Soil water content and longitudinal microbiota distribution in disturbed areas of tower foundations of power transmission and transformation projects

In power transmission and transformation engineering, tower foundation construction activities are frequent, and their interference with the surrounding soil environment is becoming increasingly prominent. During the construction of such projects, tower foundation construction involves site excavati...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Che Kai, Yu Jinxing, Ju Yukun, Zhao Xuan, Gong Yunqian, Chen Chongming
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter 2025-08-01
Series:Open Geosciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2025-0840
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849330680569266176
author Che Kai
Yu Jinxing
Ju Yukun
Zhao Xuan
Gong Yunqian
Chen Chongming
author_facet Che Kai
Yu Jinxing
Ju Yukun
Zhao Xuan
Gong Yunqian
Chen Chongming
author_sort Che Kai
collection DOAJ
description In power transmission and transformation engineering, tower foundation construction activities are frequent, and their interference with the surrounding soil environment is becoming increasingly prominent. During the construction of such projects, tower foundation construction involves site excavation, foundation pouring, and backfilling operations, which can damage the original structure of the soil, change the moisture and nutrient status, and thus affect the soil ecosystem. To gain a profound understanding of the impact of engineering activities on soil environments and ensure soil ecosystem stability, this article investigated the distribution characteristics of soil moisture content and vertical microbial communities in the disturbed areas of transmission and transformation tower foundations. Soil samples were collected from the study region, and the extent of soil collapse, crack density, and soil moisture content were calculated using the dry method after post-disturbance vegetation restoration. The study determined the microbial distribution characteristics in areas with soil collapse and vegetation degradation, and analyzed the impact of varying distances from the disturbance center on microbial distribution. Experiments revealed that under the influence of tower foundation construction, areas with extreme soil subsidence and high crack density exhibited lower soil moisture content. During the construction process of the tower foundation for power transmission and transformation projects, mechanical operations such as rolling and excavation directly damage the root system of vegetation, making it difficult for plants to grow stably and hindering their absorption of water and nutrients from the soil, thereby affecting their normal physiological activities and leading to poor or even degraded vegetation growth. In areas with severe soil subsidence, the microbial populations of bacteria, actinomycetes, and disturbance of the tower foundation construction disrupt the pore system of the soil, making the soil close to the disturbed area less aerobic and permeable, and the microbial living space is compressed. The survival space of microorganisms is compressed and thus reduced. As the distance increases, the degree of soil disturbance gradually decreases, resulting in an increase in the number of microorganisms. Interference activities such as tower foundation construction in power transmission and transformation projects have damaged vegetation, resulting in vegetation degradation, significant reduction in leaf litter, and severe shortage of organic matter supply in the soil. The growth and reproduction of microbial communities are highly dependent on the energy and nutrient deficiencies provided by organic matter, leading to a decrease in their distribution.
format Article
id doaj-art-a70d9ab0bc264704ac6e301b7ddc3313
institution Kabale University
issn 2391-5447
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher De Gruyter
record_format Article
series Open Geosciences
spelling doaj-art-a70d9ab0bc264704ac6e301b7ddc33132025-08-20T03:46:50ZengDe GruyterOpen Geosciences2391-54472025-08-011713334510.1515/geo-2025-0840Soil water content and longitudinal microbiota distribution in disturbed areas of tower foundations of power transmission and transformation projectsChe Kai0Yu Jinxing1Ju Yukun2Zhao Xuan3Gong Yunqian4Chen Chongming5State Grid Hebei Electric Power Research Institute, Shijiazhuang, 050021, ChinaState Grid Hebei Electric Power Research Institute, Shijiazhuang, 050021, ChinaBeijing River Huiyuan Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing, 100085, ChinaBeijing River Huiyuan Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing, 100085, ChinaState Grid Hebei Electric Power Research Institute, Shijiazhuang, 050021, ChinaState Grid Hebei Electric Power Research Institute, Shijiazhuang, 050021, ChinaIn power transmission and transformation engineering, tower foundation construction activities are frequent, and their interference with the surrounding soil environment is becoming increasingly prominent. During the construction of such projects, tower foundation construction involves site excavation, foundation pouring, and backfilling operations, which can damage the original structure of the soil, change the moisture and nutrient status, and thus affect the soil ecosystem. To gain a profound understanding of the impact of engineering activities on soil environments and ensure soil ecosystem stability, this article investigated the distribution characteristics of soil moisture content and vertical microbial communities in the disturbed areas of transmission and transformation tower foundations. Soil samples were collected from the study region, and the extent of soil collapse, crack density, and soil moisture content were calculated using the dry method after post-disturbance vegetation restoration. The study determined the microbial distribution characteristics in areas with soil collapse and vegetation degradation, and analyzed the impact of varying distances from the disturbance center on microbial distribution. Experiments revealed that under the influence of tower foundation construction, areas with extreme soil subsidence and high crack density exhibited lower soil moisture content. During the construction process of the tower foundation for power transmission and transformation projects, mechanical operations such as rolling and excavation directly damage the root system of vegetation, making it difficult for plants to grow stably and hindering their absorption of water and nutrients from the soil, thereby affecting their normal physiological activities and leading to poor or even degraded vegetation growth. In areas with severe soil subsidence, the microbial populations of bacteria, actinomycetes, and disturbance of the tower foundation construction disrupt the pore system of the soil, making the soil close to the disturbed area less aerobic and permeable, and the microbial living space is compressed. The survival space of microorganisms is compressed and thus reduced. As the distance increases, the degree of soil disturbance gradually decreases, resulting in an increase in the number of microorganisms. Interference activities such as tower foundation construction in power transmission and transformation projects have damaged vegetation, resulting in vegetation degradation, significant reduction in leaf litter, and severe shortage of organic matter supply in the soil. The growth and reproduction of microbial communities are highly dependent on the energy and nutrient deficiencies provided by organic matter, leading to a decrease in their distribution.https://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2025-0840transmission and substation projecttower disturbancesoil water contentsoil verticalmicrobiotadistributional characteristic
spellingShingle Che Kai
Yu Jinxing
Ju Yukun
Zhao Xuan
Gong Yunqian
Chen Chongming
Soil water content and longitudinal microbiota distribution in disturbed areas of tower foundations of power transmission and transformation projects
Open Geosciences
transmission and substation project
tower disturbance
soil water content
soil vertical
microbiota
distributional characteristic
title Soil water content and longitudinal microbiota distribution in disturbed areas of tower foundations of power transmission and transformation projects
title_full Soil water content and longitudinal microbiota distribution in disturbed areas of tower foundations of power transmission and transformation projects
title_fullStr Soil water content and longitudinal microbiota distribution in disturbed areas of tower foundations of power transmission and transformation projects
title_full_unstemmed Soil water content and longitudinal microbiota distribution in disturbed areas of tower foundations of power transmission and transformation projects
title_short Soil water content and longitudinal microbiota distribution in disturbed areas of tower foundations of power transmission and transformation projects
title_sort soil water content and longitudinal microbiota distribution in disturbed areas of tower foundations of power transmission and transformation projects
topic transmission and substation project
tower disturbance
soil water content
soil vertical
microbiota
distributional characteristic
url https://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2025-0840
work_keys_str_mv AT chekai soilwatercontentandlongitudinalmicrobiotadistributionindisturbedareasoftowerfoundationsofpowertransmissionandtransformationprojects
AT yujinxing soilwatercontentandlongitudinalmicrobiotadistributionindisturbedareasoftowerfoundationsofpowertransmissionandtransformationprojects
AT juyukun soilwatercontentandlongitudinalmicrobiotadistributionindisturbedareasoftowerfoundationsofpowertransmissionandtransformationprojects
AT zhaoxuan soilwatercontentandlongitudinalmicrobiotadistributionindisturbedareasoftowerfoundationsofpowertransmissionandtransformationprojects
AT gongyunqian soilwatercontentandlongitudinalmicrobiotadistributionindisturbedareasoftowerfoundationsofpowertransmissionandtransformationprojects
AT chenchongming soilwatercontentandlongitudinalmicrobiotadistributionindisturbedareasoftowerfoundationsofpowertransmissionandtransformationprojects