The aim of this paper is to determine the impact of human activity on the soil formation at the mouth of the Vistula Cross-Cut (northern Poland). The detailed research was conducted in the test area (about 500 ha) for which the soil map was created. The three major soil belts were distinguished, grouping the soils formed on marine, aeolian and technogenic sediments, deposited both naturally and anthropogenically as a result of the hydrotechnical works. Initial soils, arenosols, gleysols, brackish marsh soils and industrial soils predominate across the study area. Most of them were characterized by high spatial diversity and multi-layering. Their properties reflected varied dynamics of the local environment on both sides of the river channel, greatly enhanced by the human activity. Based of the obtained results, some proposals concerning arenosols, marsh soils and industrial soils for the Polish Soil Classification (2011) were presented.

This re search is fo cused on a small ket tle hole lo cated within the Mor¹g mo raines (I³awa Lake Dis trict, NE Po land). The study ob jec tive was to de ter mine the im pact of palaeoenvironmental changes on prop er ties of sed i ments fill ing the bot tom of the ket tle hole. Sedimentological, geo chem i cal, and palaeobotanical stud ies en abled us to dis tin guish sev eral de vel op ment phases of the ket tle hole, and clus ter anal y sis per formed on physicochemical data yielded seven lo cal geo chem i cal zones (Ju I/I to Ju I/VII ). The be gin ning of biogenic sed i men ta tion in the con di tions of a small wa ter body, func tion ing in the Late Gla cial pe riod (4.20-4.10 m), was de ter mined on the ba sis of palaeobotanical re search. Sed i ments de pos ited in the lake dur ing its fur ther evo lu tion were rich in microelements such as Ca, Na, Mg, and K, and to a smaller ex tent -Fe and Mn (Ju I/I-III lo cal geo chem i cal zones). The Late Gla cial lac us trine pe riod ended with the ac cu mu la tion of very silty, pol len-free gyttja, with a strati graphic hi a tus (Ju I/IV , 3.40-3.20 m). The sed i ments were en riched with SiO 2ter , which in di cates an in creased rate of slope ero sion, and con cre tions of Fe-Mn oc cur ring be low this layer (Ju III ) pro vide ev i dence for low er ing of the wa ter level and even des ic ca tion. In the Ho lo cene, the lac us trine pe riod ended with the ac cu mu la tion of coarse de tri tal gyttja (3.20-2.60 m). Palaeobotanical data in di cate that the next group of sed i ments were de pos ited in the Late Subboreal and Subatlantic pe ri ods (2.60-0.0 cm, Ju I/V-VII ; sedge peat). Their prop er ties were var ied and re lated to hydrologic con di tions, lim ited de nu da tion, and veg e ta tion suc ces sion. There was also a sig nif i cant change in the trophic con di tions of the wa ter and con se quently in the sed i ments of the ket tle hole, which changed dur ing the lac us trine pe riod from ba sic to acid, and strongly acid in the surface layer. This re ac tion may be re lated to a change in the wa ter re gime as well as to hu man im pact in the en vi ron ment, which led to the col o ni za tion of the peat bog by Sphag num moss.Key words: young gla cial land scape, ket tle hole, end mo raines, geo chem i cal anal y sis, biogenic de pos its.

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The paper presents results of pedological studies of Klembivka site 1 and Prydnistryanske site 1 barrow IV and the reference soil profile Prydnistryanske site 1 in the context of pedostratigraphy, basic soil properties, construction material origin and palaeoenvironmental implications.

The aim of this study was to characterize the impact of soda ash manufacturing on the magnetic properties of soils located in the agricultural landscape in north-central Poland. Two study sites were chosen: Mątwy (SM) and Janikowo (SJ). Highly saline soils with halophyte communities were selected in order to develop an understanding of the relationship between salinization of water–soil interface and the potential contamination risk of the environment. Basic chemical and physicochemical properties of topsoil (0–25 cm) and water (surface and groundwater) samples from five locations were characterized. The characteristics of soil contamination were based on the content of selected metals, magnetic properties and salinity indices. Potential routes of contaminant migration (air and water fluxes) were analyzed. High magnetic anomalies of technogenic origin were revealed in the studied soils. A statistically confirmed relationship between high magnetic susceptibility and the content of selected metals (Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ba, Pb and Mn) showed the high utility of magnetometric techniques in soil research (diagnosis of soil transformation and contamination during technogenic impact). Three potential factors influencing contaminant migration were revealed: highly saline ground and surface water, eolian transport of fine-grained mineral fractions from waste ponds and atmospheric deposition of coal combustion products.