Barrier Functions of Soils of Natural and Technogenic Steppe Landscapes

Аннотация

We examine the fundamental tenets of the theory of geochemical barriers and their role in landscapes associated with an intensification of migration processes caused by an enhancement in anthropogenic activity, including in the sphere of industrial production. Observational evidence indicates that the flow of multiple elements in the form of substances, which is produced by the aluminum smelters of Khakassia and enters the landscapes through the atmosphere, contains the associations of hydrous migrating pollutants. According to their accumulation weight, they can be subdivided into the following groups: main pollutants—F, Al, Na and Ni whose content in the melt water exceeds the background level by factors of 10 to100, associated pollutants—Mn, Sr, Ca and Mg (exceeding the background levels by a factor of 10), and secondary pollutants—Si, Zn, Ba, K, Fe, V and Pb (exceeding the background level by factors of 1.8 to 7.0). For all the indicators analyzed, including toxicity, fluorine has been identified as the priority pollutant, and special emphasis was placed on it in the analysis of the migration mechanisms. The following geochemical barriers play an important role in the accumulation and migration processes of pollutants: biogeochemical (organogenic and humus-organogenic, and sorption), and physicochemical (sedimentation, evaporation, and multifunctional: solonetz). It has been found that in conditions of technogenesis, soil-geochemical barriers do not conform fully to a classical understanding of the function of the barrier, i. e. the transition of elements to an inactive or slightly active form, as they can accumulate not only in a slightly active, but also in an active form. It allowed us to expand the concept of geochemical barriers and define them as active barriers or starter barriers.