Abstract
The aim of the study was to determine the degree of soil pollution in different forest types around Krakow, using biochemical, chemical and magnetic methods. In assessing the degree of soil contamination, the impact of the forest species composition by comparing the surfaces of broadleaf and coniferous forest stands was taken into account. Enzymatic activity was related to other measures of pollution, i.e., heavy metal concentration, content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and level of magnetic susceptibility. The study was conducted in southern Poland. Krakow was the central point around which the test surfaces were designated. In soil samples pH, soil texture and organic carbon, nitrogen, base cation contents, dehydrogenase and urease activities were determined. Additionally, heavy metal concentration, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) content and magnetic susceptibility were recorded. The obtained results confirm the high diversity of forest soil pollution around Krakow agglomeration. Significant differences in both the content of heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and values of the magnetic susceptibility were observed in the soils of forest complexes located in different directions away from Krakow and at various distances from Krakow. The level of contamination is related to the historical and current deposition of industrial and urban dusts from Krakow and Silesia. The type of stand had a considerable influence on the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. A higher content of aromatic hydrocarbons was observed in the soils of deciduous stands. A high level of magnetic susceptibility was observed in the soils of coniferous stands. The differences in enzymatic activity between the research plots result from different contents of PAHs and different amount of soil organic matter resulting from the species composition.
Highlights
The increase in air pollution is currently one of the major problems of civilization
The type of stand had a considerable influence on the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
The differences in enzymatic activity between the research plots result from different contents of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and different amount of soil organic matter resulting from the species composition
Summary
The increase in air pollution is currently one of the major problems of civilization. This problem concerns Krakow and its surroundings. In Krakow, the pollution of air and soil is one of the highest in Europe. The geochemical and/or magnetic methods have been successfully applied by many researchers to assess the impact of air pollution on the environment (Chodak et al 2013; Klamerus-Iwan et al 2015; Szuszkiewicz et al 2016). In assessing the degree of soils contamination, the content of heavy metals is most often used. The contamination of soil by heavy metals is a significant problem, which leads to a negative influence on soil characteristics
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