Sources and causes of soil pollution. Types of soil pollution and consequences for the environment

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

Soil is a unique and priceless natural we alth. It is she who is able to provide a person with all the necessary food resources. Illiterate and careless human activities are the main causes of soil pollution.

Varieties of anthropogenic environmental degradation

Soil pollution can be chemical and physical. Noise, vibration, electromagnetic field, ionizing radiation with radioactive substances, thermal radiation are physical or energy pollution that occur due to anthropogenic activity. The number and variety of new industrial and transport enterprises, chemical production is increasing every day. Chemicalization of agriculture can lead to permanent anthropogenic degradation of the environment. The causes of soil pollution are all kinds of chemicals or xenobiotics that enter the ground with the help of gaseous, liquid, solid waste emissions.

Main sources of soil pollution

Every yearthe ecological situation in the country is deteriorating due to anthropogenic degradation of the environment. Experts record crisis levels that are much higher than acceptable norms. A large number of enterprises and factories emit gas, aerosol, and other harmful solid particles into the atmosphere. The scale of such pollution is regional and local.

Increasingly, in large and small cities, liquid soluble as well as insoluble compounds can be seen discharged into water bodies. In addition to all the above emissions, mineral acid fumes and organic solvents enter the atmosphere - all these are the causes of soil pollution.

Ecological impact

An important and necessary type of natural resource is land. Every year there is a constant deterioration in the condition of the soil, which depends on natural and anthropogenic factors. Agriculture significantly affects the general condition of the soil cover, causing erosion, pollution, depletion, soil acidification, alkalinization, waterlogging, degradation, and gleying.

Ecological pollution of the soil is an important topic that is discussed at the meetings of scientists. It is known that anthropogenic impacts can affect absolutely all components of the geosystem. The general condition of the soil cover is negatively affected by the decrease in the area occupied by natural vegetation formations. A person replaces it with agrocenoses. Constant plowing can lead to the complete disappearance of vegetation, as well as changes in the components of the waterbalance. This process occurs due to an increase in the total share of surface runoff. Subsequently, erosion processes can significantly intensify, changes in the structure of the soil occur, and its basic water and physical properties deteriorate. All vegetation suffers because of heavy metals.

The presence of strong and constant wind, climatic conditions with insufficient moisture during the season, the destruction of natural vegetation due to extreme heat - these are all environmental pollution of the soil.

Consequences of oil pollution of land cover

When petroleum hydrocarbons enter the soil, only negative consequences can be observed in the near future. In regions where intensive oil refining and oil production takes place, the physical and chemical properties of the earth are rapidly transforming.

Regular soil contamination with oil can cause the soil solution to shift towards alkali. Elevated levels of total carbon can often be observed. Do not forget about a significant change in the morphological properties of the earth, which is to enhance the formation of skins. After it, a change in the color characteristics of the soil profile may occur, as well as a deterioration in the formation of any vegetation.

Specialists and scientists were able to prove that soil pollution with oil is a fairly strong and critical impact on the presented natural resource. In order to return it to good condition later, it may be necessary not toone dozen years.

Soil pollution with chemicals

In the modern world, technogenic intensification is rapidly developing, which by all means contributes to pollution and dehumification of the earth. In this case, secondary salinization occurs, as well as various soil erosion.

Metals and pesticides are present in the ground cover, but due to inept and careless handling of it, the concentration of these substances can increase several times. Soil contamination with chemicals includes car exhaust, composting, and more. Due to the release of chemicals into the soil, the indicators of natural metals, such as lead, mercury, cadmium and copper, increase several times.

Specialists recommend using only natural, natural and biological methods to control agricultural pests. These include genetic methods, natural chemical compounds. Only with full observance of all rules, soil contamination with chemicals will not occur. This must be taken into account!

Anthropogenic soil pollution

Anthropogenic sources of land degradation are stationary and non-stationary objects. It is worth noting that this includes industry and agriculture. Scientists have determined that economic, domestic and energy facilities in most cases become man-made sources.

When viewed from the point of view of the scale of impact on the environment and land, anthropogenic soil pollution can be divided into global, regional and local. Mobile vehicles, which leave behind a large amount of exhaust gases, can affect the general condition of the soil cover.

The impact of pesticides on the state of the earth in the modern world

Pesticides are mostly organic compounds. They have a small molecular weight and different indicators of solubility in water. In today's world, the soil is the successor to the pesticides that decompose in it. Here, the movement of the presented substances into plants or the environment can occur.

Soil pollution with pesticides occurs when a large amount of this organic compound has entered the ground. It can lie in it for a long time after making. It should be noted that pesticides include a whole range of various chemicals that are designed to combat animals and plants.

As you can see, the causes of soil pollution can be varied. Some people do not even think that their usual actions sometimes have a detrimental effect on such a valuable resource as land.