SOME GEOECOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF LOESS MASSIFS STABILITY
(BIOTIC FACTORS OF LOESS PSEUDOKARST FORMATION)

A. A. Lavrusevicha,# and I. A. Lavrusevicha,##


a National Research Moscow State University of Civil Engineering (MGSU), Yaroslavskoe shosse, 26, Moscow, 129337 Russia
#e-mail: lavrusevich@yandex.ru

##e-mail: ivanlavrusevich@gmail.com

Loess pseudokarst is a very rapidly developing, complex and multifactor process of loess massif destruction. Sometimes, a few days or even hours are enough for the pseudokarst process to destroy structure and a sig- nificant mass of loess. Of course, this is primarily due to technogenic impact, in the form of the turf cover destruction, loess excavation during construction, the supply of excess moisture to the loess array as a result of non-dosed irrigation, disruption of hydraulic ameliorative facilities, leaks from water-bearing communi- cations, and then uncivilized excess water discharge to the basis of erosion, etc. Also, а wide range of biotic factors, such as zoogenic, phytogenic, mycogenic, and microbiogenic, play an important role in the loess pseudokarst formation. Those are the activity of burrowing (earth-digging) animals, higher vegetation, soil fauna, hymenoptera, soil microorganisms, algae, etc. It is shown that the role of biotic factors sometimes could be ambivalent. In some cases, they contribute to the emergence, development and multiple intensification of the pseudokarst process. For example, the primary disruption of the loess massif integrity goes due to the vertical cracks widening by the xerophytic vegetation roots. This is coming from the genesis of loess rocks, which leads to the water penetration by dozens of meters into the loess massif and its subsequent destruction. Burrowing animals create a dense network of branched channels, for example, earthworms’ holes reach the depth of 15 m, which also destroys the loess massif. As a result of the termites and ants vital activity, there is a reallocation of dozens of cubic meters of soil. The creation of a dense network of deep burrows by turtles also contributes to the development of pseudokarst and the destruction of massif because of water ingress. In other cases, the influence of biotic factors contributes to constraining and preventing the development of loess pseudokarst. For example, the upper soil horizon fixing by Robinia pseudoacacia roots slows down the development of pseudokarst. The formation of a dense, carbonated, slightly waterproof crust in the pseudokarst cavities and on the loess rocks surface prevents water from spreading in the porous loess. This factor is associated with the vital activity of blue-green, green and red-green algae, fungus and actinomycetes. Also, the nest construction by wild Apidae bees at the entrance to the pseudokarst cavity, consisting of hon- eycomb cells tightly connected to the surface of the loess soil, protects the pseudokarst cavity from moisture penetration. Thus, the influence of biotic factors on the loess pseudokarst development is important, relevant and requiring further research.

Keywords: pseudokarst, loess, biotic factors, vegetation, earth-moving animals, soil fauna, hymenoptera, microorganisms, technogenesis

DOI: 10.31857/S0869780920020083

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