Research of Soil Moisture Dynamic in The Recultivated Plėgai Landfill

Abstract

In Lithuania, the transportation of waste to landfills is a major way of eliminating them. However, this is not the safest way taking into account the environmental impact, especially when landfills are installed in inappropriate places without complying with installation and recultivation requirements. According to the data of the Department of Statistics, about 1.2 million tons of municipal solid waste or 361 kilograms per capita were accumulated in Lithuania in 2015. In this work the results of soil moisture dynamic in the recultivated Plėgai landfill are analyzed. The landfill is located in Plėgai village, Šakiai district, Lithuania. The work assessed whether the recultivated landfill was installed in accordance with EU requirements. The scientific hypothesis was put up that after the proper installation of the recultivated landfill, soil moisture in it will be the same as in the nearby natural meadow. The research covered the period from June 2nd, 2016 to September 29th, 2016. In the course of the research period, half of the annual precipitation of the year 2016 fell within 4 months, i.e. 336 mm. The highest rainfall was 119 mm in July, the driest was 46 mm in June. During the period of the research it was established that in the landfill and perennial grass meadow soil moisture reserves varied evenly until the first decade of August, the lowest soil moisture values were fixed on 11-20 days of June, then it was 15.11% in the landfill and 15.3% in the perennial grass meadow.