Radioecological characterization of Chashnikovo Training and Experimental Soil Ecology Center,Moscow State University

We have analyzed the radioecological conditions of the Chashnikovo Training and Experimental Soil Ecology Center (TESEC) of Moscow State University in the Solnechnogorsk district of Moscow oblast. We have estimated the rate of soils, plants, air layer near the soil surface, and soil air by the main natural and technogenic radionuclides evaluated. It is shown that the area is radiation-safe with respect to the main parameters.     

On inclusion of ecosystem services in the assessment of damage from land degradation

In the assessment of damage arising from land degradation at the Training and Experimental Soil–Ecological Center of Moscow State University, the cost of unfulfilled and underfulfilled ecosystem surfaces of soils should be taken into account. The following soil services were considered for the territory studied: direct provision with resources, protection, maintenance of ecosystem life and cultural services. A relationship between the concepts of ecosystem services and ecological functions of soils is shown. The concept of function is wider in some respect than the concept associated with it. In the definition of ecosystem service, only the manifestation of the soil function, which can have an economic interpretation, is selected. A simulation of ecosystem services proposed in the ecological and economic evaluation of damage arising from land degradation can be a real mechanism of nature conservation and development of systems of sustainable management at various levels of the administrative structure of the country.     

The effect of long-term mineral fertilization on the status of iron and heavy metals in soddy-podzolic soils

The long-term application of different mineral fertilizers in field experiments conducted at the Dolgoprudnaya and Luberetskaya agrochemical experimental stations and in the Chashnikovo Training and Experimental Soil-Ecological Center of Moscow State University resulted in an increase in the content of nonsilicate iron in soddy-podzolic soils of different texture, compared to the control (unfertilized) soils, which could be caused by an enhancement of the soil weathering. The greatest effect on the soil weathering was observed for nitrogen (ammonium nitrate) and potassium (potassium chloride) fertilizers. Periodic liming decreased the content of the nonsilicate iron minerals. The citrate-dithionite solution extracted 50 to 80% of the total zinc and 37 to 82% of the total strontium from the soil, which were probably bound to the nonsilicate iron compounds. The latter participate in the redistribution of the strontium arriving to the soil with phosphoric fertilizers: the content of the metal passed into the citrate-dithionite extract from the soil treated with simple superphosphate for a long time period and was 1.3 times higher than that extracted from the control soil.     

Fractional composition of lead compounds in soils of Moscow and Moscow region

Sequential fractionation of lead compounds from the urban and suburban soils of Moscow and eastern Moscow region was performed using the Tessier method. It was found that strongly bound lead compounds retained by Fe and Mn hydroxides were predominant in the background (reference) soils of the Meshchera Lowland in Moscow oblast. The content of almost all the lead fractions, except for the hydroxide fraction, increased in the contaminated soils. The quantitative proportions of the particulate fractions varied depending on the distance from the city, the physicochemical properties of the soils, and the land use. The profile distribution of the lead was of accumulative character; the metal was fixed on the biogeochemical barrier, where the lead compounds of the fourth fraction bound to organic matter are mainly accumulated.     

Content and distribution pattern of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) in soils of Moscow

The content and distribution pattern of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites (DDE and DDD) in the surface layers of soils in Moscow are studied. The residual content of these substances in the soils varies within 2.22–1440 µg/kg (at a mean value of 158.9 ± 314.1 µg/kg and median 42.53 µg/kg). The correlation between the contents of DDT and its metabolites and DDD and organic matter is revealed. The highest contents of the pollutants are seen in the residential–transport and industrial zones of Moscow, while their lowest contents are revealed in the soils of the yards of preschool facilities and schools. With respect to the residual contents of the pesticide, most of the soils of Moscow can be considered uncontaminated (80.0%) and acceptably contaminated (7.5%).     

The development of approaches to assess the soil organic carbon pools in megapolises and small settlements

An approach to assess the soil organic carbon (SOC) pools in megapolises and in small settlements with due account for the natural, economic, and historical heterogeneity of urban territories; the degree of the soil sealing; and the specific features of their functional use is discussed. Cartographic information, satellite imagery, geoinformation systems, and field and literature data have been applied to adapt this approach for Moscow and for the town of Serebryanye Prudy in Moscow oblast. The pool of SOC has been calculated for the topsoil horizons (0–10 cm) and for the total thickness of the cultural layer (habitation deposits) in these urban areas. The total SOC pool comprises 13 833.0 × 10³ t (with an error of 30–40%) for Moscow and 2 996.6 × 10³ t (with an error of 50–70%) for Serebryanye Prudy. The specific carbon pools for these territories reach 128 and 810 t/ha, respectively. The cultural layer of Moscow concentrates about 75% of the total SOC pool; in Serebryanye Prudy, it contains about 95% of the total SOC pool. The SOC pools in the urban soils are comparable with or exceed the SOC pools in the corresponding natural zonal soils.     

Hydrothermic conditions of functioning of gray soils: Assessment and prognosis

The revealed trends of temperature and precipitation changes between 1932 and 2001 suggest that the nearest ten years in the southern Moscow region should be characterized by the fall in soil temperatures and the rise in the soil water content during the growing season in spite of the significant shift in the water and temperature regimes of plowed soils toward the aridity and higher continentality of their climate. The resulting situation can affect agricultural production by favoring the transition from high-input farming to grass farming in the southern Moscow region.     

Sensitivity assessment,adjustment, and comparison of mathematical models describing the migration of pesticides in soil using lysimetric data

The water block of physically founded models of different levels (chromatographic PEARL models and dual-porosity MACRO models) was parameterized using laboratory experimental data and tested using the results of studying the water regime of loamy soddy-podzolic soil in large lysimeters of the Experimental Soil Station of Moscow State University. The models were adapted using a stepwise approach, which involved the sequential assessment and adjustment of each submodel. The models unadjusted for the water block underestimated the lysimeter flow and overestimated the soil water content. The theoretical necessity of the model adjustment was explained by the different scales of the experimental objects (soil samples) and simulated phenomenon (soil profile). The adjustment of the models by selecting the most sensitive hydrophysical parameters of the soils (the approximation parameters of the soil water retention curve (SWRC)) gave good agreement between the predicted moisture profiles and their actual values. In distinction from the PEARL model, the MARCO model reliably described the migration of a pesticide through the soil profile, which confirmed the necessity of physically founded models accounting for the separation of preferential flows in the pore space for the prediction, analysis, optimization, and management of modern agricultural technologies.     

Criteria and methods to assess the ecological status of soils in relation to the landscaping of urban territories

The ecological status and functioning of soils in urban ecosystems are considered. A series of criteria and simple methods of their determination are suggested to assess soil suitability for landscaping purposes. Their practical application is shown by the example of the ecological assessment and monitoring survey of different urban territories in the southwestern, western, and northwestern administrative districts of Moscow and in Moscow suburbs. It is shown that the main damage to the soils of actively used territories in Moscow is due to the artificial salinization induced by the application of deicing substances and fertilizers. The second factor of soil degradation is the soil compaction. An unfavorable water and air regime (a deficit or excess of soil moisture) is a factor that manifests itself sporadically in time (during the extremely dry years) and in space (at the sites with an increased soil compaction and soil water evaporation). A considerable decrease in the potential biological activity of urban soils, including the soils of newly built residential areas, in comparison with their natural analogues attests to the disturbance of their functioning under the impact of chemical pollution and an unfavorable physical status.     

Features of technogenic metal pollution of roadside soil according to x-ray fluorescence monitoring data

X-ray fluorescence monitoring of technogenic metal pollution of Moscow soil near two highways with heavy traffic was fulfilled. As a result of vehicles running, the macro and microelement composition of Moscow roadside soil was seen to substantially differ from the composition of both soddy podzolic soil (typical for Moscow region) and any other soil of the temperate climatic region of Russia. The average Fe, Mn and Ti contents in soil were found to exceed the usual background level by 2–5-fold, maximum Pb content — by 10–15-fold. The lateral and depth distribution of enumerated metal contents in soil near the highways was studied. It was shown that the behavior of lateral pollutant distribution in soil has no specific exponential shape. It has local extremuma and depends on the metal nature and the roadside terrain topography. For Pb — one of the most dangerous pollutants — the mechanism of chemical transformations and the interrelation of the pollutant chemical form, its molecular weight, the dwelling time in atmosphere and the distance to the highway were discussed.     

Assessing the technogenic contamination of urban soils from the profile distribution of heavy metals and the soil bulk density

The contamination of soils with heavy metals in the city of Moscow has been assessed using the conventional procedure and a new resource approach developed at the Faculty of Soil Science of Moscow State University. The approach involved the consideration of the profile distribution of a pollutant and the variation in the bulk density of the enclosing soil. The integral parameter of contamination was the reserve of the pollutant in a conventional normative soil layer 1 m in thickness according to the Moscow Law On the Urban Soils. In the soil samples taken in the main administrative districts of Moscow, the contents of heavy metals of the first (zinc, lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury) and second (nickel and copper) hazard classes were determined. For each profile, distribution graphs of all of the above elements have been developed, and the element reserves have been calculated in the upper 1-m-thick layer with consideration for the changes in the soil density with depth. The obtained data have been compared with the normative reserves of heavy metals and the estimates of technogenic contamination derived using the conventional procedure. An increase in the total reserves of pollutants has been observed at the increase in their concentrations with depth; therefore, a clean soil according to the conventional procedure can be classified as contaminated. Analogously, a decrease in the total reserve of a pollutant in the upper 1-m-thik layer and, hence, a decrease in the degree of soil contamination have been observed when the concentration of the pollutant reduced with the depth. In general, the profile distributions of heavy metals and the soil bulk density strongly interfere with the estimation of the contamination of the soil as a spatially heterogeneous body and should be taken into consideration in the development of a present-day system of quality criteria and norms for urban soils.     

Input and migration of dissolved organic carbon in soils of forest ecosystems in the subzone of deciduous–coniferous forests

The results of four-year monitoring of natural waters in forest ecosystems of the Zvenigorod Biological Station (Moscow State University, Moscow oblast) show regular changes in the concentrations and fluxes of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) within the atmospheric precipitation–throughfall–soil waters system. Precipitation passing through the tree canopy is enriched with DOC (2–3 and 9–24 mg/L). The average carbon concentration in soil waters reaches 100–110 mg/L in complex spruce and pine–spruce forests and does not exceed 40–60 mg/L in spruce–birch forests.     

Nitrification in Eutrophic Peat Soils under Different Land-Use Management Practices

Eurasian Soil Science - We have analyzed the distribution of soil properties and the intensity of net nitrification in the profiles of eutrophic peatlands on the Yakhroma River floodplain (Moscow...     

Organic Matter and Physical Properties of Postagrogenic Eroded Soddy-Podzolic Soil and Arable Soddy-Podzolic Soil

Eurasian Soil Science - In a moderately eroded regraded deep-podzolic clay loamy agrosoddy-podzolic soil (Albic Retisol (Loamic)) of unmanaged fallow in Moscow oblast, a significant increase in the...     

Hydrosorption and Microstructural Characteristics of Soil Horizons of Different Geneses and Their Change in Constructozems

Eurasian Soil Science - Soil substrates used in model constructozems (artificially constructed soils) of different fabrics created on the territory of Lomonosov Moscow State University in 2012 were...     

Dioxin Soil Contamination near Former Landfills

Eurasian Soil Science - Dioxin contamination levels and profiles of soils in New Moscow area were studied to identify the potential sources of contamination at a distance of 300 to 1000 m from the...     

Structural and Functional Organization of Forest Litters as Indicators of Biological Cycling Intensity in Urban Forest Stands (an Example of Moscow)

Eurasian Soil Science - Annual dynamics, composition, and pools of total organic matter and ash elements in litters of urban forests in Moscow were studied. The destructive litters are shown to...     

Biological Activity of Urban Soils: Spatial Variability and Control Factors

Eurasian Soil Science - An assessment of the spatial variability of the biological activity of anthropogenic soils on the territory of the Lomonosov Moscow State University and the factors...     

Transformation of Forest Ecosystems in Moscow Megapolis under Recreational Impacts

Eurasian Soil Science - A comprehensive quantitative assessment of the state of vegetation, soil invertebrate complex, litter horizons, and soddy-podzolic soils (Albic Retisols) in Moscow forest...