Storage of persistent organic matter in temperate gypsum soils –Relevance of the parent material and vegetation cover

Contribution of the Soil Macro- and Microstructure to Organic Matter Stabilisation in Natural and Post-Mining/Industrial Soils under Temperate Climatic Conditions

“…In the Pleistocene, the Nida Basin was covered by the Cracow glaciation, which left behind mainly sand, clay, and loess, which occur as admixtures to the gypsum parent materials in the soils of the region. The gypsum rock in the area usually forms gentle hills [20,23]; (2) the area around Bukowno, where the mining and processing of zinc-lead (Zn-Pb) ores have been performed since the 15th century, leaving heaps of tailings that have never been reclaimed in about 150 to 400 years; (3) close to Jaworzno, an area of recent Zn-Pb mining, the tailings heaps left behind composed of waste rock. The Zn-Pb ore deposits in the Bukowno and Jaworzno areas occur in Jurassic limestone and dolomite, with admixtures of Pleistocene sand; and (4) in the district of Krakow (Nowa Huta), where iron (Fe) processing has been taking place for 50 years, leaving heaps of metallurgical slag on which soils with loess and sand admixtures have formed [24] (Figure 1).…”

“…Soils derived from gypsum occupy large areas under arid or semi-arid climatic conditions, where the presence of precipitated gypsum in the soil profile often inhibits plant growth and worsens the soil properties and fertility [7,19]. In temperate areas, although such soils occupy small areas and are usually shallow, they are environmentally important because they contain high amounts of SOM [20] and exhibit high biological activity [21]. For these reasons, we chose gypsum soils to compare with selfrestored mining/industrial soils treating them as a pattern for mining/industrial soils.…”