Soil acidification
Heavy metal pollution
Soil acidification
Although the precipitation in Latvia is slightly acidic,
changes during the past five years in forest soil parameters due
to transboundary pollution have not been observed. The moderately
acidic reaction in soil of the upper layer is due to natural soil
processes in forest ecosystems, which also result in moderate
acidity of soil water. The reaction becomes neutral in deeper
layers. The pH of soil water has not been observed to change.
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Heavy metal pollution
The organic layer of forest soils accumulates atmospheric
pollution over a long-term period. Mapping of the organic layer of
soils in 1995 indicates that transboundary pollution and
industrial and energy production plants in Liepāja have created
bigger pollutant loads to soil in south-western Latvia, compared
to loads in eastern and central Latvia. The impact of
environmental pollution on forest soils has decreased during the
past ten years, and the distributions of concentrations of metals
have significantly changed.
The comparison of the results of mapping of heavy
metal concentrations in the organic layer with those in moss,
which estimate accumulation over a two- or three-year period,
indicate that the air pollution around Brocēni, Rīga and Jēkabpils
has significantly decreased. As a result, the impact of pollutants
on forest soils has also decreased. Raised metal concentrations
are associated with pollution accumulated over many years from
former Russian army bases.
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