Assessment of pollution in forest soils as based on magnetic susceptibility on the exemple of the Katowice forest district
The assessment of industrial and urban dust influx onto the topsoil in the area of Katowice Forest District (including contamination with heavy metals) is difficult because chemical data are lacking. As direct chemical analyses of pollutant content in this area are laborious, time-consuming and expensive, therefore magnetic susceptibility was applied it is an easily detectable geophysical parameter, being a tracer of forest topsoil pollution. The magnetic susceptibility is a fneasure of degree to which a substance can be magnetized in external magnetic field. Magnetic particles contained in industrial and urban dusts falling down on the soil surface cause stimulation of topsoil magnetic susceptibility in areas influenced by anthropogenic dust emissions. Field measurements were carried out during 1 month in 57 points, including 44 points located just within the territory of the Katowice Forest District and 13 points on its fringe. In each selected point the magnetic susceptibilily was measured using Barington Magnetic System equipped with field loop sensor MS2D integrated with the Geographic Position System „Pathfinder – Trimble”. The final value of magnetic susceptibility in individual point is a mean value of several measurements in dependence on local variability. Measurements were done on the soil surface after removal of fresh leaves and needles (Ol horizon). Additionally in 12 points 30 cm deep cores with undisturbed structure of soil profile were taken using the „Humax” sampler. Cores were sampled directly to the plastic tubes of 35 mm in diameter. The magnetic susceptibility was measured using Bartington Magnetic System equipped with MS2F sensor with the 1 cm resolution. The magnetometric study shows that the most polluted areas in the territory of the Katowice Forest District are located in the northern part of Panewnik and Murcki Forest Subdistricts (foresteries Panewnik and Smilowice in its northern part, Muchowiec and Ochojec), as well as in northern and eastern parts of the Imielin Forest Subdistrict (foresteries Janów, Wesola, Imielin – mostly areas located along the Przemsza River).
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