The potential of the osmological perception of landholders and managers as a practical way of assessing the impact of oil spills on soil

Abstract

Throughout agricultural history, farmers have used their perception, developed based on their practical experience, as a key indicator in soil management, including in recent times to identify contaminated soils in areas with chronic pollution problems, such as oil spills. It is important to study the certainty of these techniques because agricultural production depends on them. The perception of petroleum in soil (Fluvisol, Gleysol, and Arenosol) was evaluated in two rural communities with and without previous experience with oil spills, to assess the role of prior exposure in the reliability of using odor as a de facto criterion for acceptance of remediation projects, and to compare data from rural communities to an urban population in a previous study. In the rural communities, the odor was perceived as less intense and more acceptable compared to the urban population. Likewise, the community with previous experience perceived the odor as less intense and more acceptable than the community without previous experience. The odor perception in the Gleysol was adequate to avoid toxicity and fertility problems when compared to soil fertility parameters (acute toxicity, water repellency, and field capacity). In the Fluvisol, the soil odor was valid only to avoid problems with toxicity. In the Arenosol, the odor was reliable only to avoid problems of toxicity, and only after six months of bio-treatment (passive bioremediation, natural attenuation). For these reasons, it is not recommended to use soil odor as a criterion for the acceptance of remediation projects in Fluvisols and Arenosols in the region.