Soil solution chemistry of contrasting soils amended with heavy metals

Abstract

The soil solution chemistry of heavy metal amended soils is of great importance in assessing the bioavailability of heavy metals and their toxicity to the soil biota. Three contrasting soils were amended with Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), Pb(II), Zn(II), and Cr(III) nitrate salts at rates of 10–100 mmol/kg. This concentration range was chosen to encompass a wide range of effects on sensitive soil biochemical properties as part of a larger project. Soil solutions were extracted and analysed for pH, and for concentrations of heavy metals, and major cations and anions. Heavy metal speciation was calculated with the GEOCHEM-PC model.

Heavy metal concentrations in the soil solutions increased both in absolute terms and as a percentage of added heavy metal as amendment rates increased. This observation is due to decreasing specific adsorption (caused by decreasing pH induced by the amendments), and to increasing saturation of cation exchange sites. For all 3 soils, the percentage increase commonly follows the order Cr(III) < Pb < Cu < Ni < Cd < Zn. The percentage of each metal held in the soil solution increased from soil to soil as cation exchange capacity, and therefore sorptivity, decreased.

Both the concentration and activity of free heavy metal ions were substantially lower than the corresponding total metal concentration. This was ascribed to ion-pairing of metal ions with anions, particularly nitrate introduced in the amending solutions, as well as to increases in ionic strength as a result of amendment. Metal-anion species were mainly inorganic but where Cu and Pb were relatively low in concentration because of strong adsorption by the soils, organic complexation was likely to be significant. Speciation trends were similar for the 3 soils but different in magnitude.