The university’s press office notes that accidents with oil pipelines and water pipes in the fields lead to contamination with hydrocarbons and highly mineralized water, such as that used in hydraulic fracturing. This leads to technological salinization of the soil. Pollution with this water inhibits the ability of ecosystems to recover. Oil also prevents this process for a long time, but being an organic material, it decomposes over time under the influence of native microbes and ultraviolet radiation. Until recently, there were no effective methods of reclamation, but Tomsk University biologists have found a solution.
“The results of the study showed that salts in the soil are distributed unevenly, accumulating in the upper levels at a depth of 70 to 130 cm, which makes it difficult to understand what is happening in the soil and can lead to errors in estimating the extent of pollution, because chloride ions have a high ability to migrate, forming a salt accumulation level, which is located at a great depth, and over time, salts rise to the upper layers, and are often transported with rainwater and melting snow water into rivers and other bodies of water, which negatively affects the ecosystem as a whole,” the office said in a statement.
To solve this problem, Valentina Seredina and Sergey Stoybunnik from the Biological Institute propose using a technology based on the method of soil reclamation, which involves creating a network of ditches and drainage channels. Thanks to the heavy rains and snowfalls in Western Siberia, this network will help to effectively remove technological salts from the soil. Soil treatment includes the use of gypsum fertilizers and the planting of salt-tolerant plants, such as plantain, clover and fescue, to help purify the soil.
The proposed method does not require large expenses and use of chemicals. Pilot tests of this technology have already been carried out and it is planned to be used in other natural areas in the future.
Source: TASS
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2024-07-31 00:41:21
