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A regional geochemical survey of soils in Jiangsu Province, China: Preliminary assessment of soil fertility and soil contamination
- Source :
-
Geoderma . Nov2007, Vol. 142 Issue 1/2, p18-28. 11p. - Publication Year :
- 2007
-
Abstract
- Abstract: The regional geochemical survey of soils in Jiangsu Province is an important part of a larger agro-geological survey program in China. This paper presents chemical data from soils sampled at two depths; top-soils from a 0–20 cm depth and sub-soils from a 150–200 cm depth. Results for eleven of the fifty four elements measured are presented for approximately 103,000 top-soils and 26,000 sub-soils. The discussion includes the fertility status and the distribution of soil pH, phosphorous and total organic carbon; and a soil contaminant assessment of eight potentially toxic elements (As, Cd, Hg, Pb, Ni, Cr, Cu and Zn). For a smaller sub-sample from the Nanjing area (3397 top-soils and 834 sub-soils), elemental enrichment factors for twenty eight elements were calculated. From the study, the following conclusions can be made — 1) 50% of the land shows fertility deficiencies as estimated by N, P, K contents and pH; 2) the toxic element contents in about 30% of the land were assessed to be above their natural background concentrations, with over 10% of the land being classified as contaminated; 3) top-soil contamination from toxic elements occurs mainly in urban environments with significant compositional differences between top-soils and sub-soils for many elements, particularly Hg, Cd, Pb, S and Se; 4) the data from regional geochemical surveys of soils can play an important role in studying changes in the ecological environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
- Subjects :
- *ANALYTICAL geochemistry
*SOIL fertility
*SOIL pollution
*SUBSOILS
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00167061
- Volume :
- 142
- Issue :
- 1/2
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Geoderma
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 27000247
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2007.07.008