Urban soil resources of medium-sized cities in Poland: a comparative case study of Toruń and Zielona Góra

Purpose

Despite the many studies of urban soils, a comparative analysis for cities of a similar size has not yet been conducted. Thus, the aim of this review paper was to compare the soil distribution patterns in the area of two medium-sized Polish cities (Toruń and Zielona Góra). The authors attempted to answer the question of how natural and technogenic factors contributed to the transformation of urban soils and what the similarities and differences are between these two studied cities.

Materials and methods

First, both the natural and the human-related (including historical) factors influencing the soil formation in the studied cities were analysed. Then, a comparison of the degree of transformation of the urban soil environment was presented. The data obtained by the authors during nearly two decades of research (over 200 soil profiles) were used.

Results and discussion

Intensive development of the built-up areas in Toruń brought heavy and long-term transformations of soils, which demonstrate the typical properties of Urbic Technosols, Ekranic Technosols and other technogenic soils. Zielona Góra showed a similar state of soil transformation over a considerably smaller area. Currently, the differences in the soil properties in many built up areas have been blurred, despite the habitat and historical base. The similarities of the soil properties concerned, in particular, a high content of skeletal remains (from a few to over 30%), elevated pH (in KCl) values (even above 8.0) and the artificial soil horizons formation. Both cities struggle with similar problems regarding the changes in the land use within the areas covered by these soils.

Conclusions

It was found that, despite the significant habitat and historical differences between the two studied cities, most of the urban soils, especially Urbic Technosols, Ekranic Technosols and Regosols (Relocatic and Technic), are characterised by similar morphology and properties. The most important differences are the time and scale of the area transformation, which influence the extent of Technosols and Anthrosols within the city borders. The most distinct differences concern the natural and slightly transformed soils, which are the results of various soil-forming factors.

     

How the deadwood of different tree species in various stages of decomposition affected nutrient dynamics?

Purpose

The aim of the study was to estimate how the deadwood of different tree species in various stages of decomposition affected nutrient dynamics.

Materials and methods

The deadwood of eight species (common alder, common aspen, common ash, silver fir, pedunculate oak, Norway spruce, common hornbeam and silver birch) was selected. Three logs from each species in the third, fourth and fifth decay classes were chosen for analysis. Wood in the third decay class was characterised by larger hard fragments, fragmented bark and no branches; in the fourth decay class, it was characterised by small pieces and a fragmented bark; and in the fifth decay class, it was characterised by a soft texture and no bark. The investigation was carried out in the Czarna Rózga Reserve in Central Poland. Tension lysimeters were installed under each log in the humus horizon. The water samples collected from tension lysimeters were chemically analysed in the laboratory. The water chemistry was analysed by means of ion chromatography using a DIONEX ICS 5000 unit.

Results and discussion

The leachate obtained from different tree species contained different ion concentrations. The high similarity of the concentration of total anions and statistically significant differences in the content of total cations were determined in the leachate from the wood of coniferous and deciduous species. The concentration of the cations increases with the advancement of the decomposition level. A general linear model analysis demonstrates that wood species and the decomposition classes are of equal importance in defining the ion composition of the filtrate leaching from deadwood.

Conclusions

Wood at the highest decomposition stage releases more ions to the surface soil layers than wood at the lower decay class. An exception from the rule is the wood of birch, which in the III decay class releases more ions than in its higher decay classes. When comparing the ionic composition of leachate released from wood of coniferous and deciduous tree species, the latter are characterised by higher cation concentrations in comparison with coniferous species. Among the deciduous species, wood of such species as ash, hornbeam, aspen, birch and alder has the most favourable effects on the soil surface horizons through its supply with ionic substances. The ash wood releases high amounts of calcium, hornbeam wood releases magnesium and sodium, and aspen releases calcium, potassium and nitrate anion. From the analysed coniferous species, fir wood has a more favourable effect in terms of ion release to soil than spruce wood.

     

The impact of restoration processes on the selected soil properties and organic matter transformation of mountain fens under <Emphasis Type="Italic">Caltho-Alnetum</Emphasis> community in the Babiogórski National Park in Outer Flysch Carpathians,Poland

Purpose

The objective of this study was to determine the impact of restoration processes on the selected soil properties and organic matter transformation of mountain fens under the Caltho-Alnetum community in the Babiogórski National Park in Outer Flysch Carpathians.

Materials and methods

Restoration processes were conducted on three degraded mountain fens in the Babiogórski National Park in Outer Flysch Carpathians, Poland. The degradation degree of soils was the criterion for the selection of habitats for further studies. To determine the influence of restoration processes on mountain fen soil properties and organic matter transformation, samples were collected in 2011 and 2013. The soil samples were assayed for pH, base cation concentration, hydrolytic acidity, organic carbon and total nitrogen content, total exchangeable base cation concentration, cation exchange capacity, and base saturation. Organic matter fractions were extracted by IHSS method. Quantitative and qualitative study of organic matter was based on fraction composition analysis and the ratio of humic acid carbon to fulvic acid carbon. The research results were statistically verified.

Results and discussion

Based on morphological and chemical properties, the studied mountain fen soils can be classified as Sapric Dranic Eutric Histosols and Sapric Dranic Dystric Histosols according to WRB guidelines (2015). Before restoration processes, the mountain fen soils subjected to a different water regime showed various contents of total nitrogen and organic carbon. The decreasing of the groundwater level was reflected in pH, calcium ion content, exchangeable base cation concentration, and base saturation. The increase of the groundwater level had influence on chemical properties of mountain fen soils such as pH, total exchangeable base cation concentration, hydrolytic acidity, cation exchange capacity, and base saturation. Three-year restoration processes did not cause significant changes in the composition of humic substance fractions.

Conclusions

Mountain fens under Caltho-Alnetum community are priority habitats in Babiogórski National Park in Outer Flysch Carpathians, Poland. These habitats responded to restoration processes in varying degrees depending on the extent of their degradation. The least degraded mountain fen was characterized by a short response time on the restoration processes. The reaction of higher degraded habitats was weaker.

     

Transformation of beech forest litter as a factor that triggers arsenic solubility in soils developed on historical mine dumps

Purpose

Soils that develop on the dumps in historical arsenic mining sites contain high concentrations of As thus constituting a serious environmental risk. This study was aimed to examine the changes in arsenic solubility in mine soils as induced by organic matter introduced with forest litter.

Materials and methods

Four large samples of initially developed soils were collected from the dumps remaining in former mining sites and were incubated for 90 days at various moistures: 80% of maximum water holding capacity and 100% (flooded conditions), with and without addition of beech forest litter (BL), 50 g/kg. Soils contained up to 5.0% As. Soil pore water was collected periodically with MacroRhizon suction samplers and examined on As, Mn, and Fe concentrations, pH, Eh, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The properties of dissolved organic matter were characterized by UV-VIS spectroscopic parameters A4/A6 and SUVA₂₅₄.

Results and discussion

Application of BL resulted in an intensive release of As from soils, particularly at 100% moisture. As concentrations in soil pore water increased strongly during the first 2 or 4 weeks of incubation and then started to decrease in all cases, except for one flooded soil. As was released particularly intensively from carbonate-containing soils. The mechanisms of As mobilization, including reductive dissolution of Mn and Fe oxides and the competition with DOC for sorption sites on the oxides, were discussed as related to soil properties. Pore water concentrations of DOC were increasing at the beginning of incubation and started to decrease after two or four weeks. Spectroscopic parameters of dissolved organic matter in ZS soils indicated increasing aromaticity and progress of humification.

Conclusions

Forest litter introduced to mine dump soils causes a mobilization of As into soil pore water. This effect, particularly strong in carbonate-rich soils, is apparently related to high concentrations of DOC and usually declines with time, which may be explained by the progress in humification. The relationships between DOC properties and As speciation in soil pore water should be dissected for better interpretation of experimental results.

     

EFFECT OF FOLIAR APPLICATION OF UREA,MOLYBDENUM, BENZYLADENINE,SUCROSE AND SALICYLIC ACID ON YIELD,NITROGEN METABOLISM OF RADISH PLANTS AND QUALITY OF EDIBLE ROOTS

In 2006–2007 small radish was cultivated in a pot experiment. Foliar applications were applied twice with solutions of the following compounds: 1) control (water); 2) urea; 3) urea+molybdenum (Mo), 4) urea+Mo+benzyladenine (BA); 5) urea+Mo+BA+sucrose; 6) urea+Mo+BA+sucrose+salicylic acid (SA), 7) BA; 8) SA; and 9) sucrose. The above solutions contained following concentrations of compounds: urea 20 g dm^?3, sucrose 10 g dm^?3, Mo 1 mg dm^?3, BA 5 mg dm^?3 and SA 10 mg dm^?3. In comparison with the control, spraying plants with the solution of urea+Mo+BA+sucrose and SA only caused an increase in leaf mass of one plant. Foliar applications did not have any effect on the yield of edible roots. When compared with the control, the use of sucrose resulted in a decreased content of nitrate (V) in leaves, while the application of urea+Mo+BA+sucrose led to elevated content of nitrate (V) in roots. In case of spraying plants with solutions containing urea (combinations no. 2–6) there was a tendency to increase ammonium (NH₄ ⁺) and nitrogen (N)-total content in leaves and roots, and increase in N uptake by leaves and by the whole plant but not by the radish roots. In combinations 7–9 we noted a decline in the level of ascorbic acid, and in combinations 2–6 there was a decrease in the content of soluble sugars in roots. In comparison with the control, an increase was observed in combinations 2 and 3, while in combinations 7–9 a decrease in the content of free amino acids in roots was observed. None of the combinations with foliar application caused any significant changes in the content of assimilative pigments in radish leaves and concentration of nitrate (III), dry matter in leaves and roots, the content of phenolic compounds, content of potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca) extracted with 2% acetic acid in roots as well as free radical activity of radish roots.     

Community level physiological profiles of microbial communities from forest humus polluted with different amounts of Zn,Pb, and Cd—Preliminary study with BIOLOG ecoplates

Abstract

Heavy metals may alter the structure and metabolic functions of soil microbial community. The objective of our study was to compare the community level physiological proffies (CLPPs) of microbial communities from forest humus polluted with different amounts of Zn, Pb, and Cd to test whether the addition of soluble Zn and Cd may affect the CLPPs of microbial communities. The samples were taken at 18 locations in southern Poland referred to as unpolluted (UP), slightly polluted (SP), and heavily polluted sites (HP). The contents of heavy metals were measured after wet digestions in concentrated HNO₃. Microbial communities were extracted using 0.96% NaCl solution. In order to test heavy metal tolerance of microbial communities from UP sites the extracts from these sites were additionally treated with Zn (50 mg L^-1; UP + Zn) and Cd (1 mg L^-1; UP + Cd). Metabolic functions of the microbial communities were analyzed using BIOLOG Ecoplates method. The contents of Zn, Pb and Cd were the highest at HP sites (4,740, 1,120, 41.0 mg kg^-1, respectively) followed by SP (830, 509, 9.2 mg kg^-1, respectively), and UP (173, 93, 2.1 mg kg^-1, respectively) sites. Principal components analysis (PCA) indicated that CLPPs at all sites were similar. This suggests that microbial community from SP and HP sites revealed tolerance to heavy metals. Addition of Zn affected CLPPs of microbial communities from UP sites as indicated by significantly (p < 0.05) higher value of PC1 score. The addition of Cd did not affect CLPPs of microbial communities from these sites.     

Use of Enrichment,and Contamination Factors Together with Geoaccumulation Indexes to Evaluate the Content of Cd,Cu, and Ni in the Rybnik Water Reservoir in Poland

In this paper, the contamination degree of the Rybnik Reservoir with cadmium, copper and nickel was analyzed. Quality of the water from the reservoir was determined by drawing comparisons between the metal content in the water and both the officially permitted levels (contamination factor) and levels of metals occurring in the water of non-contaminated areas (enrichment factor). Contamination of bottom sediment with chosen metals was analyzed with reference to the metal content in mudstone (geoaccumulation index, enrichment factor, contamination factor). Trends towards changing the metal content in the bottom sediment was analyzed by determining the enrichment factor of the surface layer of the bottom sediments in relation to a deeper layer. Enrichment of the bottom sediments with metals coming from the water was also determined.     

Changes in the chemical composition of water percolating through the soil profile in a moderately polluted catchment

Throughfall (TF), stemflow (SF), soil solution below the organic layer (SS_org) and at 50 cm depth (SS₅₀), and output with stream water (SW) were measured and analyzed for four years in a moderately polluted forest catchment in southern Poland. The input of water with stemflow was ca. 6% of input with TF. However, due to higher concentrations of most ions in SF, the input of most elements with SF was from 8% to 9%. Sulphate (SO₄ ^2–), chloride (Cl^–) and magnesium (Mg²⁺) were the only ions steadily increasing in concentrations in water percolating through the soil profile. Nitrogen reached the forest floor mainly as ammonium (NH₄ ⁺). In the soil organic layer the NH₄ ⁺ concentration decreased, while concentrations of nitrate (NO₃ ^–) and hydrogen (H⁺) increased, probably due to nitrification. For NO₃ ^–, sodium (Na⁺) and calcium (Ca²⁺), the highest concentrations were found in SS_org and SW. This indicates both efficient cycling in the biotic pool of the ecosystem and intensive weathering processes in the mineral soil below the plant rooting zone. The latter was especially pronounced for Mg and Ca. Concentrations of zinc (Zn), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) were the highest in SS_org and SS₅₀. As this was accompanied by a low pH and constant input of H⁺, NH₄ ⁺ and heavy metal ions to the catchment area, it may pose a serious threat to forest health.     

Effect of Preharvest Sprays of Calcium on Cracking and ‘Schattenmorelle’ Sour Cherry Fruit Quality Harvested Mechanically

The aim of the study was to examine effect of preharvest sprays of calcium (Ca) in the form of Ca-chloride (CaCl₂), Ca-nitrate [Ca(NO₃)₂], or a mixture of Ca-formate, Ca-acetate, CaCl₂, and Ca(NO₃)₂ on cracking and quality of ‘Schattenmorelle’ sour cherry fruit harvested mechanically. The experiment was conducted in 2008–2009 at a commercial orchard in central Poland. Mature trees grew on a coarse-textured soil poor in organic matter, at a spacing of 4.0 × 1.5 m. The spray treatments of Ca were performed at 7-day intervals, starting 28 days before harvest, at the rates of 5.0–5.6 kg Ca ha^?1 per season. The trees sprayed with water were treated as the control. Fruit were harvested mechanically when peduncle-fruit detachment force dropped below 3 N. The results showed that preharvest Ca sprays caused no leaf damage. This measure did not affect yield, mean fruit weight, soluble solids concentration and titratable acidity of fruit, and weight loss of fruit during 24 h after harvest. Fruit sprayed with Ca had improved status of this nutrient, and were less liable to juicy leakage from the stem scar, rain-induced cracking, and preharvest decay caused by Glomerella cingulata. The above effects of Ca sprays did not depend on the tested material. It was concluded that preharvest sprays of Ca as CaCl₂ and/or Ca(NO₃)₂ should be recommended in ‘Schattenmorelle’ sour cherry orchards to reduce fruit losses resulting from rain-induced cracking, leakage of juice, and the incidence of cherry bitter rot.     

Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) Growth Suppression and Adverse Effects on Human Health Due to Air Pollution in the Upper Silesian Industrial District (USID), Southern Poland

Air pollution emissions were not continually monitored in the Upper Silesian Industrial District (USID), southern Poland, and data is only available for the last 20?years. Long-lasting and severe tree ring reductions in pines growing 5-20 km north of the USID area recorded particularly high levels of air pollution emissions in the period 1950-1990. Especially high amounts of reductions and many missing rings were found in the period 1964-1981. At the same time, pines growing 60?km west of the USID do not record deep ring reductions; this proves that the phenomenon is of a regional nature. Increases in infant mortality and lung, bronchial, and tracheal cancer morbidity rates among males were also recorded in the USID during periods of high air pollution. Infant mortality rates increased several years after the tree ring reductions. Therefore, it may be possible to use tree ring reductions as an early indicator of the occurrence of adverse effects on human health.