Features of Heavy Metal Contamination of Agricultural Soils in the Kursk Region of Russia and Economic Assessment of Restoration

Southwest State University, 94, 50 Let Oktyabrya str., Kursk, , 305040, Russian Federation

^* Corresponding author: tomakova@mail.ru

Abstract

Kursk region of Russia has unique fertile soils. Heavy metals are among the factors that pollute the soil. The article is devoted to the study of the spatial distribution of heavy metals in soils. The relevance of the study is that the value of the soil is determined by its value for obtaining environmentally friendly agricultural products. Data on the content of heavy metals in the soil can prevent intensive cultivation of crops. The task of the work is to identify heavy metals that predominate in the soils of various landscapes of the Kursk region. The assessment of soil contamination with chemical elements was carried out in the course of geo-ecological studies of black earth soils in the Kursk region of Russia. The selected soil samples were examined by semi-quantitative spectral analysis. The results obtained were subjected to statistical processing. It was found that cobalt is the main pollutant in the vast majority of sampling points. In other zones, molybdenum, lead, zinc, and chromium predominate in approximately equal amounts. Soils in the surveyed area belong to the permissible category of contamination with chemical elements. Soil remediation should be applied in local areas.