Soil acidity status in the vicinity of the Severonikel copper-nickel industrial complex, Kola Peninsula

The physicochemical properties of soils exposed to emissions from the Severonikel industrial complex (one of the largest sources of SO2 and heavy metals in northern Europe) for 70 years were studied. The results showed that even after the long-term impact of heavy SO2 emissions, the , the content of exchangeable bases, and the base saturation remained at the medium and high levels inherent to undisturbed soils of the region studied. An exclusion was the illuvial horizon of the podzols, where a relative reduction of the (at the level of low values of the natural variation) was revealed. At the same time, the hydrolytic acidity and cation exchange capacity in most samples of podzols, peat eutrophic, and mountain soils in the zone exposed to emissions (local zone) were also reduced. This fact is explained by indirect effects of the emissions: the gradual decrease in the organic matter content in the soils due to the destruction of the vegetation, the absence of fresh plant falloff, the development of erosion, and the disturbance of the hydrological regime of the soils and landscapes.