The soils of forest ecosystems are often affected by the industrial activity of mining and metallurgical enterprises, and insufficiently investigated for the content of pollutants due to enterprise emissions. Some pollutants, such as arsenic, are transported over long distances by these emissions. To analyze this connection, the present study was conducted on the eastern slope of Mount Yurma, the Southern Urals, Russia, to determine the content of arsenic in the soils of mountain forest areas in the impact zone of the copper smelter (Karabash). The physical and chemical parameters, total content of arsenic, mineralogical composition of silt, and concentration of arsenic in the silty fraction in soils located at different altitudes were determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The soils under study are physico-chemically and chemically acidic in the upper horizons with a pH of 3.26 to 4.05. The carbon of organic matter decreases with depth from 7.98 to 0.06%. Exchangeable Ca and Mg cations in the range of 2.6–8.6 mg-eq per 100 g of soil were determined. The mineralogical composition of the silty fraction consists mainly of quartz and aluminosilicates. Following an analysis of the arsenic content in the above-ground leaf litter, the bioconcentration factor (BCF) was calculated. Arsenic exceeding Clarke concentrations was recorded. In all upper soil horizons, concentrations of total arsenic exceeded background values by 3.7–5.2 times, with maximum values in the horizons A—25.3 mg/kg, in the horizons O—64.4 mg/kg. The obtained BCF > 1 data points to the biological arsenic accumulation by plants and, as a result, its input into the soil via industrial emissions from the smelter. It was found that the silty fraction plays a special role in the accumulation of arsenic in the studied soils. Accumulation of arsenic occurred mainly due to the secondary minerals of Ca and Mg. Differences in the accumulation of arsenic in the forest litter depending on the plant association were noted. The obtained results could serve as a guideline for monitoring the areas around the enterprise and enhancing the understanding of pollutants’ distribution in the soils of remote areas and mountain landscapes.
Problem Statement. The paper presents the results of studying the features of lateral and radial differentiation, as well as the sulfur content in the landscape-geochemical catenes of the Soimonovskaya Valley. Soimonovskaya valley is located in the Chelyabinsk region of the Russian Federation. For more than 100 years a metallurgical plant for the production of copper has been operating here. The plant supplies to the environment gas and dust emissions that contain various pollutants, including sulfur dioxide. Sulfur oxide affects the soil and vegetation. The objective of the study to assess the impact of emissions of the copper smelter on the content of sulfur in the landscapes of the Soiman valley and determine the patterns of migration and accumulation of sulfur. Materials for the study were ecological and geochemical surveys carried out on the territory of the Soimonov valley and at different distances from the copper smelter. Soil and soil samples were taken in layers every 15-20 cm up to the parent rock. Physico-chemical parameters and sulfur content were determined in soils and grounds. Results. Lithozems (Leptosols), dark humus soils, and soil-like formations (Urbic Technosols) are developed in the study area. Within a radius of 5 km, plant and soil cover is almost completely absent - technogenic landscapes. Soils are very acidic, gross sulfur content in 0-20 cm layer is more than 1000,0 mg/kg. In a radius of 5 - 10 km prevail natural landscapes, partially modified, the reaction of the environment from slightly acidic to neutral, the gross sulfur content in the layer 0 - 20 cm ranges from 190.0 to 900 mg / kg. Autonomous and subordinate landscapes were studied on the example of two catenas. It was found that in landscapes with an abundance of herbaceous vegetation radial differentiation prevails over lateral differentiation, in technogenic landscapes vice versa. Zones of sulfur accumulation and dispersion in landscapes are revealed.
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