Suchergebnisse

Heavy metals occur naturally in the soil as a product of rock weathering and, are commonly associated with environmental pollution and toxicity to living beings. This association deserves much attention since some heavy metals, such as Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, and Ni, are essential to plants. Our attention should thus be drawn not only to the element itself, but also to its contents in the soil. This is because its occurrence and quantities are covariates of the geomorphic, geologic, pedologic, and anthropogenic diversity. In this context, the present study aimed to determine the natural contents of heavy metals in the soils of three physiographic regions of the south of Amazonas state, comparing them to natural contents in some other Brazilian soils. Twenty-four soil samples were collected in three physiographic regions (field/forest, animated relief, and flooded/non-flooded areas), in the superficial and subsurface horizons. The digestion of the samples was based on the EPA-3051A method and the determination by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAnalyst 800 Perkin Elmer). The results indicate a low potential of soils from the south of Amazonas in supplying heavy metals, which were found in the following decreasing order: Ba > Fe > Cr > Pb > Zn > Cu > Mn > Co > Cd. The natural heavy metal contents vary depending on the type of soil, weathering level, and physiographic regions, and are similar or inferior to those observed in other regions of the country; with Neosols presenting the highest natural contents; and Cambisols, the lowest, for most of the metals evaluated.

Sequential extraction or chemical fractionation of heavy metals allows inferences to be made about their origin, occurrence, bioavailability, toxic potential and environmental contamination. Thus, the present study aimed to assess the distribution of Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn among the different soil fractions and landscape compartments of a yellow latosol cultivated with vegetables. Soil samples were collected from five areas cultivated with tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum, Mill.), lettuce (Lactuca sativa), chili pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) and chard (Beta vulgaris L.) in different slope positions (upper, middle, lower), and four reference areas (native forest), at a depth of 0.00 - 0.20 m. Heavy metal levels were also assessed in water used to irrigate the crops and for human consumption by collecting 200 ml of water samples from reservoirs. The soil samples were sequentially fractionated to quantify the concentrations of adsorbed Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn in the exchangeable (EF), organic matter (OF), amorphous and crystalline iron oxide fractions (AFeOx and CFeOx). Landscape position only interfered significantly in heavy metal adsorption in the soil for Cu and Ni associated with CFeOx and Zn bound to the EF in the farming areas. The highest Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn levels were found in the fractions with less stable chemical bonds (bound to organic matter), in addition to a strong affinity between Cu, Zn and Mn and the oxide fractions (AFeOx + CFeOx). The low affinity of Pb and Ni for the AFeOx and CFeOx fractions indicates greater contamination potential for the water reservoirs. In the short term, organic matter is the main source of remediation for heavy metal contamination in soil, making it important to adopt conservation practices aimed at reducing OM losses.