Urban Soils Mycobiota of the Subarctic (Apatity, Murmansk region, Russia)

Author(s):  
Maria Korneykova ◽  
Dmitriy Nikitin ◽  
Andrey Dolgikh ◽  
Anastasia Soshina

<p>The soils mycobiota of Apatity was first characterized. Significant differences in quantitative and qualitative parameters of urban soils fungal complexes of the Subarctic zone in comparison with zonal soils were revealed. It was shown that the biomass of fungi in the soil of the residential area of Umbric Leptic Entic Podzol (Arenic, Neocambic) is 0.18 – 0.20 mg/g, in the background forest soil Folic Leptic Albic Podzol (Arenic) – 0.31 mg/g. The smallest values (0.04 – 0.08 mg / g) are typical for areas with no vegetation and a densely compacted surface (playground - Leptic Entic Podzol (Arenic, Neocambic, Technic), unpaved pedestrian walkway – Umbric Leptic Entic Podzol (Arenic, Neocambic).</p><p>In the soils of recreational and forest areas, fungi were mainly in the form of mycelium (66-70% of the total biomass), while in the soils of residential and agricultural areas in the form of spores. Spores are mainly represented by small forms up to 3 microns. The amount of large spores is insignificant, but they were mainly detected in the soil of the residential area.</p><p>The number of copies of ITS rRNA genes of fungi in soils of different functional zones varies from 4.0×10<sup>9</sup> to 1.14×10<sup>10 </sup>copies/g of soil, with the highest values in the natural Podzol of the forest zone and Podzol of the unpaved pedestrian walkway.</p><p>The number of micromycetes CFU in the upper soil horizon ranges from 1×10<sup>3</sup> to 9×10<sup>4</sup> CFU/g of soil, reaching maximum values in the soil of the Umbric Leptic Entic Podzol recreation zone (Arenic, Neocambic, Technic). The features of cultivated forms of micromycetes distribution on the soil profile in different functional zones were revealed: in the Podzol of the residential area, the maximum accumulation of fungi was noted in the lower horizons, while in the soil of the recreational, agricultural and forest areas, their maximum number was noted in the top horizon. However, the first two differed from the background one in the absence of a second maximum accumulation of micromycetes in the illuvial Bs horizon.</p><p>In general, urban soils were characterized by a low species diversity of micromycetes complexes and a specific structure significantly different from the background soils. The genus Penicillium is characterized by maximum species diversity. Trichocladium griseum and Penicillium dierckxii dominate in the communities of microscopic fungi in the soil of the residential zone, P. melinii in the soil of the recreational areas and in the playground, in the soil of agricultural area Plaggic Entic Podzol (Arenic) - micromycetes of the genus Fusarium, and in the background forest soil - P. decumbens.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davaakhuu Tserendorj ◽  
Katalin Zsuzsanna Szabó Szabó ◽  
Peter Völgyesi Völgyesi ◽  
Gorkhmaz Abbaszade ◽  
Do Le Tan Tan ◽  
...  

<p>The <sup>137</sup>Cs (t<sub>1/2</sub> =30 years) is a principal radioisotope that was artificially introduced into the environment through the atmospheric bomb tests took place from the middle of the 1940s to the 1980s and from the major nuclear accidents (i.e., Chernobyl, 1986 and Fukushima, 2011). From the atmosphere, <sup>137</sup>Cs easily adsorbs to particles and it returns to lithosphere (pedosphere) by wet and dry deposition as a radioactive fallout component. Due to the Chernobyl nuclear accident, the released contaminated air mass, containing Cs-137, largely propagated, deposited, and distributed across several European countries in the ambient environment (Balonov et al., 1996). These particles also reached houses (e.g. through open windows, cracks, and vents) in an urban environment and deposited inside resulting in the exposition of the habitants to <sup>137</sup>Cs, especially in areas that are not accessible for a regular cleaning like attics. Following the nuclear accidents, primary attention was drawn to agricultural areas and less attention was paid to urban environments. Accordingly, the goal of this study is to compare the <sup>137</sup>Cs activity in attic dust as undisturbed samples, and urban soils as disturbed environmental materials to determine the <sup>137</sup>Cs distribution in urban environment. </p><p>Attic dust (AD) samples were collected from 14 houses, which were built between 1900 and 1990 14 urban soil (US) samples were collected nearby the houses at a depth of 0-15 cm in Salgótarján, a former industrial city. To obtain a representative local undisturbed soil sample, a forest soil sample was collected from the upwind direction (NW) of the city. To check the <sup>137</sup>Cs content of the local industrial waste material, we also collected fly-ash slag sample from a waste dump.   AD and US samples were analyzed by a well-type HPGe and with an n-type coaxial HPGe detector in a low background iron chamber, respectively.</p><p>Cs-137 activity in the studied AD ranges from 5.51±0.9 to 165.9±3.6 Bq kg<sup>-1, </sup>with a mean value of 75.4±2.5 Bq kg<sup>-1 </sup>(decay corrected in 2016). In contrast, US samples show <sup>137</sup>Cs activity ranging between 2.3±0.4 and 13.6±0.6 Bq kg<sup>-1</sup>.  The brown forest soil sample has elevated <sup>137</sup>Cs activity concentration (18.5<strong>±</strong>0.6 Bq kg<sup>-1</sup>), compared to the urban soils. The fly-ash slags activity is below the detection limit (0.7±0.5 Bq kg<sup>-1</sup>).</p><p>The average <sup>137</sup>Cs activity in AD is ~15 times higher than that of US. This result clearly indicates that attic area provides a protected (hardly or unchanged) environment, therefore physical condition of the dust remains constant in time, and there is a small chance for chemical reaction. Forest soil proves that US were highly disturbed by anthropogenic activity. This is supported by fly-ash slag activity results.  Whereas, <sup>137</sup>Cs activity concentration of the AD samples shows significantly higher than that of the studied soils in Hungary. This confirms again US cannot show the historical atmospheric <sup>137</sup>Cs pollution such as attic dust. A statistically significant relationship (p=0.003, r<sup>2</sup>=0.05) were found between the AD and US samples. Therefore, it can be considered that attic dust remained undisturbed for decades and preserve past record of components of atmospheric pollution.</p><p> </p><p> </p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-71
Author(s):  
Alexander Igorevich Startsev

The vegetation of the Samara Region is characterized by a relatively high content of copper. This biogeochemical feature is typical for natural and technogenic transformed ecosystems of the region. Copper is included in the group of elements of the 2nd hazard class. At certain concentrations it is necessary for the normal functioning of all organisms, but with increasing concentrations in the environment or in food it shows toxicity. The technogenic sources of copper include metalworking and machine-building enterprises, fertilizers, road and rail transport, wastewater, products of incomplete fuel combustion and refining characteristic of the Samara Region. The peculiarities of copper accumulation and distribution in soils of urban areas of the region are insufficiently studied. Previously, such studies were carried out only in certain areas of Samara. The paper analyzes in detail the level of technogenic copper pollution of the soil cover in Novokuybyshevsk. Ecological and geochemical studies in Novokuybyshevsk were carried out for 3 years (2016-2018) on 7 stationary test plots in its different functional areas and on 1 background test plot. The objects of research were soil samples taken from the upper humus horizon (layer 0-10 cm). The quantitative content of copper in soil samples was determined by the method of inversion voltammetry. A comparative analysis revealed territories of Novokuybyshevsk with relatively high, medium and low levels of copper in the soil. The first group included the Park Dubki in its elevated part, the old residential area on Kirov Street, the roadside area at the intersection of Pobeda Avenue and Dzerzhinsky Street (93,3-90,7 mg/kg). The second group with an average copper content (71,0-73,3 mg/kg) included the square Elochki and a new residential area on Ostrovsky Street. The third group with a relatively low copper content (38,3-54,7 mg/kg) included three sample areas: the lowland part of the Park Dubki, the industrial zone and the background area. The concentration of copper in the soils of all studied functional zones in Novokuybyshevsk has not reached the level of approximate permissible concentration (APC), but more than the clark of the world soils and the background indicators. The downward trend in the concentration of copper in the soils of most of the studied functional zones of Novokuybyshevsk in 2018 compared with 2016 and 2017 at the relatively low level of copper content in soils of the industrial area of the city allows to exclude oil refineries from the list of its major anthropogenic sources.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nataliia Chupakhina ◽  
Pavel Maslennikov ◽  
Pavel Feduraev ◽  
Luba Skrypnik ◽  
Galina Chupakhina

<p>The purpose of this work is to investigate the accumulation of metals in urban soils of the main geochemical landscapes of the urban environment and in plants growing in these areas. The paper presents the results of a study of the accumulation of metals (Cu, Pb, As, Co, Cr, V, Zn, Mn, Sr, Ni, Ca, Fe) in the accumulative soil horizon of the main functional zones of Kaliningrad (agricultural landscape, residential, industrial and municipal). As a control, we used the landscape of recreation and recreation. The accumulation of elements in the soil and leaves of plants during the growing season and calendar period (year) was studied. The content of TM was determined in the leaves of woody, shrubby and herbaceous plants (22 species) of the urban environment of the city of Kaliningrad.</p><p>The metal content in the samples was determined by X-ray fluorescence analysis on the Spectroscan Max-G device. Soil samples were taken from the upper accumulative horizon with a thickness of 0 to 10 cm by the envelope method. The content of TM in the samples was determined by X-ray fluorescence analysis on the device " Spectroscan Max-G "("Spektron", Russia). Soil samples for analysis were prepared in accordance with the M049-P/10 method.</p><p>In urban soils, a significant excess of background concentrations of lead, manganese, zinc, copper, strontium and nickel (Pb>Cu>Zn>Mn>Sr>Ni) was found. The maximum content of pollutants in urban soils was observed in industrial and residential multi-storey areas with increased transport load. It is shown that the pH of the soil has the greatest influence on the distribution of metals in the accumulative horizon.</p><p>The absorption of elements by plants is species-specific. The highest total level of metals (Mn, Fe, Zn, Sr, Br, Rb) was observed in the leaves of woody plants: holly maple, hanging birch and heart-shaped linden. Of the studied elements, the plants most accumulated manganese and iron. The accumulation of manganese in the leaves is more characteristic of woody plants than of shrubs or grasses. The maximum content of Mn was found in the leaves of holly maple (79.5%), in the leaves of other plants, manganese accumulated significantly less actively (2.7 - 35.6%). The predominant accumulation of iron was observed in the leaves of white clover, wrinkled rose and crowned chub, its content in the leaves was 81.0—83.8 %. Among woody species, the maximum concentration of iron was found in the leaves of heart-shaped linden (69.9 %) and hanging birch (53.4%). Among the species that actively accumulate Zn — black poplar (32.5 %), in the leaves of other plants, the zinc content is 2.2 — 16.8% of the total pollutants. The highest content of strontium was found in samples of meadow clover (19.1 %), in the leaves of other plants the proportion of metal was significantly lower (1.8—11.4%). Analysis of the accumulation of metals in the leaves of the studied plants revealed a positive correlation between the content of Fe and Sr (r = 0.71).</p><p> </p>


Author(s):  
Anastasiia Hovorun ◽  
Olga Myslyuk

The characteristics of the soil cover of the city Cherkassy and the sources of anthropogenic changes of its acidbase properties are presented. The results of the research of soils from different functional zones of the city Cherkassy showed that its reaction is mainly alkaline. The cartographic model of experimental data was made with the program SURFER showing acid-base regime characteristics of soils in different functional zones of the city. This mapping allowed to identify the following soils: fertile (рН = 6.5–7.0) and potentially fertile (рН = 7.0–7.5), hardly suitable (рН = 7.5–8.0), moderately (рН = 8.0–8.5) and highly (рН = 8.0–8.5) toxic. It is concluded that only 60% of urban soils can be identified as fertile or potentially fertile in terms of characteristics of acid-base regime. The results of the evaluation of acid-base regime of urban soilsare correlated with the results of the previous studies of pollution of snow cover in the areas of permanent emissions and the anionic composition of soils. The analysis of the cause-effect relationships in the impact of adverse environmental factors on urban landscapes showed that the formation of acid-base regime of soils is influenced both by the natural landscape, i.e. geochemical, and anthropogenic factors.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuzhe Li ◽  
Jiangwen Fan ◽  
Hailing Yu

Grasslands in northern China form an important ecological barrier that prevents and controls desertification. The Beijing–Tianjin Sand Source Control (BTSSC) Project has been implemented to restore grassland in order to control sand sourced pollution. This study aimed to understand the impacts of four applied restoration practices on the productivity, composition, and species diversity of vegetation communities in the BTSSC Project. The results indicated the following: (1) All the restoration practices tended to increase the height and cover of communities, and the effect was most obvious where grazing was excluded; (2) total biomass (87%), above-ground biomass (164%) and below-ground biomass (58%) only increased consistently when grazing was excluded from the steppe; (3) fenced and grazing exclusion practice significantly increased the abundance of species in communities, but all the practices tended to decrease the evenness of species; and, (4) the correlation analysis revealed that the Shannon–Wiener diversity index, and Pielou evenness index, showed significant negative correlations with the above-ground biomass of grassland communities after restoration, while no significant relationships were shown in reference plots. Our comparison of applied practices in the BTSSC project revealed that grazing exclusion might be a high priority for more successful restoration in this region.


2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 379-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerardo Vázquez-Marrufo ◽  
MA. Soledad ◽  
Vázquez-Garciduenas ◽  
Blanca E. Gómez-Luna ◽  
Víctor Olalde-Portugal

1981 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 109 ◽  
Author(s):  
DN Jones

The suburban bird community of Wagga Wagga, N.S.W., was surveyed during December 1978-January 1979 and May 1979, at nine sites selected to cover all ages of residential areas from predevelopment to oldest suburbs and to demonstrate how the bird community will change with time in response to changing habitat. Non-residential sites were also sampled. Sites were censused by foot transect. House sparrows which were present in all sites, were the first species to colonize new residential areas and made up over 95% of the individual count of four sites Of native species, 40% were found in undeveloped sites only. The population density of undeveloped sites was only half that of developed sites, but the greatest species diversity was found in undeveloped sites and the lowest in the most altered sites. There was strong evidence for a steady linear increase in numbers of individuals, numbers of species, biomass and population density with increasing age of residential area, reaching a peak at about 30 years.


2005 ◽  
Vol 71 (9) ◽  
pp. 5544-5550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heath E. O'Brien ◽  
Jeri Lynn Parrent ◽  
Jason A. Jackson ◽  
Jean-Marc Moncalvo ◽  
Rytas Vilgalys

ABSTRACT Fungi are an important and diverse component of soil communities, but these communities have proven difficult to study in conventional biotic surveys. We evaluated soil fungal diversity at two sites in a temperate forest using direct isolation of small-subunit and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rRNA genes by PCR and high-throughput sequencing of cloned fragments. We identified 412 sequence types from 863 fungal ITS sequences, as well as 112 ITS sequences from other eukaryotic microorganisms. Equal proportions of Basidiomycota and Ascomycota sequences were present in both the ITS and small-subunit libraries, while members of other fungal phyla were recovered at much lower frequencies. Many sequences closely matched sequences from mycorrhizal, plant-pathogenic, and saprophytic fungi. Compositional differences were observed among samples from different soil depths, with mycorrhizal species predominating deeper in the soil profile and saprophytic species predominating in the litter layer. Richness was consistently lowest in the deepest soil horizon samples. Comparable levels of fungal richness have been observed following traditional specimen-based collecting and culturing surveys, but only after much more extensive sampling. The high rate at which new sequence types were recovered even after sampling 863 fungal ITS sequences and the dominance of fungi in our libraries relative to other eukaryotes suggest that the abundance and diversity of fungi in forest soils may be much higher than previously hypothesized.


Author(s):  
Kambai Collina ◽  
Akwashiki Ombugadu ◽  
Apervega Paul Tersoo ◽  
Nanlir Janfa ◽  
Francis Mundi Junior ◽  
...  

Forest is the most significant habitat for birds by supporting around 75% of all bird species while only 45% of all bird species have adapted to humans modified habitats. The research was conducted in the Montane Forest Research Station, Jos, Plateau State, in other to determine the abundance, diversity and effect of habitat types on bird’s species diversity. Fifteen transects of 200m were laid in the three habitat types (riparian forest, farmland and residential area) using stratified random sampling method. The data collected were analysed using R console. Shannon Weiner diversity index was used to analyse species diversity while generalized linear model was used to determine the effect of the habitat variables on bird species diversity. The result showed a total number of 1466 individual birds belonging to 17 families and 60 bird species were sighted. The abundance of birds was highest in riparian forest (2252), farmland (1732) and Residential area (1094) with no significance difference (p=0.177). Species richness was higher in the riparian forest (57), farmland (49), and the residential area (44). It also revealed that bird diversity index was highly significant. Riparian forest had the highest diversity (4.77), and the species were more evenly distributed (0.6) as compared to the other habitat types. The higher the number of trees and canopy cover the higher the diversity of species as was observed in the riparian forest where forest species that weren’t seen in the other habitats were found. The farmland and residential areas also hold a considerable number of some generalist bird species due to some patches of vegetation found in the habitat. Therefore, conservation efforts should be directed towards keeping vegetation intact in human dominated areas, as it serves as repository for bird species which are ecologically important. Hence, planting trees (economic, fruit and ornamental) should be encouraged.


2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 479-495
Author(s):  
R. P. Obabko ◽  
E. A. Borovichev ◽  
A. Yu. Likhachev

Species diversity of mosses has been studied on the northwestern slope of the Monche-tundra Ridge near Vaikis Lake (Lapland State Nature Biosphere Reserve, Murmansk Region). Annotated list of 124 species is presented. Fifteen species are new to the reserve and 119 — to the Monche-tundra Ridge. In the rather small area many rare and basiphilic mosses were found. Of these, 7 species included in regional or federal Red Data books were revealed (Andreaea blyttii, Buxbaumia aphylla, Cyrtomnium hymenophyllum, Encalypta cf. streptocarpa, Fissidens bryoides, Orthothecium chryseon, Tetrodontium repandum). The results show high botanical value of the study territory and confirm its status as Important Plant Areas (IPA) on European level.


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