Author: КОНЯШЕВ ГЕРМАН ДМИТРИЕВИЧ, КОВАЛЁВА ОЛЬГА АЛЕКСАНДРОВНА / KONYASHEV GERMAN DMITRIEVICH, KOVALEVA OLGA ALEXANDROVNA
Introduction.
The functioning and development of swamp ecosystems is based on the interaction of their components with each other, with adjacent ecosystems and the external environment. This interaction is expressed in the exchange of matter and energy and anthropogenic influence.
Wetlands are sustainable ecosystems that regulate the gas composition of the planet. Their stability is ensured by the complexity and a significant number of their components and relationships. Swamps are important not only for the organisms that live in them: animals and birds, fish and insects, plants, fungi and lichens. They play a significant role for those who spend only part of their lives in the swamps.
Currently, it is safe to say that swamps are the main purifier of the atmosphere from carbon dioxide. They absorb carbon dioxide even more than forests (from the same area)[1].
The problem of the ecosystem of swamps is relevant especially in the urbanized urban environment. Since there is currently an "extinction" of swamp communities due to various emissions from motor transport and household waste, as well as the irregularity of reclamation of nearby territories.
The purpose and objectives of the study. The purpose of this work is to study the impact of swamp communities on the urban environment and its functions.
To achieve the goal , the following tasks are set:
1)to study the types of swamps;
2)determine the functions of swamp communities;
3) analyze the results of the study.
Material and methods of research. The object of the study is the swamp of the "Bird Harbor" in Kurgan.
The information base for writing this work was the materials collected during the environmental practice of Kurgan University, as well as literary sources. The summer practice took place on the territory of Kurgan, Zaozerny district, where the Bird Harbor swamp was studied.
To study this swamp, the following methods were applied:
1. Theoretical – analysis of literary sources;
2. Empirical – observation, description of the object of research, analysis of the mechanical composition of soils, determination of organoleptic properties of water and certain indicators, study of the species biodiversity of the territory.
The results of the study.
The analysis of literary sources allowed us to summarize theoretical and empirical materials and conclude that, depending on the conditions of water and mineral nutrition, bogs are divided into:
1. Low-lying (eutrophic) - a type of swamp with a rich water-mineral nutrition, mainly due to groundwater. They are located in floodplains of rivers, along the shores of lakes, in places where springs come out, in depressions. Characteristic vegetation - alder, birch, sedge, reed, cattail, green mosses.
2. Transitional (mesotrophic) — by the nature of vegetation and moderate mineral nutrition, they are located between lowland and upper marshes. Birch, pine, and larch are common among the trees. The grasses are the same as in lowland swamps, but not as abundant; shrubs are characteristic; mosses are found both sphagnum and green[2].
3. Riding (oligotrophic) — usually located on flat watersheds, they feed only due to precipitation, where there are very few minerals, the water in them is sharply acidic, vegetation is dominated by sphagnum mosses, a lot of shrubs: heather, bagulnik, cassandra, blueberry, cranberry; fluff grows, sheikzeria; there are marsh forms of larch and pine trees, dwarf birches[2].
Any type of swamp is important for humans and performs certain functions in life.
Functions of swamps:
-participate in water exchange;
-they are the natural habitat of many birds and rare plant species;
-purify the atmosphere of pollutants, as they are "
dust absorbers"; dust tends to move towards a lower temperature;
-interact with adjacent territories, form a variety of peat complexes, individual components of which may be lakes, floodplains, slopes.
Natural swamps are a reliable filter for methane. Methane formed during the decomposition of organic matter in the swamp does not enter the atmosphere, due to the vital activity of methanotrophic bacteria that live near the level of swamp waters. But as a result of anthropogenic pressure, especially after peat fires, methanotrophic bacteria die, and methane freely enters the atmosphere[1].
Swamp vegetation also absorbs a large amount of carbon dioxide from the atmospheric air, while releasing a large amount of oxygen. Therefore, swamps are called "the lungs of the planet". Therefore, swamp communities have a positive impact on the ecology of the urban environment, purifying the urban atmospheric air from pollutants.
In order to identify the functions of swamp communities in the urban environment, the Bird Harbor swamp of Kurgan was used as a "research model". It is located in the Zaozerny district and is located right behind house 18b in the 7th microdistrict. In the center of this site is a swamp, which has the following geographical coordinates: 55.476045 north latitude and 65.279417 east longitude.
The swamp has an area of 26045 sq.m. resembling an oval shape, but with chaotically curved shores. The surrounding grassy areas, abundantly filled with thickets of common reed, which grows both on land and in water. The height of the reed is on average 2-2.5 m, and in some places the height of the reed reaches up to 3.5 m.
According to the organoleptic properties, the water has a swampy smell and a yellowish color. When analyzing water samples, it was found that the water in the swamp is not suitable for household needs as there is an excess of the value of the dry residue index, which affects the overall degree of water mineralization. According to the pH indicator, the measure of acidity of aqueous solutions is determined. According to the standards, it is shown that the water environment is alkaline.
The biodiversity of the ecosystem of the swamp has a low level of chemically absorbed oxygen, which can lead to the destruction of various species of organisms in this environment (0.88 MgO/l).
Figure 1 – Bird Harbor Swamp on the map
One of the main advantages of marshes is a unique ecosystem for plants and birds. On this territory grow plants such as: white willow, common wormwood, field grass, coastal sedge, floating rock, this vegetation indicates that the swamp belongs to the lowland type.
The coastal zone of the Bird Harbor swamp has the following mechanical composition of the soil - medium loam. This soil is characterized by peat formation (accumulation of plant residues and humus, causing a lack of oxygen and the development of anaerobic processes). In autumn, aquatic plants die off, fall to the bottom and form a layer of vegetable silt, which gradually turns into peat. Among the marsh deposits, peat is of the greatest importance, formed as a result of the accumulation of dead marsh vegetation - various grasses, mosses, shrubs and trees and various organisms. Thus, when analyzing the burning of the peat part, we saw calcium accumulations (small crustaceans) that have adapted to this swamp community and are food for birds (Fig. 2).
Figure 2 –Calcium accumulation
The basis of the avifauna of the reservoirs of the village . Zaozerny, both in species and in quantitative terms, consists of nesting and probably nesting birds. They form the most stable and long-lasting ties with the studied territory and form the basis of the fauna of the Bird Harbor swamp. Examples of birds are: black-necked grebe, chomga, gray duck, red-headed duck.
The species diversity and the number of birds in reservoirs is associated with the presence of various environmental conditions in the area (the size, area and structure of lakes, the presence of thickets of trees, shrubs and meadows). Which has a positive effect on the formation of a diverse fauna both taxonomically and ecologically.
The uniqueness of the swamp is the purification of air and wastewater from pollution. Since the Zaozerny district is a sleeping area, there are more emissions from cars than from any district of Kurgan.
Given the important role of swamps in nature, their impact on the deposition of carbon dioxide and the reduction of methane emissions into the atmosphere, swamps require protection, more attentive attitude to them.[1].
Thus, the Bird Harbor swamp plays an important role for the city of Kurgan, it prevents a large amount of emissions from passenger cars because there is a highway nearby along which heavy traffic is carried out, and it is also a filter for wastewater. In addition to its protective function, this swamp preserves unique species of vegetation and birds. Therefore, it is important to keep this facility in the city and carry out protective measures to use the ecosystem services of the swamp community.
The importance of swamps is due to the fact that swamp ecosystems play an important role in preserving favorable conditions for the life of current and future generations, due to the fact that swamps have the ability to purify atmospheric air from pollutants and dust due to absorption abilities. By 2040, it is necessary to explore all the marshes in the Kurgan region, use their ecosystem services and protective measures to reduce the greenhouse effect on the planet, as economic activity is expected to increase significantly. Our goal for the future is to preserve the ecosystems of the swamps and properly use the resources of the wetlands.
List of literature
1. Akhmetyeva N.P., Mikhailova A.V., Krichevets G.N.,. Belyaev A.Yu. Peat bogs of the central regions of the European part of Russia: their transformation over the last 100 years // Monograph. 2020 from 9;
2.Types of swamps and their origin - URL: https://studfile.net / (date accessed 19.11.22);
3. Naumenko N.I. Flora and vegetation of the Southern Trans-Urals : monograph / N.I. Naumenko ; Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Federal Agency for Education, Kurgan State University. - Kurgan : Kurgan State University Press, 2008. – 511.