Assessment of soil quality in some regions of Saint-Petersburg and Leningrad region.

Abstract

Soil quality is the most important environmental indicator that allows you to determine the suitability of soil for various uses, in particular, for targeted use in agriculture [1]. To minimize the risks associated with the threat to animal and human health, it is necessary to regularly conduct a comprehensive soil analysis. It includes a study on the content of a number of inorganic substances, primarily heavy metals, the presence of which in livestock and crop products is contrary to food safety criteria. With an increase in the rate of urbanization, agricultural land, on which the production of plant raw materials continues, falls within the boundaries of megalopolises [4]. Obviously, with the growth of anthropogenic load on these areas, agricultural work will have to be stopped here. An alternative could be the suburban areas as far away from pollution sources as possible. It is interesting to study the chemical composition of soils in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region on plots that have already been used in agriculture and lands potentially suitable for this [5, 6]. In this study, the assessment of soil quality in two districts of the Leningrad region and in one district of St. Petersburg was carried out. The study was conducted between June and August 2021. The aim of the study was to assess the content of heavy metals in the soils of some districts of the Leningrad region and St. Petersburg.
Heavy metals were found in all samples taken, but their maximum permissible concentrations were exceeded only in St. Petersburg.