SUITMA 2005 Cairo - Urban soils of Bratislava in relation to their quality and environment

Soils of Urban, Industrial, Traffic, Mining and Military Areas
SUITMA 2005 Cairo

Urban soils of Bratislava in relation to their quality and environment

SUITMA

This abstract is about one of the papers of the Methodology and classification theme of the SUITMA 2005 symposium.

Jaroslava Sobocka,i	Marian Jaduda,i
Katarina Poltarska.i

• i - Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.

This work presents the main results of a pilot urban soils research in Slovakia. The main goal of the research is to assess environmental risk connected with soil and substrate contamination of urbanized areas including possible risk elements transfer into contacted spheres and other hazards connected with various degradation forms of urban soils. The assessment of environmental hazard is based on :

• Soil survey, sampling and analyses of soil samples representing urban ecosystems, selection of representative soil profiles in Bratislava with analyses of pedological characteristics (texture pH in H₂O, in CaCl₂, CaCO₃ content, humus C, N, and P). In some cases, heavy metals analyses (Cd, As, Pb, Ni, Cr, Hg, PAH and PBC analyses) were undertaken.
• Elaboration of results in data base form, compilation of map: Map of urban ecosystems of Bratislava in the scale 1:25,000 and Soil Map of Bratislava in the scale 1:25,000.
• On the base of soil survey, laboratory analyses and all available documents evaluation, the pilot project delimitates areas with most hazard from soil and other aspects of soil degradation: Map of environmental hazards assessment relating to soils in the city Bratislava in the scale 1:25 000.
• As a practical tool for decision makers and stakeholders will serve elaboration and publishing of: Manual for description, classification and assessment of urban soils.

Representative soil profiles were selected, described and sampled with basic and special pedological characteristics. Sampling of surface dust contamination was carried out from 20 selected sites, affected prevailingly by contamination from traffic where we assumed impact on soil from traffic emission (residential areas, historical centre, playing grounds, market centre, pumping stations, sites near chemical plants,…).

Map of urban ecosystem of Bratislava was compiled on the base of some resources: basic topographic maps of the city Bratislava in the scale 1:10,000 (20 sheets), ortho-photo maps, aerially sensing in July 2002. The legend of the Map of urban ecosystems of the city Bratislava, 1:25,000 is specific, created according to the relation to urban soils. Soil map of the city Bratislava has been compiled on the base of these sources: basic soil maps of the county Bratislava, in the scale 1:50,000 from the General Soil Survey of Agricultural Soils (GSSAS), maps of texture, skeleton and moisture, maps of parent substrate, own soil survey in cities, mainly in non-mapped areas.

In the project, a co-operation with municipal authorities of the city Bratislava (Atelier for Environment) was carried out. The project will provide urban soil information for administration management as one of the background for decision processes and management in urban planning.