Application of humic substances in the remediation of heavy-metal-polluted soils of the Subarctic Zone of the Kola Peninsula

Abstract

The effect of humic substances of various origin on the behavior of heavy metals was investigated in a field model experiment on remediation of technogenic wastelands near the mining-metallurgical compplex Severonickel in the Subarctic Zone of the Kola Peninsula. Two distinct types of humates, coal and peat, were applied to the experimental sites in various doses and combinations with NPK fertilizer and lime. The combination of peat humates with lime proved the most effective for stabilizing heavy metals in a sixweek experiment. The application of coal humates in conditions of prolonged contamination, accompanied by suppression of vegetation and biota, is effective in small doses (0.5%) and, conversely, causes the mobilization of metals with an increase in humate concentration (1%).