FEATURES OF THE GENESIS OF ANTHROPOGENIC SOILS OF LVIV
Authors: Boris Yaroslav , Teleguz Oleksij 
Published: August 2023

The article characterizes and highlights the peculiarities of the genesis of anthropogenic soils in the city of Lviv. The importance of studying the genesis of the city's soils is substantiated, the current state is described, and their research by domestic and foreign scientists is analyzed. The primary factors of soil change as a result of anthropogenic activity have been established. The peculiarities of diagnostics of the studied anthropogenic soils are described. Modern soil formation in urban conditions takes place on natural buried soils, on which a new anthropogenic horizon or, as scientists call it, a cultural layer, has formed.

The cultural layer is a historically formed system of layers that was formed as a result of human activity. The thickness of the cultural layer is very different and can vary from a few centimeters to tens of meters and is characterized by variegation even within small areas. In the central area of the city of Lviv, the soil depth of the cultural layer varies widely from 2–4 to 6–9 meters. The accumulation of the soil of the cultural layer of the city lasted for more than 15 centuries. The oldest layers were discovered by archaeologists in the central part of the city near the floodplain of the Poltva River.

The formation of the cultural layer occurs through the surface accumulation of various types of material as a result of human economic and household activities or through the transformation of the upper natural layer during construction and landscaping with the introduction of extraneous materials into the natural soil. The composition of the bulk layer in modern cities includes a wide variety of elements - stone, broken bricks, construction debris, various household items, abandoned foundations of old buildings, remnants of building materials of destroyed cellars, wells, log and board floors, asphalt and asphalt pavements. Among these deposits, construction debris usually prevails. All these stratifications of the cultural layer at different historical times performed the role of soil, acquired features of its structure, and thus the cultural layer represents a multi-age system of buried urban soils.

The modern level of anthropogenesis, the intensive development of industrial agglomerations contribute to the increase of urbanized territories in the world, and this process will become more active in the future, because the way of life in the city has its advantages in terms of economic, social, household, cultural, informational, etc. Along with a positive effect, this process leads to an increase in undesirable consequences, which are manifested in the aggravation of environmental problems in cities. According to a number of leading researchers, urban soils, despite the radical restructuring of their most important properties, are recognized as a basic component of the urban geosystem, which performs a number of important ecological and economic functions and is largely a determining condition for human life in the city. The urban territory is a variety of land types that have different functional significance. Soils reflect the quality and type of land use, which is a formative factor in the evolution of soils in urban and industrial areas.

The soils of the city of Lviv are subjected to a significant environmental load as a result of anthropogenic influence due to emissions from motor vehicles, industry, processes of construction and reconstruction of road networks, which exerts a constant load on the soil and causes changes in almost all its components: from the morphological structure, physical and chemical properties to microbiological and biochemical indicators, depriving the soil cover in the city of the ability to perform important ecological functions. The predominant process that is currently observed in the urban soil of Lviv is the change of the natural soil profile by anthropogenic ones, and the change in its physical and chemical properties. Considering the complexity and accessibility of conducting research, which is due to the lack of systematized and generalized diagnostic features, the multi-vector nature of the formation of morphogenetic properties and the significance of anthropogenic changes in them, and the optimal use of these soils, we have reasons to state that the study of the genesis of anthropogenic soils carries with it an important cognitive, theoretical, scientific and also of practical importance, as they are an important component of the urban ecosystem, which is undergoing drastic changes at a rapid pace.

Keywords: urban soil, urban ecosystem, cultural layer, urbanozem, anthropogenic soil.

The article characterizes and highlights the peculiarities of the genesis of anthropogenic soils in the city of Lviv. The importance of studying the genesis of the city's soils is substantiated, the current state is described, and their research by domestic and foreign scientists is analyzed. The primary factors of soil change as a result of anthropogenic activity have been established. The peculiarities of diagnostics of the studied anthropogenic soils are described. Modern soil formation in urban conditions takes place on natural buried soils, on which a new anthropogenic horizon or, as scientists call it, a cultural layer, has formed.

The cultural layer is a historically formed system of layers that was formed as a result of human activity. The thickness of the cultural layer is very different and can vary from a few centimeters to tens of meters and is characterized by variegation even within small areas. In the central area of the city of Lviv, the soil depth of the cultural layer varies widely from 2–4 to 6–9 meters. The accumulation of the soil of the cultural layer of the city lasted for more than 15 centuries. The oldest layers were discovered by archaeologists in the central part of the city near the floodplain of the Poltva River.

The formation of the cultural layer occurs through the surface accumulation of various types of material as a result of human economic and household activities or through the transformation of the upper natural layer during construction and landscaping with the introduction of extraneous materials into the natural soil. The composition of the bulk layer in modern cities includes a wide variety of elements - stone, broken bricks, construction debris, various household items, abandoned foundations of old buildings, remnants of building materials of destroyed cellars, wells, log and board floors, asphalt and asphalt pavements. Among these deposits, construction debris usually prevails. All these stratifications of the cultural layer at different historical times performed the role of soil, acquired features of its structure, and thus the cultural layer represents a multi-age system of buried urban soils.

The modern level of anthropogenesis, the intensive development of industrial agglomerations contribute to the increase of urbanized territories in the world, and this process will become more active in the future, because the way of life in the city has its advantages in terms of economic, social, household, cultural, informational, etc. Along with a positive effect, this process leads to an increase in undesirable consequences, which are manifested in the aggravation of environmental problems in cities. According to a number of leading researchers, urban soils, despite the radical restructuring of their most important properties, are recognized as a basic component of the urban geosystem, which performs a number of important ecological and economic functions and is largely a determining condition for human life in the city. The urban territory is a variety of land types that have different functional significance. Soils reflect the quality and type of land use, which is a formative factor in the evolution of soils in urban and industrial areas.

The soils of the city of Lviv are subjected to a significant environmental load as a result of anthropogenic influence due to emissions from motor vehicles, industry, processes of construction and reconstruction of road networks, which exerts a constant load on the soil and causes changes in almost all its components: from the morphological structure, physical and chemical properties to microbiological and biochemical indicators, depriving the soil cover in the city of the ability to perform important ecological functions. The predominant process that is currently observed in the urban soil of Lviv is the change of the natural soil profile by anthropogenic ones, and the change in its physical and chemical properties. Considering the complexity and accessibility of conducting research, which is due to the lack of systematized and generalized diagnostic features, the multi-vector nature of the formation of morphogenetic properties and the significance of anthropogenic changes in them, and the optimal use of these soils, we have reasons to state that the study of the genesis of anthropogenic soils carries with it an important cognitive, theoretical, scientific and also of practical importance, as they are an important component of the urban ecosystem, which is undergoing drastic changes at a rapid pace.

Keywords: urban soil, urban ecosystem, cultural layer, urbanozem, anthropogenic soil.