Abstract
Disturbance to the physical–chemical properties of soil caused by pipeline installation was evaluated using two soil quality indices to identify the scale of disturbance and the restoration cycle. The integrated soil quality index (SQI) was used to evaluate soil property changes in different pipeline zones (0, 10, 20, and 50 m from the pipeline) at sites 1 and 2. The soil restoration index (SRI) was used to estimate soil recovery from three pipelines with different recovery periods (2, 6, and 8 years) at site 3. The results showed that the adverse effects of pipeline construction on soil properties mainly occurred in the right-of-way (ROW) areas and the impaired zones were in the order trench > piling and working areas > 20 and 50 m. The soil restoration cycle may be complete within 6 years of construction. At site 3, the SRI in the ROW area of a pipeline after 6 years of restoration was close to 100 %, showing full soil recovery. However, the SRI in the disturbed areas of a pipeline after 2 years of restoration was much lower than that after 6 years of restoration, indicating that the soil was still recovering from the disturbance. The topography may change the intensity of disturbance in different areas due to the movement patterns of heavy machinery and traffic routes. There were local variations in the SQI within the pipeline zones, with flat areas suffering greater disturbance than hilly areas, indicating that topography should be considered in a pipeline’s environmental impact assessment.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adejuwon, J. O., & Ekanade, O. (1988). A comparison of soil properties under different landuse types in a part of the Nigerian cocoa belt. Catena, 15, 319–331.
Andrews, S. S., Karlen, D. L., & Mitchell, J. P. (2002). A comparison of soil quality indexing methods for vegetable production systems in northern California. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 90, 25–45.
Arshad, M. A., & Martin, S. (2002). Identifying critical limits for soil quality indicators in agro-ecosystems. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 88, 153–160.
Bone, J., Head, M., Barraclough, D., Archer, M., Scheib, C., Flight, D., et al. (2010). Soil quality assessment under emerging regulatory requirements. Environment International, 36, 609–622.
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. (1996). A reference guide for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act: assessing environmental effects on physical and cultural heritage resources. Hull, Quebec.
Chen, L. D., & Gao, Q. C. (2006). Chance and challenge for China on ecosystem management: lessons from the West-to-East pipeline project construction. Ambio, 35, 91–93.
Chen, L. D., Tian, H. Y., Zhang, X. Y., Feng, X. M., & Yang, W. H. (2012). Public attitudes and perceptions to the West-to-East pipeline project and ecosystem management in large project construction. International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, 19, 219–228.
Coiffait-Gombault, C., Buisson, E., & Dutoit, T. (2011). Hay transfer promotes establishment of Mediterranean steppe vegetation on soil disturbed by pipeline construction. Restoration Ecology, 19, 214–222.
Coiffait-Gombault, C., Buisson, E., & Dutoit, T. (2012). Are old Mediterranean grasslands resilient to human disturbances? Acta Oecologica—International Journal of Ecology, 43, 86–94.
Cornfield, A. H. (1960). Ammonia released on treating soils with N sodium hydroxide as a possible means of predicting the nitrogen-supplying power of soils. Nature, 187, 260–261.
Cui, B. S., Zhao, S., Zhang, K., Li, S., Dong, S., & Bai, J. (2009). Disturbance of Dabao highway construction on plant species and soil nutrients in Longitudinal Range Gorge Region (LRGR) of southwestern China. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 158, 545–559.
Desserud, P., Gates, C. C., Adams, B., & Revel, R. D. (2010). Restoration of foothills rough fescue grassland following pipeline disturbance in southwestern Alberta. Journal of Environmental Management, 91, 2763–2770.
Fu, B. J., Liu, S. L., Lu, Y. H., Chen, L. D., Ma, K. M., & Liu, G. H. (2003). Comparing the soil quality changes of different land uses determined by two qualitative methods. Journal of Environmental Sciences, 15, 167–172.
João, E. (2002). How scale affects environmental impact assessment. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 22, 289–310.
Karlen, D. L., Mausbach, M. J., Doran, J. W., Cline, R. G., Harris, R. F., & Schuman, G. E. (1997). Soil quality: a concept, definition, and framework for evaluation. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 61, 4–10.
Karstens, S. A. M., Bots, P. W. G., & Slinger, J. H. (2007). Spatial boundary choice and the views of different actors. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 27, 386–407.
Kaufmann, M., Tobias, S., & Schulin, R. (2009). Quality evaluation of restored soils with a fuzzy logic expert system. Geoderma, 151, 290–302.
Kowaljow, E., & Rostagno, C. M. (2008). Gas-pipeline installation effects on superficial soil properties and vegetation cover in northeastern Chubut. Ciencia del Suelo, 26, 51–62.
Mueller, L., Shepherd, G., Schindler, U., Ball, B. C., Munkholm, L. J., Hennings, V., et al. (2013). Evaluation of soil structure in the framework of an overall soil quality rating. Soil & Tillage Research, 127, 74–84.
Olson, E. R., & Doherty, J. M. (2012). The legacy of pipeline installation on the soil and vegetation of southeast Wisconsin wetlands. Ecological Engineering, 39, 53–62.
Patzel, N., Sticher, H., & Karlen, D. L. (2000). Soil fertility—phenomenon and concept. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 163, 129–142.
Romaniuk, R., Giuffre, L., Costantini, A., Bartoloni, N., & Nannipieri, P. (2011). A comparison of indexing methods to evaluate quality of soils: the role of soil microbiological properties. Soil Research, 49, 733–741.
Sims, J. R., & Haby, V. A. (1971). Simplified colorimetric determination of soil organic matter. Soil Science, 112, 137–141.
Soon, Y. K., Arshad, M. A., Rice, W. A., & Mills, P. (2000a). Recovery of chemical and physical properties of boreal plain soils impacted by pipeline burial. Canadian Journal of Soil Science, 80, 489–497.
Soon, Y. K., Rice, W. A., Arshad, M. A., & Mills, P. (2000b). Effect of pipeline installation on crop yield and some biological properties of boreal soils. Canadian Journal of Soil Science, 80, 483–488.
Woodward, C. L. (1996). Soil compaction and topsoil removal effects on soil properties and seedling growth in Amazonian Ecuador. Forest Ecology and Management, 82, 197–209.
Yu, X. F., Wang, G. P., Zou, Y. C., Wang, Q., Zhao, H. M., & Lu, X. G. (2010). Effects of pipeline construction on wetland ecosystems: Russia–China oil pipeline project (Mohe–Daqing section). Ambio, 39, 447–450.
Zornoza, R., Mataix-Solera, J., Guerrero, C., Arcenegui, V., García-Orenes, F., Mataix-Beneyto, J., et al. (2007). Evaluation of soil quality using multiple lineal regression based on physical, chemical and biochemical properties. Science of the Total Environment, 378, 233–237.
Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the Industry Research Project on Environmental Protection (201209029). The author also would like to thank Dr. Wenlin Chen for his valuable suggestion and for polishing the English.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shi, P., Xiao, J., Wang, YF. et al. The effects of pipeline construction disturbance on soil properties and restoration cycle. Environ Monit Assess 186, 1825–1835 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3496-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3496-5