Properties of secondary saline alluvial soils in the taiga-forest zone of Kama region

• Published in: Сибирский лесной журнал
• Main Authors: I. V. Pakhorukov, O. Z. Eremchenko
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Russian
• Published: Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch Publishing House 2021
• Subjects: potash production; salt dumps; mineralized waters; river valley; secondary salinization; soil transformation and systematics; Forestry; SD1-669.5; Kama; Waters River; taiga
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.15372/SJFS20210307; https://doaj.org/article/5838e51698864090975d624e5149afc0

In Perm Krai, production of potash salts is accompanied by storage of salt waste on the surface. From salt dumps and slime storages, an underground flow of mineralized water was formed, due to which a saline soil formation process develops in the valleys of small rivers in the Kama river basin. Secondary saline alluvial soils were examined in the Chernaya river valley on the territory of the Berezniki potash production mine management. The morphostructural profile of soils shows signs of frequent changes in redox conditions. The Fe (III) ↔ Fe (II) transitions characteristic of hydromorphic soils were accompanied by the formation of a black color in the gelled horizons, which is probably caused by the synthesis of dark-colored minerals, including magnetite and hydrotroilite. Alluvial saline soils are characterized by strong salinity, chloride and sulfate-chloride, sodium and calcium-sodium chemistry. They show the neutralization of acidity, the appearance of carbonates, gypsum formation, and the entry of sodium and potassium ions into the soil absorbing complex. An assessment of the scale of secondary halogenesis development showed that distinct signs of saline soil formation were observed on an area of 17.3 ha, which is about 16 % of the river valley area. The rest of the alluvial soils may also contain easily soluble salts in varying amounts due to the mineralization of soil and ground water. The studied secondary saline soils were diagnosed to the genus and species relative to the modern classification of soils in Russia (2004), as well as in accordance with the world correlation database of soil resources (WRB). In general, the salinity levels, the reaction of the soil environment, and the composition of exchange bases in the alluvial soils of the Chernaya river correspond to the characteristics of previously studied secondary saline soils in the valleys of other small rivers of the Kama region. This correspondence allows us to state that the technogenic transformation of soils under the influence of ...