Cadmium and Zinc in Vegetation and Litter of a Voluntary Woodland that has Developed on Contaminated Sediment-Derived Soil.

This article discusses cadmium and zinc bioavailability on metal contaminated soils with vegetation colonizing a canal embankment in a spontaneously developed woodland. According to the authors, the woodland is dominated by two Willow (Salix) species. Salix caprea selectively accumulated cadmium in all stem tissues and uptake was correlated with differences in soil pH. In contrast, S. viminalis regulated tissue cadmium content. Both species regulated tissue Zinc and uptake was not correlated with differences in soil pH. Leaf litter contained elevated metal concentrations, but invertebrate population composition did not appear to be affected.