1.4 × 1.4 km2). The average Mn content of the entire study area is 1600 mg/kg (range 170–17000 mg/kg), which is 4.2 times highe...

The Allchar mine, located in the southern part of North Macedonia, has a unique mineral composition. This locality is world-famous for its thallium minerals, but is also known for its large number of arsenic and antimony minerals. The rare plant species found at the Allchar locality, are of particular interest to scientists working on this topic wo...

A study was conducted to investigate atmospheric deposition and to explore the natural distribution and possible contamination with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the Prespa region, North Macedonia, using moss samples as biomonitors for air pollution. The distribution of 19 chemical elements (Ag, Al, Pb, Sr, V, and Zn) was detected in 11 moss...

The aim of this work was to identify and characterize the chemical elements in the samples of flotation tailings from the Pb-Zn mine in the Artana landfill, Republic of Kosovo. A total of 38 tailings samples were analyzed for their geochemical composition using: inductively coupled plasma – atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and inductively cou...

The aim of the study is a thorough investigation of the radioactivity level in soils of the town of Bitola (Macedonia) and its environs. Topsoil samples collected from 58 locations within a 5 × 5 km grid were analysed. Serving as a screening, gross alpha and beta activity measurements were performed using gas-flow proportional counter. Gamma-spectr...

A study was conducted to investigate air deposition and to explore the natural or anthropogenic sources of contamination with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the region of Polog, North Macedonia, using moss samples as biomonitors of air pollution. The distribution of 22 elements was detected in 43 moss samples collected in the region. Multivar...

This review article considers the following aspects: naturally distributed chemical elements and their enrichments, and the increased occurrence of PTEs due to anthropogenic and urban activities, as well as due to the geochemical uniqueness of certain geochemical landscapes, depending on the lithological environment. The review article is the resul...

The study was carried out to define the distribution of mercury in surface soils in the Mitrovica region, Republic of Kosovo and to assess the level and extent of contamination. A total of 156 soil samples were collected from a depth of 5 cm at each grid point of 1.4x1.4 km in an area of 301.5km2. The mercury content was found to be between 0.02 mg...

The present work was carried out to obtain and highlight the fifth comprehensive baseline dataset on atmospheric deposition of trace elements and to assess air quality in Macedonia. In the period from August to September 2020, a total of 72 moss samples were collected in accessible areas in the country. The content of 28 elements (Ag, and Zn) was d...

This research presents the results on the spatial distribution and concentration of different chemical elements in the topsoil (0–5 cm) and the subsoil (20–30 cm), focusing on the identification of natural and anthropogenic sources of elements at 99 locations and 198 samples throughout the territory of the Republic of Kosovo. The samples were diges...

The objective of this study was to determine the mineral content in the leaves and flowers of wild-grown Sambucus nigra collected from eleven different locations in Kosovo. The samples were digested in a microwave system by the wet digestion method. The minerals were determined by the application of inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectr...

This study aims to investigate the changes in atmospheric deposition trends in Macedonia, using a moss biomonitoring technique. This technique has been used to assess the content of potentially toxic elements in Macedonia in 2002, 2005, 2010, and 2015, within the framework of the International Cooperative Program on Effects of Air Pollution on Natu...

When screening the content of trace elements in minerals or other inorganic compounds, the detection limit is raised and determination by spectroscopic techniques is often questionable or even impossible due to their interference with the matrix elements of the minerals. Thus, some valuable trace elements may remain undetected, which lowers the est...

In this work, the contents and spatial distributions of 19 elements (Ag, Al, B, Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Sr, V, Zn) in the soil of the western part of North Macedonia (Mavrovo-Rostuše region) are presented. For this purpose, a total of 66 soil samples were collected from 33 locations (33 samples of topsoil, 0-5 cm, and 33 s...

This study addresses the atmospheric deposition of trace elements investigated in Albania, Croatia and Macedonia in 2010 as part of the European Moss Study. This study provides data on the concentration of ten metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, V, Zn, Fe, Al, and Li) in naturally growing mosses. In general, all concentration data follow a lognormal distri...

In this work, the contents and spatial distributions of 18 elements (Ag, Al, Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Sr, V, Zn) in the soils of the southeastern part of North Macedonia (Gevgelija–Valandovo–Bogdanci–Dojran region) are presented. For this purpose, a total of 86 soil samples were collected from 43 locations (43 samples of to...

For the purpose of a comprehensive investigation of soil radioactivity in the Bitola region, Republic of Macedonia, topsoil samples were collected from 58 locations within a 5x5 km grid. The radioactivity level was measured using a gas-flow proportional counter, resulting in data that shows the gross alpha and beta activities. In order to obtain in...

Vranec (Vitis Vinifera L.) is the most widespread red grape variety in Republic of N. Macedonia, which is grown in all vineyards, but mostly it is located in the main Tikveš wine region. In the present study, Vranec wines have been produced applying 4, 7, 14 and 30 days for maceration, in order to determine the influence of maceration time on the e...

Since 2010, Albania had contributed to the data onto the European moss survey (EMS), which is repeated at five-yearly intervals. It was announced in 2020 that the planned moss survey for 2020/2021 was extended for 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and now the samples are in process of analysis. So this study was conducted in the framework of 2...

This article presents the results of a geochemical investigation of an anthropogenic group of metals (Ag, Au, Bi, Cu, and Mo) in the surface of the Mitrovica region, Republic of Kosovo. In order to determine their content and to evaluate the contamination level, 156 topsoil samples were collected in an area of 301.5 km2 . The content of elements wa...

In this work, the distribution of heavy metals in surface soil samples (0-5 cm) from the Mitrovica Region, was studied. The investigated region (301.5 km2) is covered by a sampling grid of 1.4×1.4 km. In total 156 soil samples from 149 locations were collected. Digestion methods, including Aqua Regia Digestion (mixture of HNO3 and HCl and water at...

In this work, the distribution of heavy metals in surface soil samples (0-5 cm) from the MitrovicaRegion, was studied. The investigated region (301.5 km2) is covered by a sampling grid of 1.4×1.4 km. Intotal 156 soil samples from 149 locations were collected. Digestion methods, including Aqua RegiaDigestion (mixture of HNO3 and HCl and water at 95º...

The objective of this study was to investigate the spatial distribution and content of a specificanthropogenic group of trace metals (Ag, Au, Bi, Cu and Mo) in surface soils (0 - 5 cm) of the Mitrovicaregion, Republic of Kosovo. The content of metals was determined by inductively coupled plasma - massspectrometry (ICP-MS). The average content of Cu...

In this work, the distribution of chemical elements in samples of surface water from the Strumica River Basin, North Macedonia, was studied. The water samples were collected from a total of twelve sites. In addition to the Strumica River, samples were collected from its tributaries: Bansko, Dabile, Turija, Vodoča, Radoviška, and Injevska. The deter...

The aim of the study was to investigate the content of macro- and microelements in fresh multi-flower honey from different regions of Kosovo. The samples of fresh honey were collected in July and September 2019 from 99 sampling locations. The samples were mineralised by microwave method and analysed by inductively coupled plasma - atomic emission s...

The results of the distribution of various chemical elements in soil samples from the region of Kumanovo, North Macedonia, are presented. In order to determine the occurrence of chemical elements, soil samples were collected from a total of 51 locations. At each location, soil samples were collected from two layers, topsoil (0-5 cm) and subsoil (20...

Previous studies have shown that certain areas in the territory of the Republic of Macedonia are affected by anthropogenic input of large amounts of various chemical elements into the soil. The area in the vicinity of the Toranica lead and zinc mine near the town of Kriva Palanka, North Macedonia, was studied for the lithogenic and anthropogenic di...

Anthropogenic environmental changes, mainly associated with chemical pollution, lead to the degradation of man's natural environment. Among all chemical pollutants, the potentially toxic elements (arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, etc.) are of particular ecological, biological and health importance. For this reason, detailed studies of the pollution...

Anthropogenic environmental changes, mainly associated with chemical pollution, lead to the degradation of man's natural environment. Among all chemical pollutants, the potentially toxic elements (arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, etc.) are of particular ecological, biological, and health importance. For this reason, detailed studies of the pollutio...

The use of biomonitors (mosses, lichens) in measuring air pollution can help provide a reliable picture of pollution. Currently , regulatory monitoring of air pollution does not measure the content of rare earth elements (REEs). However, the need for monitoring their presence in the environment has increased significantly due to their broader appli...

The aim of the study was to investigate the exploration and distribution of various chemical elements in soils and vegetables from gardens in the region of Probistip, North Macedonia. This region was exposed to heavy metals pollution from Pb–Zn mining and flotation tailings landfill near the town of Probistip for 70 years. A total of 38 samples of...

Despite the growing interest, the information available on rare earth elements (REEs) in the last two decades is relatively premature and sparse. The importance of these elements as indicators of soil and physiological processes and responses have contributed to the increased interest in these previously less considered elements in the environmenta...

The content of 41 chemical elements (Ag, Al, As, Au, Ba, Br, Ca, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Hf, In, K, La, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nd, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sm, Sr, Tb, Th, Ti, Tm, U, V, W, and Zn) was determined in attic dust, household dust and soil samples collected from 33 houses in the area of the town of Veles, North Macedonia. Silver, Cd,...

Air pollution is an increasing challenge for modern society globally, and it is a very common problem in Kosovo. In this work, the atmospheric deposition of Tl, Hg and As was studied using mosses as natural samplers. Moss samples (Homalothecium sericeum (Hedw.) Schimp. 1851, Hypnum cupressiforme Hedwig. 1801, and Pseudoscleropodium purum (Hedw.) M....

Pollen is the male gametophyte, collected as a nutrient from various flowers by the honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera L.) to feed the larvae and bees in their early stages of development. The sample was taken as grain pollen collected by bees to be stored in hives. The nitrogen content in bee pollen were studied for the first time in the Republic...

Pollen is the male gametophyte, collected as a nutrient from various flowers by the honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera L.) to feed the larvae and bees in their early stages of development. The sample was taken as grain pollen collected by bees to be stored in hives. The nitrogen content in bee pollen were studied for the first time in the Republic...

This study aims to investigate air deposition and explore the distribution and contamination with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the Pelagonia Region, North Macedonia. For this goal, 63 moss samples were collected and analysed by inductively coupled plasma – atomic emission spectrometry to determine the content of 19 major and trace elements....

The possibilities of cold vapor-atomic absorption spectrometry (CV-AAS) for the determination and speciation of mercury in wine samples are critically discussed in the present study. In a first step, the direct determination of Hg using SnCl2 and NaBH4 as reducing agents is attempted. The influence of the type of reducing agent and its concentratio...

This is the first study to use moss transplants as a biomonitoring technique and inductively plasma mass spectrometry to investigate airborne potentially toxic element pollution and air quality in urban areas on a regional scale across nine Southeastern European countries. The mosses in bags were exposed for 2 months during the winter season (2019/...

Selenium is a part of the active center of glutathione peroxidase, thioredoxin reductase, and iodothyronine deiodinase which have antioxidant activity and play an important role in the metabolism of thyroid hormones. Therefore, blood selenium concentration is strongly correlated with immune function, thyroid disease, and tumourigenesis. In this wor...

. The contents of 33 elements (Ag, Al, As, B, Ba, Be, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, Ge, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Pd, S, Sb, Se, Sn, Sr, Ti, V, and Zn) were determined in moss samples collected from 20 different locations in the ancient town of Stobi, North Macedonia. Determination was performed by the application of inductively coupled p...

Air pollution is an increasing challenge for the modern society globally, and it is a very common problem in Kosovo too. The emission from urban areas and industrial facilities pollute the atmosphere continuously more or less during the year, but the pollution is felt mostly during the winter season. Pollution is present in the form of various gase...

The general features of several important mineral deposits of polymetallic character in the Re�public of Northern Macedonia that have been actively exploited in the past are described. These include the Buchim copper mine and Sasa, Zletovo and Toranica lead-zinc mines, as well as some ore prospects that have been extensively explored for years. In...

The objective of this study was the determination of major and trace elements in the bee pollen samples from the whole territory of Republic of Kosovo. Pollen, as a natural plant product, is exposed to different contaminations absorbed by plants from the soil through the root system or with water intake, as well as to pollutants of different origin...

Atmospheric pollution at various levels is common around the planet, as well as being present in Kosovo. In this chapter, the deposition of chemical elements on the entire territory of Kosovo was studied and discussed using the technique of mosses as biomonitors. Three moss species (Hypnum cupressiforme, Homalothecium sericeum and Pseudoscleropodiu...

Rare earth elements (REEs) are relatively rare in the Earth’s crust, and they can be found concentrated in some ore deposits. The increasing number of REEs studies in the past decade has been induced by their wider applications in industry, including electronics and high technology. This investigation provides an overview of REEs distribution in th...

A study was carried out to investigate air deposition and to explore the natural distribution and contamination with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the Kumanovo Region, North Macedonia, by using moss samples as biomonitors for air pollution. The distribution of 51 elements was detected in 42 moss samples collected from this area. Moss samples...

The main objective of this study is to present the distribution of different chemical elements in soil samples from the Skopje region, North Macedonia. To determine the level of presence of chemical elements, soil samples are collected from a total of 60 locations. From each location, from an area of 5 x 5 km2 samples of soil are collected: topsoil...

The purpose of this study was to determine the presence of various chemical elements in soil samples in the region of Poreče, North Macedonia. For this purpose, 88 soil samples (44 topsoil, 0-5 cm, and 44 bottom soil samples, 20–30 cm) were collected and 57 elements were analyzed, from which 18 elements (Ag, Al, Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, N...

ABSTRACT Heavy metals presence in the air in the territory of Kosovo was estimated using mosses as biomonitors. The periodic smog over the territory of Kosovo, particularly around industrial sites and cities, is a clear indication of air pollution which unavoidably will contain heavy metals, because of the nature of the industries in area. This wor...

For the determination of selenium in selected food products produced or purchased in North Macedonia, a suitable electrothermal atomic absorption method (ETAAS) was optimized and validated due to its biological activity and importance in human and animal nutrition. In this study, a sample preparation method with microwave digestion was used to dige...

Can be pollen used as a biological indicator of environmental pollution. So this work aims to determine some of the heavy metals such as Pb, Cr, Cd, Zn, and Cu in bee pollen from different areas in the Pelagonija region. The concentration of heavy metals in pollen depends on the geographical area, plants, and soil. And also, the composition of poll...

The main objective of this paper is to compare and improve spatial distributions models for Pb and Cu in air and soil using the universal kriging and ANN-MLP at the macro regional scale. For this purpose, both models have been applied for visualization of a spatial distribution of lead (Pb) and copper (Cu) in a morphologically and geologically comp...

Agricultural soil (Ap-horizon, 0–20 cm) samples were collected from 33 European countries as part of the GEMAS (GEochemical Mapping of Agricultural and grazing land Soil) soilmapping project. The Mg data derived from total concentrations (XRF) and two acid digestion methods, aqua regia (AR) and Mobile Metal Ion (MMI®), were used to provide an overv...

Carpet-forming moss species are useful tools for monitoring the atmospheric deposition of pollutants like metals, organic compounds, nitrogen, and more recently, microplastics. Even with a dense sampling scheme, moss biomonitoring could extend the environmental study to national and/or continental scales. Moss species (Hypnum cupressiforme) was use...

In this work the distribution of chemical elements in surface water from the Pčinja River Basin, North Macedonia, was assessed. For this purpose, along the course of the Pčinja River, in accordance with a previously specified sampling network with 10 locations from the rivers and 4 locations from the Glažnja and Lipkovsko Lakes, the samples of surf...

In this work, the distribution of chemical elements in sediment and alluvial soil samples from the Pčinja River Basin was investigated. For this purpose, samples of sediments and natural and anthropogenic alluvium soil from the river and lake plains were collected along the course of the Pčinja River in the period from June to July 2017, according...

The main objective of this study is to present the distribution of different chemical elements in soil samples from the Mariovo region, North Macedonia. To determine the level of presence of chemical elements, soil samples were collected from a total of 33 locations in a 5×5 km area. From each location, two samples of soil were collected: topsoil (...

The project Geochemical Mapping of Agricultural and grazing land Soil (GEMAS) was carried out in 33 European countries (5.6 million km2) with an average sampling density of 1 site per 2500 km2. The main objective was to assess the chemical quality of productive soils. All collected soil samples were prepared in the same laboratory, and subsequently...

The objective of the study was investigation of the macro and micro elements composition of the multifloral fresh honey, produced in different regions of Kosovo. Samples of fresh honey were collected in 99 sampling points, during July to September 2019. The samples were mineralized by microwave digestion, and in total 27 elements analyzed by plasma...

The main objectives of this paper are to improve spatial distribution maps using an artificial neural network - multilayer perceptron (ANN -MLP) at macroregional scale and to compare the two methods, the universal kriging method and ANN -MLP for representing the spatial distribution of selected anthropogenic and geogenic elements in North Macedonia...

In 2010, the ambient radiation dose level has been measured in situ for the first time at the same sampling sites where the moss samples have been collected in order to determine and describe the air pollution in the Republic of Macedonia. It has been found that the ambient dose levels are in the interval from 53 nSv/h to 340 nSv/h. A model for the...

In this study, the level of 27 major and trace elements was studied by using honey and pollen samples as a bioindicators for the environmental contamination (Formicki et al., 2013) of the region of Peja, Republic of Kosovo. In total 12 honey and 9 pollen samples were collected from the Peja, Klina and Istog municipalities. The samples were digested...

A detailed description of the geological characteristics of the Republic of Northern Macedonia is given. The characteristics of the six major tectonic units are described: the Vardar zone (VZ) in Central Region, the Pelagonian massif (PM), the West-Macedonian zone (WMZ) and a small part of the Cukali-Krasta zone (CKZ) in the west, and the Serbo-Mac...

A fast and simple closed-vessel microwave-assisted digestion procedure was developed for decomposition of three pharmaceutical dosage forms of ibuprofen, including tablets, suspension and gel, prior to elemental impurity analysis by one robust and precise ICP-OES method. Samples were digested by a four-step microwave program consisting of a 10 min...

Elements atmospheric deposition was studied by mosses method in Kosovo. Mosses are a very useful tool for atmospheric deposition of elements monitoring, owing to their physiological and morphological characteristics. Moss samples were collected from 45 locations, they were cleaned from leaves, twigs and other materials, they were grinded, digested...

Albania is a small country with an area of 28,748 sq km positioned in south-east Europe and in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula.

The Allchar mine, located in the southern part of the Republic of Northern Macedonia, has а unique mineral composition. This mine locality is world-famous for its thallium minerals but also known for the large amounts of minerals of arsenic and antimony. Because of the specifcity and enriched contents of these potentially toxic lements in the soil,...

From the obtained results of the air pollution study performed by moss biomonitoring in the vicinity of the coal mine and Bitola thermoelectric power plant, North Macedonia, it could be concluded that the analysed elements are grouped into four associations of elements: Factor 1 (Fe, Al, V, Ni, Li, Cr, Co, Ba, Pb, Sr, Mn and Zn), Factor 2 (Cu, Mo,...