Agricultural potential of chernozems near the iron and steel integrated works of Galati in the perimeter of the territorial administrative unit of Sendreni, Galati county

Abstract

In view of the massive deforestation carried out since the 18th century, in order to use the land for agricultural purposes in conjunction with a number of ecopedological factors (friable geological substrate, intensification of the torrential nature of precipitation, etc.) and the anthropic factors (the unreasonable use of the slopes, erroneous application of agro-technical methods, etc.), the agricultural areas overlap with soil units with various physico-chemical properties depending on the intensity of pressure exerted by the mentioned factors. Under these conditions, the present paper aims to evaluate the edaphic resources of the chernozems in terms of agricultural potential in the Şendreni commune, Galati County, Romania. The studied area is pedoclimatically located in the micro-zone characterized by a warm-dry climate and a slightly rugged relief, where chernozems with typical, limestone and cambic subtypes have been identified, having medium textures (loam, sandy loam) and medium-fine (clay loam), with various structures ranging from grain to small and medium subangular polyhedrons, or even devoid of structure, in relation to the granulometric composition and the agrotechnical works performed. The cartographed chernozems show imbalances in the concentrations of the main macroelements. Research has shown that, in conjunction with local ecopedological factors, for each category of land use, these soils have very low to severe limitations on their use for agricultural purposes, with the observation that, by applying ameliorative measures such as works to prevent and combat accelerated soil erosion, ameliorative fertilization works, irrigation works, there is the prospect of obtaining high yields and satisfying from a nutritional point of view.