Ecological Assessment of Anthropogenic Impacts on the Soil Cover in the Absheron Peninsula

Soil ecosystems serve as crucial carriers of ecological functions, ensuring the sustainability of biocenoses, nutrient cycling, and agricultural productivity. However, intensive anthropogenic impacts—including industrialization, urbanization, and agricultural expansion—lead to the transformation of the morphogenetic characteristics of the soil cover, structural degradation, and disruption of chemical balance. Therefore, the conducted studies comprehensively assessed the ecological and geochemical status of soils on the Absheron Peninsula under the influence of anthropogenic pressure. In these studies, soil samples collected from the districts of Garadag, Surakhani, and Sabunchu were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity, nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium balance, particle size distribution, as well as by X-ray spectral and X-ray diffractometric methods. The results indicate that the soils are predominantly characterized by weakly to strongly alkaline conditions, with certain areas exhibiting nutrient deficiencies and elevated ion concentrations. Samples obtained from oil fields in the Sabunchu district showed evidence of organic contamination, high carbonate content, and enrichment with heavy metals, indicative of ecotoxicological effects. Additionally, using GIS technologies and satellite imagery, the degradation status of the land cover, the degree of disruption in soil-vegetation integrity (expressed in percentages), and existing materials were assessed, allowing for the classification of soils into four ecological status groups: satisfactory (5%), conflicted (48%), critical (5%), and catastrophic (42%). This categorization confirms that the soil resources of the peninsula are under severe ecological risk.