Moving from geochemical to contamination maps using incomplete chemical information from long-term high-density monitoring of Czech agricultural soils

Grygar, Tomáš Matys; Elznicová, Jitka; Tůmová, Štěpánka; Kylich, Tomáš; Skála, Jan; Hron, Karel; Álvarez-Vázquez, Miguel Ángel

doi:10.1007/s12665-022-10692-3

Cited by 10 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…Furthermore, atmospheric contamination with SOx and its associated risk elements is associated with iron and steel production. Accordingly, the agricultural soils surrounding the Třinec Steel Works are contaminated by Zn (Pavlů et al 2015 ; Vácha et al 2015 ; Matys Grygar et al 2023 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The sampled areas in the border region between the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, and Austria faced different degrees of anthropogenic SOx and NOx emissions (Krupová et al 2018 ). In particular, the Beskid Mountains in the NE Czech Republic have experienced considerable recent anthropogenic impacts, as they have received significant industrial contamination and acid emissions primarily from the heavy industry in Silesia (Vácha et al 2015 ; Pavlů et al 2015 ; Matys Grygar et al 2023 ). Generally, SOx and NOx emissions in the entire NE Czech Republic have been above average during the last decades (Krupová et al 2018 ), and the primary emission source for the Beskid study area was the coke, iron, and steel production in Třinec that was established in 1839 and expanded in the second half of the twentieth century.…”

Section: Study Area and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Factors controlling Mn and Zn contents in leaves of silver and downy birch in acidified soils of Central Europe and Norway

Bílková,

Königová,

Hýlová

et al. 2024

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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In Central European mountain forests, foliar element concentrations (FECs) of manganese (Mn) in silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) are occasionally approximately 5000 mg kg−1 and can represent stress for these plants. Factors controlling the Mn FECs in silver birch in Central Europe and downy birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh.) in Norway have not yet been fully deciphered. In this study, the Central European silver birch specimens were sampled in 2022. The samples were analysed by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Norwegian data were obtained from the literature. Mn FECs are commonly negatively correlated with magnesium and, in certain areas, with potassium. Mn FECs are simultaneously elevated with zinc (Zn), likely because of soil acidification and anthropogenic emissions. Mn FECs in birch were previously thought to be related to altitude, which was assigned to (i) downslope washes of Mn or (ii) the historical load of acid emissions. The highest Mn FECs in silver birch were found in the Harz Mountains, Germany, and have been attributed to historical atmospheric contamination and the abundance of soils on felsic silicic rocks poorly buffering acid rains. The historical emission load from iron and steel production was hypothesised to be the cause of elevated Mn and Zn FECs in the Beskid Mountains, Czech Republic. Mn FECs in birch can be used to map historical soil acidification caused by industrial emissions. Zn FECs in birches can reflect soil contamination by this element.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Area and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors controlling Mn and Zn contents in leaves of silver and downy birch in acidified soils of Central Europe and Norway

Bílková,

Königová,

Hýlová

et al. 2024

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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“…The observed concentration of trace elements depends on the sediment's characteristics (e.g., grain size distribution and organic matter content) and, hence, cannot be interpreted directly but must be thoroughly prepared for analysis [17,[46][47][48][49]. Therefore, the direct interpretation of concentration measurements cannot provide meaningful results [47,[50][51][52]. Instead, combining traditional approaches of trace element evaluation, like classic enrichment factors, with methods relying on robust statistics seems favorable, as Famera et al [53] suggested.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mixed response of trace element concentrations in fluvial sediments to a flash flood in a former mining area

Weber,

Lehmkuhl

2024

Environ Sci Eur

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Background Floods, especially flash floods, are the major transporting agent for fluvial sediments, whose pollution is a global concern. As floods result in the dispersion of and exposure to these sediments, a profound understanding of sedimentary dynamics during flood events and the related pollutant dispersion is of relevance. However, the characteristics of extreme flood events concerning pollutant dynamics are insufficiently known so far. Results In a Central European catchment impacted by intense industrial activities and former mining, over the course of five years, we surveyed six high-discharge events, five of them approx. bankfull discharge and one major flash flood event, supplemented by sampling of bank sediments. Fluvial sediments were analyzed for elemental composition by X-Ray fluorescence and for grain size distribution of the fine faction by laser diffraction. By applying a local enrichment factor, trace metal(loid) signatures in these sample sets were compared. Furthermore, Positive Matrix Factorization was used to investigate the trace metal(loid)s’ sources. The sediments deposited by minor flooding had continual trace metal(loid) signatures. However, for the extreme event, significant divergencies arose and persisted for the following years: The enrichment of anthropogenically influenced elements increased, with a slowly decreasing trend in the subsequent two years. Naturally dominated metal(oid)s decrease in enrichment without indicating a return to original levels. In contrast, other elements were insensitive to the extreme event. Positive Matrix Factorization identified anthropogenic influences in elements originating from copper and lead processing and mining activities. Furthermore, bed sediments and a natural background factor were found to dominate the non-anthropogenically influenced metal(loid)s. Conclusions In between extreme events, winnowing processes slowly alter the elemental composition of bed sediments. The depletion of such sediments due to the flash flood proves catchment-wide flushing, which induces a natural resetting of the geochemical signals. This ability to renew is an integral part of resilience in fluvial systems. This mechanism is disturbed by industrial activities in floodplains. The exceptional flooding reaches infrastructure that is assumed to be safe and, therefore, unprotected. These additional sources can shift flood sediments’ trace metal(loid) signature, which has a long-lasting impact on the catchment sediments. However, the modifications depend on the flooding extent, possible emitters, and protection measures.

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“…Interpreting high soil PTE concentrations always requires corrections for the variability of real controlling factors (RCFs) behind soil composition, i.e., a suite of geological, geographic, paedogenic, climatic, and anthropogenic factors affecting soil depth profiles of PTEs [16][17][18][19]. All RCFs (Figure 1) cannot be deciphered completely for each soil profile in any study area in the frame of common geochemical mapping projects; there are only individual exceptions of including their substantial portion in specific case studies [1,8,19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinguishing Geogenic Load and Anthropogenic Contribution to Soil Contamination in Mineralised Mountain Landscape of Ore Mountains (Czech Republic) Using Cumulative Distribution Functions

Hošek,

Pavlíková,

Šoltýs

et al. 2024

Land

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In ore regions impacted by mining and metal smelting emissions, distinguishing between geogenic anomalies and anthropogenic contamination poses a significant challenge. In a study from two areas with different mining histories in the Ore Mountains, Czech Republic, we demonstrate that sampling of topsoils and subsoils respecting local geology and correct soil data treatment respecting soil textural variability effects are indispensable to the correct construction and interpretation of geochemical maps and identification of anthropogenic contamination by As, Cu, Pb, and Zn. The list of analysed elements must include both potentially toxic and lithogenic elements, otherwise natural controls of soil composition cannot be deciphered. By using empirical cumulative distribution functions, we found that local backgrounds for As/Fe and Pb/Ti are naturally elevated (5.7 to 9.8 times and 2.1 to 2.7 times higher, respectively) compared to the global averages. We constructed geochemical maps with topsoil minus subsoil concentrations to show the main directions of spreading anthropogenic contamination. The anthropogenic diffuse contamination contribution was calculated and expressed as an enrichment relative to the local background (16% and 12% for As/Fe and 17% and 14% for Pb/Ti, respectively). This corresponds to topsoil enrichment by ca. 15 and 14 mg kg−1 for As and ca. 35 and 42 mg kg−1 for Pb in the two study areas. The obtained estimates were comparable to the results from the local peat archives. The approach we used is efficient in deciphering natural and anthropogenic controls of PTEs in geochemically complicated areas.

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Moving from geochemical to contamination maps using incomplete chemical information from long-term high-density monitoring of Czech agricultural soils

Cited by 10 publications

References 77 publications

Factors controlling Mn and Zn contents in leaves of silver and downy birch in acidified soils of Central Europe and Norway

Factors controlling Mn and Zn contents in leaves of silver and downy birch in acidified soils of Central Europe and Norway

Mixed response of trace element concentrations in fluvial sediments to a flash flood in a former mining area

Distinguishing Geogenic Load and Anthropogenic Contribution to Soil Contamination in Mineralised Mountain Landscape of Ore Mountains (Czech Republic) Using Cumulative Distribution Functions

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