Use of soil biota in the assessment of the ecological potential of urban soils

Abstract

In assessing the ecological conditions and classification of urban soils, data about soil biota should be taken into account. The environment of urban territories is characterized by significant changes compared to their surrounding environments. It is established that the algal flora of urban soils lose their zonal features and features associated with the edification influence of higher plants. Specific biotopes with a definite species structure are formed in urboecosystems. Fifty 50 algae species have been recorded in the soils of the Henichesk urboecosystems (Kherson region, Ukraine): Cyanoprocaryota – 21, Chlorophyta – 13, Charophyta – 2, Eustigmatophyta – 1, Xanthophyta – 11, Bacillariophyta – 2. Among dominant and subdominant species were Cyanoprocaryota and Chlorophyta. The other phyla were represented by Klebsormidium dissectum, K. flaccidum, Hantzschia amphioxys, Eustigmatos magnus, Botrydiopsis eriensis. Compared with the surrounding environment, the urbanized flora of Henichesk has a low species richness, and is characterized by prevalence of Cyanoprocaryota and Chlorophyta species. The coefficient that takes into account the percentage of preservation of species richness in a particular urban area compared to the background indicators of species richness can be used to evaluate the urban transformation of soil biota. The degree of degradatory changes in the composition of living organisms and the direction of these changes depends on the specificity and intensity of exploitation of the territory of the urban ecosystem. The most diverse composition of algae species within the the city of Henichesk was noted in the recreational, residential, and transport zones, in comparison with the industrial zone and the zone of special use. Different functional areas of the city are distinguished not only by the algae species richness, but also by the composition of dominants. Among the dominants and subdominants of the recreational and transport zones were species of different phyla. The dominants and subdominants of the residential and industrial zones were Cyanoprocaryota species, in the zone of special use – representatives of Chlorophyta. The distribution of species richness of algae along the soil profile in the city acquires an atypical character. The species richness increases not in the most superficial layers of soil, but in the lower, aphotic parts of the soil profile. The soil biota, on the one hand, depends on the ecological conditions of soil, and on the other as a result of its life activity, changes the ecological functions of the soil, strengthening or weakening them. The reduction in the species richness of the soil algae of the urboecosystem Henichesk shows the limitations of ecological functions of urban soils. It is established that changes in the composition of algae in soils of urban ecosystems are one of the indicators of the presence and severity of transformation processes. These processes occur with the soil biota and soil as a whole under the conditions of urban ecosystems and can be used as indicators in the environmental assessment of urban soils, in the development and subsequent examination of ways to reduce negative expression of urbanization.

Assessment of the Recreational Transformation of the Grass Cover of Public Green Spaces

“…Міське середовище впливає на формування флори -опосередковано (через зміну умов існування) і безпосередньо (за рахунок фізичного знищення рослин), перетворюючи її в строкатий конгломерат елементів як місцевого походження, так і сторонніх (Dyderski et al, 2017;Maltsev et al, 2017;Rejmánek, 2018). Урбанофлора -це сукупність видів, що самостійно існують на міській території.…”

Biogeography of the cosmopolitan terrestrial diatom Hantzschia amphioxys sensu lato based on molecular and morphological data

“…Until now, the diversity of representatives of the genus Hantzschia among soil diatoms was reported as H. abundans Lange-Bertalot, H. amphioxys , H. elongata Grunow and H. vivax (W. Smith) Peragallo, including some of their varieties 26 – 34 . H. amphioxys , as the most commonly reported species, has been noted to occur in various ecosystems, from diverse soils, including alkaline 32 or calcareous 26 , soils of halophilic, shrub, meadow, and psammophytic phytocenoses 30 , soil horizons in artificial and natural forests of the steppe zone 33 , 35 , forest litter of pine, oak and white acacia plantations 36 , urban soils 37 and disturbed lands 38 . It was shown that H. amphioxys could dominate even in the steppe soil post-pyrogenic communities 39 and in biological soil crusts after the effects of fire 29 .…”

The Models of the Heavy Metal Accumulation of the Multiple Grain Energy Cultures for Wasterwater Deposition on Oil-Polluted Degraded Soils

“…The biomass of cultivated energy plants makes it possible to partially meet the needs for renewable energy resources, increases the intensity of carbon biosequestration. The use of the biomass for energy purposes is a priority for climate stabilization, contributes to plant biodiversity [Moroz 2018, Lemus 2002, Lopushnyak 2016b. A number of the cultivated plants are grown for energy purposes, including energy willow and poplar, miscanthus, switchgrass, sylphia, etc.…”