Soil monitoring programs are very common, targeted to inspect soil
characteristics and soil fertility. Although, in many cases, monitoring programs are
planned to be carried out on an ongoing basis, with a frequency of 5 or 10 years,
funds are often insufficient to achieve this goal. In general, sampling monitoring
strategies were based on a national grid system and/or some stratification types based
on land use and soil type, or the combination of the two.
Sample handling strategies and systems vary across networks, thus preventing
comparability of results. The impact of the environment on terrestrial ecosystems
includes changes in their physical and chemical properties. The vulnerability of soils
to pollutants depends on soil characteristics, hydrogeological situation, land use,
pollutant type, and pollutant load.
The most important soil parameters that determine the mobility of pollutants and,
consequently, soil vulnerability are pH, redox potential, cation exchange capacity,
and soil humus content.
Key soil properties can serve as indicators of soil quality. In order to have
practical use, soil indicators must be sensitive to management and able to respond
to change in a relatively short time and be accessible so that measurement
methodologies or data are readily available; if they are not directly measurable, it
must be possible to define them using pedotransfer functions or models
(Weissmannová and Pavlovský 2017).
4.3.1 Soil Characteristics
Soils are of interest as environment for the transport of fluids because they are porous
and permeable. Porosity refers to the spaces of the pores forming voids between the
soil grains. Soil permeability is determined by factors and parameters that are
associated with the physical and chemical properties of the soil, the permeant, and
the physicochemical interactions occurring during permeation. Soil permeability
provides information to determine and evaluate contaminant transport across the
soil. The soil permeability to the movement of a certain fluid also depends on the
fraction of the pore space filled by that fluid.
If the pore space is saturated, the permeability of the environment is at its
maximum. If the fluid fills only a portion of the pore space, for example, only in
the upper soil layers, soil permeability decreases and moisture becomes important.
Humidity is characteristic of certain fluids to adhere to soil grains and significantly
influences mobility and fluid retention in the medium. Near the surface, the pores of
most soils are filled with both water and air. This is the unsaturated soil area. Due to
the fact that the water tends to moisten most of the soils, however, a quantity of water
is retained. The amount of water typically remaining, measured on the basis of the
volume of water per total soil volume, is named soil field capacity. Often, under this
area, there is an aquifer in which the pore spaces are saturated or filled with water.
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M. Butu et al.
characteristics and soil fertility. Although, in many cases, monitoring programs are
planned to be carried out on an ongoing basis, with a frequency of 5 or 10 years,
funds are often insufficient to achieve this goal. In general, sampling monitoring
strategies were based on a national grid system and/or some stratification types based
on land use and soil type, or the combination of the two.
Sample handling strategies and systems vary across networks, thus preventing
comparability of results. The impact of the environment on terrestrial ecosystems
includes changes in their physical and chemical properties. The vulnerability of soils
to pollutants depends on soil characteristics, hydrogeological situation, land use,
pollutant type, and pollutant load.
The most important soil parameters that determine the mobility of pollutants and,
consequently, soil vulnerability are pH, redox potential, cation exchange capacity,
and soil humus content.
Key soil properties can serve as indicators of soil quality. In order to have
practical use, soil indicators must be sensitive to management and able to respond
to change in a relatively short time and be accessible so that measurement
methodologies or data are readily available; if they are not directly measurable, it
must be possible to define them using pedotransfer functions or models
(Weissmannová and Pavlovský 2017).
4.3.1 Soil Characteristics
Soils are of interest as environment for the transport of fluids because they are porous
and permeable. Porosity refers to the spaces of the pores forming voids between the
soil grains. Soil permeability is determined by factors and parameters that are
associated with the physical and chemical properties of the soil, the permeant, and
the physicochemical interactions occurring during permeation. Soil permeability
provides information to determine and evaluate contaminant transport across the
soil. The soil permeability to the movement of a certain fluid also depends on the
fraction of the pore space filled by that fluid.
If the pore space is saturated, the permeability of the environment is at its
maximum. If the fluid fills only a portion of the pore space, for example, only in
the upper soil layers, soil permeability decreases and moisture becomes important.
Humidity is characteristic of certain fluids to adhere to soil grains and significantly
influences mobility and fluid retention in the medium. Near the surface, the pores of
most soils are filled with both water and air. This is the unsaturated soil area. Due to
the fact that the water tends to moisten most of the soils, however, a quantity of water
is retained. The amount of water typically remaining, measured on the basis of the
volume of water per total soil volume, is named soil field capacity. Often, under this
area, there is an aquifer in which the pore spaces are saturated or filled with water.
88
M. Butu et al.