The Urbic Technosols from Ribeirão das Pedras Linear Park, Campinas/SP

Abstract

Humans can be considered geological agents mainly because it is possible to compare the effects of their actions with those of natural causes, such as plate tectonics, climate changes, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc. The significant and often negligent human intervention in the environment has resulted in the formation, on an increasing scale over the years, of sediments and pedological volumes with characteristics very different from those formed by natural processes. The Urbic Technosols (IUSS 2014) are soils deeply modified by humans, which show a considerable vertical and horizontal variation and many artifacts along the soil profile. The study area is located in the northwest region of the city of Campinas, SP, and covers part of the alluvial plain of the Ribeirão das Pedras river, more specifically the area between its headwater and the Dom Pedro I Highway (SP-65). The objective of this work is to characterize the Technosols and understand their formation. The methodology adopted involved: investigation of use history and local occupation, observation of the landscape (vegetation, occupation), collection of soil samples for physical and chemical analyzes, and interpretation of results to find relationships between the levels of fertility, contaminants, and artifacts found in the profile. The results showed that, in general, the soils of the study area are sandy and have high fertility levels, and that the concentrations of chemical elements such as Barium (Ba), Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Nickel (Ni), Vanadium (V) and Zinc (Zn) exceed the regulatory limits set by CETESB.