Monitoring of the radionuclides and heavy metals content in the agroecosystems of the forest-steppe zone of the Central Chernozem Region of Russia

The research was carried out as part of the state agroecological monitoring program in the southwestern part of the Central Chernozem region in the Belgorod region. The soil cover of the forest-steppe zone was represented by typical chernozems. All analytical studies were carried out in an accredited testing laboratory according to generally accepted methods. The territory of the region after the accident at the Chernobyl NPP in 1986 was subjected to radioactive pollution. As a result of the studies, it was found that the average gross content of typical heavy metals in arable chernozems forms the following decreasing series (mg/kg): Mn (345) > Zn (36.5) > Cu (13.9) > Pb (10.3) > Co (8.48) > As (4.18) > Cd (0.23) > Hg (0.022). In terms of the content of mobile forms of heavy metals, the pattern is slightly different: Mn (16.7) > Pb (0.40) > Zn (0.39) > Cu (0.09) > Co (0.08) > Cd (0.05). According to the specific activity of radionuclides, they form a series (Bc/kg): 40К (530.2)>232Th (38.1)>226Ra (23.8)>137Cs (17.3). There was no excess of the standards of the approximate permissible and maximum permissible concentrations of the studied elements in the studied arable soils. The availability of arable soils with mobile forms of Zn, Cu and Co is assessed as low, in which microfertilization containing these elements is recommended to increase crop yield. In winter wheat grains, the content of the studied elements and the specific activity of the 137Cs were significantly lower than the maximum permissible levels.

monitoring, heavy metals, radionuclides, chernozem, agroecosystem, maximum allowable concentration, specific activity