The content of heavy metals in soils of protective forest plantations of railway territories

Abstract

The polyfunctional value of protective forest plantations on railway has been described. The necessity of studying their forest reclamation functions is indicated. Constant pollution of the environment requires the immediate solution of urgent environmental and economic problems to ensure a clean future. The influence of railway transport on the environment has been studied. Studies have been carried out on significant soil contamination by mobile forms of heavy metals in protective forest plantations along transport routes. The geochemical assessment of soils by the content of heavy metals is given in accordance with the maximum permissible concentration (MPC). Heavy metals were considered in accordance with the classification of chemical elements by hazard class. The dependence between the content of heavy metals in the soil and the distance from the track has been investigated. The level of pollution and the spread of mobile forms of lead, cadmium, zinc, copper, nickel, cobalt, chromium, iron and manganese in the soils of protective forest plantations under the influence of the technogenic environment of railways was revealed. Compounds of heavy metals extend approximately at the same distance from the track and do not exceed the MPC, with the exception of manganese. At the control section, experiments showed that all chemical elements, except manganese, were at a minimum. After analyzing the test plot data, we found that the proportion of Mn in them is the greatest, (55% in average), and zinc, lead and iron fluctuate – about 9%, which is 6 times less than the manganese content. The rest of heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Co, Ni, Cr) occupy insignificant percentages in the soil, which range up to 5%.