Contents and toxicity of heavy metals in soils of the zone affected by aerial emissions from the Severonikel Enterprise

Abstract

In 2009, the zoning of the terrestrial ecosystems in the area exposed to aerial emissions from the Severonikel Enterprise (Murmansk oblast) was performed on the basis of the parameters characterizing the state of the soils, including the contents of the main heavy metal pollutants and exchangeable calcium and magnesium, the soils’ pH, the ratio of the organic to mineral soil components, and the state of the soils’ microbiota. Three zones differing in the degree of the soil pollution were delimited. These were the zones of heavy, moderate, and weak pollution, which extended for up to 3, 25, and 50 km from the emission source in the prevailing wind direction. The data on the amount of bacterial and fungal biomass provided evidence of the profound degradation of the soils in the heavily polluted zone. In particular, the biomass of the soil microbiota, including its prokaryotic and eukaryotic components, was two to six times lower in this zone than in the background (control) area. The soils of the heavily polluted zone can be classified as strongly toxic for plants, and most of the soils of the moderately polluted zone also fall into the same category.