System Analysis of the Geoecological State of Urban Soils in the City of Cherkasy

The results of a comprehensive analysis of the geoecological state of urban soils in the city of Cherkasy are presented, along with an assessment of their degree of transformation and their capacity to provide ecosystem services. Using the SURFER software package, a cartographic zoning of the city area was conducted based on the physicochemical properties of the soils. It is demonstrated that the soils are predominantly poor in organic matter, which creates unfavorable conditions for plant growth and diminishes their ability to adsorb heavy metals. Based on the pH values of the water, the soils are characterized as homogeneous (with a coefficient of variation of 9 %), predominantly alkaline, which hinders their role in supplying plants with essential macro- and micronutrients. 63 % of the studied soils can only partially perform the adsorption function, while 44 % are capable of performing the sanitation function. According to their acid-base buffering capacity, the soil ecosystems of the city mainly operate in a relatively ecologically stable mode. Regarding the content of toxic salts, nearly 30 % of the soils are non-saline, 36 % are weakly saline, 23 % are moderately saline, and 10 % exhibit high salinity levels. The primary contributors to the overall salinity of the soils are chloride ions and bicarbonates. The redox potential of the soils ranges from 184 to 287 mV, with an average value of 239 mV. At these redox potential values and a pH ≥ 8.0, denitrification processes are likely to dominate in the soil, and plants may experience deficiencies in Fe and Mn. The developed databases and cartographic models of the physicochemical properties of urban soils enable the analysis of their transformation over time and space in relation to anthropogenic influences, the detection of significant changes, the identification of areas prone to hazardous exogenous processes and ecologically geochemically unstable ecosystems, and the formulation of effective environmental protection measures.