Features of methane emission into the atmosphere over buried landfill bodies in urbanized ecosystems of Moscow

¹ Peoples Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), Faculty of Ecology, 6 Miklukho-Maklaya Street, Moscow, 117198, Russian Federation
² Russian State Agrarian University - Timiryazev Moscow Agricultural Academy, Moscow, 127550, Russia
³ Moscow Technical University of Communications and Informatics, Moscow, 111024, Russia
⁴ Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, LT 44248, Lithuania
⁵ Geological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119017, Russia

^* For correspondence: vg44@mail.ru

Abstract

On the outskirts of cities landfill bodies are formed, the territories of which are later used in urban planning. Over the buried landfill soils which represent construction and household garbage, methane flows are formed, which worsen the environmental conditions of the territories and negatively affect the psychosomatic health of residents. The goal was to study methane emissions from various buried landfills in Moscow. Our study on urbanized ecosystems in Moscow revealed different methane emissions in the soils. Thus, over young landfill bodies, the concentration of methane in the soils was 8 -16 ppm. This led to the release of methane into the atmosphere of the capital city. In the old landfill bodies, the concentration of methane in the soil was 1-2 ppm and did not cause methane emissions into the urban atmosphere. The analysis of the obtained data revealed the absorption of methane by soils on old landfill bodies at high and very high methane oxidation (Lobochevsky, Zyuzinskaya, Brateevskaya, Kashirskoe Highway and Ochakovka Streets). For organomineral horizons of replantozems with an increased content of organic matter and a loamy granulometric composition, increased methane formation and oxidation of autochthonous gas with undetected emission were detected.In technogenic and gray-humus horizons of urbanozems, methane formation and methane oxidation were reduced.