Changes in the properties of soils and soil biota in the impact zone of the aerotechnogenic emissions from the Kandalaksha aluminum smelter

• Published in: Eurasian soil science 2013-10, Vol.46 (10), p.1042-1048
• Main Authors: Evdokimova, G. A., Korneikova, M. V., Mozgova, N. P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acidity; Aluminum; Aluminum industry; Biota; Conservation of Soils; Contaminants; Contamination; Degradation; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Ecosystems; Emissions; Environmental impact; Fluorine; Fluorine compounds; Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences; Microorganisms; Organic soils; Plate tectonics; Rehabilitation; Smelters; Soil contamination; Soil horizons; Soil microbiology; Soil microorganisms; Soil pollution; Soil properties; Soils
• ISSN: 1064-2293; 1556-195X
• DOI: 10.1134/S1064229313100025

A comparative analysis of the changes in the properties of the soils and soil biota in the past ten years along the gradient of pollution with aerotechnogenic emission from the Kandalaksha aluminum smelter in response to a decrease in the emission volume has been performed. The concentrations of fluorine compounds (the priority pollutant) in the emissions and in the organic soil horizons in the impact zone significantly decreased in 2011 relative to 2001. The concentrations of Al decreased only in close vicinity to the smelter (up to 2 km). The concentrations of F, Ca, and Mg in the liquid phase were higher than those in the solid phase, and these elements migrated to greater distances from the source of the contamination (up to 15–20 km). The elements Si, Al, Fe, and P were contained mostly in the solid phase and were mainly deposited within the 5-km zone. The acidity of the litter near the smelter decreased by almost by two pH units in the nearest zone (