ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Ecological Assessment of Technogenically
Disturbed Soils of the Mountain Ecosystems
of Kyrgyz Republic based
on the TRIAD method
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1
Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University, Department of Environmental Engineering, 720044, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic
2
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Soil Science Department, 119991, Moscow, Russian Federation
Submission date: 2021-07-12
Final revision date: 2021-10-18
Acceptance date: 2021-10-31
Online publication date: 2022-02-28
Publication date: 2022-04-06
Corresponding author
Nurzat Totubaeva
Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University, Chyngyz Aitmatov avenue, 720000, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2022;31(3):2256-2272
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ABSTRACT
Comprehensive studies of soil contamination were performed in the area of settlement Kichi-Kemin
(Kyrgyz Republic). Soils of the Kyrgyz Republic are exposed to waste (tailings) of many industrial
enterprises of the mining industry not far from the village of Ak-Tuz, located 145 km from the capital
of Kyrgyz Republic, Bishkek, at an altitude of 2300 m above sea level. It is noted that 4.17 million tons of
radioactive waste from one of the enterprises were once disposed of at four tailings in the Kichi-Kemin
Valley. The main waste elements are radioactive thorium, heavy metals such as cadmium, molybdenum,
lead, zinc, beryllium, and oxides of hafnium and zirconium. The impact of these wastes on soil
ecotoxicity and microbial communities is not yet well understood. In this work, soil environmental
assessment near waste deposits were investigated using an integrated method known as the Triad
approach. The integral index of soil disturbance was calculated from the data of ecological observations
of soil microbial communities (bioindication), data of ecotoxicological index by phytotesting approach
(bioassay), and chemical index reflecting the results of a quantitative chemical analysis of the content
of pollutants. The ecological index, calculated from the bioindication parameters of the soil microbiota
communities, has become a reputable indicator of the state of soils from vulnerable mountain
ecosystems. Studies of soil microorganisms have shown a decrease in species diversity in contaminated
soils. The most resistant species of fungi were Aspergillus and Penicillium. Among the actinomycetes
of the genus Streptomyces, the Albus and Cinereus sections proved to be stable. Estimation
of anthropogenic impacts on mountain ecosystems in the Kyrgyz Republic using the Triad approach
has shown that the most sensitive toxicity index in the soils of the Ak-Tuz is the ecotoxicological indicator EtoxRI; determined by the phytotesting method. The integrated index calculated on the basis
of the Triad method gave a more complete picture of the influence of pollutants on the soils ecosystem
of the Ak-Tuz, characterizing its severe deterioration.