Profile Distributions of Potentially Toxic Metal(loid)s in Soils of the Middle Odra Floodplain (SW Poland)

Dorota Kawałko and Anna Karczewska ()
Additional contact information
Dorota Kawałko: Institute of Soil Science, Plant Nutrition and Environmental Protection, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, ul. Grunwaldzka 53, 50-357 Wrocław, Poland
Anna Karczewska: Institute of Soil Science, Plant Nutrition and Environmental Protection, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, ul. Grunwaldzka 53, 50-357 Wrocław, Poland

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: Floodplain soils are often contaminated with potentially toxic elements of geogenic and anthropogenic origin. This also applies to a valley of the Odra river, which in its upper reach flows through areas of historical and contemporary mining and heavy industry. This study examined the distribution of typically anthropogenic metal(loid)s, i.e., Pb, Zn, Cu, As and Cd, and geogenic metals, i.e., Mn and Fe, in soil profiles of the middle Odra valley, and analyzed factors that determine their concentrations. Thirteen soil profiles, located inter the embankment area and outside the embankments, were examined. Most of profiles indicated stratification typical for alluvial soils. Topsoil layers in the inter-embankment zone showed considerable enrichment in Pb, Zn and Cd, and to a lesser extent in Cu and As. Low soil pH is an important factor of environmental risk; therefore, acidic soils definitely require liming. The soils located out of embankments did not show any considerable enrichment in the elements examined. Based on significant correlations between the concentrations of metal(loid)s in deep soil layers and soil texture, the values of local geochemical background were derived. Outliers, particularly in the case of As, were explained by possible redistribution under reducing conditions.

Keywords: alluvial soils; arsenic; contamination; farmlands; heavy metals; inter-embankment zone; local geochemical background; risk assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/5/4196/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/5/4196/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:5:p:4196-:d:1081332

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().