A Complex Soil Ecological Approach in a Sustainable Urban Environment: Soil Properties and Soil Biological Quality

Abstract

The main purpose of the present study was to monitor actual contamination levels and execute a comparative assessment of results in a mid-sized Hungarian city for two different years. The first citywide soil investigations were completed in 2011. In 2018, the most prominent properties (pH, CaCO3, texture, and trace metals Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were reanalyzed and were supplemented with mesofauna on selected sites. The available trace metal elements of urban soils showed the following tendency in 2011: Zn > Cu > Pb > Cd > Cr = Ni = Co. In 2018, the previous order changed to Zn > Pb > Cu > Cr > Cd = Ni = Co. Cd and Pb enrichments were found, especially near the M7 motorway. The comparison between 2011 and 2018 revealed soil contamination was, on average, higher in 2011. Soil microarthropod communities were sampled and assessed using abundance data and diversity measurements. Soil biological quality was evaluated with the help of the Soil Biological Quality (QBS-ar) index. Acari and Collembola appeared to be the most abundant, ubiquitous taxa in the samples. Simultaneously, important groups like Symphyla, Protura, and Chilopoda were completely absent from the most polluted sites. For the most part, lower taxa richness, diversity, and QBS-ar index were observed with higher available Cu Zn, and Pb concentrations.