Anthropogenic deep-transformed soils (urbosems) of Odessa city

Abstract

The classification of soils of urban areas (on the example of Odesa) was presented, according to which two classes of soils were distinguished within the city: natural and anthropogenic. The proposed ecological-profile-genetic classification of soils of urban areas combines profile-genetic and factor-ecological approaches. Anthropogenic soils are divided into two groups of soil types: anthropogenically transformed and anthropogenically created. Anthropogenically transformed soils include two types: anthropogenically surface-transformed (urban- and agrosoils) and anthropogenically deeply-transformed (urbozems). The group of types of anthropogenically created soils includes the type of technological surface-soillike formations and sealed soils (constructozems). The article presents the results of the study of anthropogenically deeply-transformed soils of Odesa (urbozems). General scientific (systematic, analysis, synthesis, generalization, statistics) and traditional (soil-genetic, profile-morphological, laboratory-analytical and cartographic) research methods were used to study the genetic characteristics of soils of Odesa and their classification. To study the structure, composition and properties of soils in the city 35 full-profile sections and 17 diggings in 25 key areas were laid. The main morphological characteristics and physicochemical properties were given, the indicators of nutrient content, humus, pHH2O, granulometric composition of soils were analyzed. The composition of salts and absorbed bases in soils was determined. Granulometric composition of urbanozems is clay loamy with a tendency to lighten due to anthropogenically increase of the sand factions and skeletal material content. A typical feature of the urbozems of Odesa is a pretty high variability of nitrogen content in terms of nitrification ability, mobile phosphorus and exchangeable potassium. The content of organic matter in the urban horizon of urban soils ranges from 0.86 to 5.40%. Recreazems and hillozems are characterized by medium loam granulometric composition, alkaline reaction of soil solution, low levels of nutrients and humus. The practical significance of the results provides for the expansion and addition of theoretical and methodological bases of the research of soils in different functional and economic zones of human settlements.