Technosols Development in an Abandoned Mining Area and Environmental Risk Assessment

Abstract

The study of Technosols development, spatial distribution and physicochemical characteristics is becoming more and more important in the Anthropocene Era. The aim of the present study was to assess soil features and potential heavy metal release risk of soils developed on different mine tailing types after the waste disposal derived from mining activity in Central Italy. Soils were analyzed for their morphological, physical and chemical properties, and a chemical sequential extraction of heavy metals was performed. The investigated soils were classified as Technosols toxic having in some layer within 50 cm of the soil surface inorganic materials with high concentrations of toxic elements. Our findings showed that the bioavailability of potentially toxic element concentrations in the soil changed according to the origin of the mine tailing. However, because of the acidic pH, there is a serious risk of metals leaching which was reduced where the soil organic matter content was higher.

Pedodiversity and Organic Matter Dynamics in the North Apennines (Italy): Relationships among Soil Types, Biodiversity, and Ecological Functionality

“…The total amount of P, S, Ca, Mg, Fe, Al, and K was determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES; Arcos II, Kleve, Germany, Ameteck Spectro). Each soil sample was analyzed three times, and the data were calibrated using International Reference Materials (BCR) and internal laboratory standards [39]. The organic carbon (OC) and total nitrogen (N) contents of the finely ground samples were determined by a CHN elemental analyzer (Flash 2000, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA) coupled with an isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS Delta C or DELTA+XL, Thermo Finnigan MAT, Bremen, Germany) for the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ( 13 C and 15 N) determination, expressed as δ 13 C (‰) and δ 15 N (‰) with respect to the V-PDB universal reference standard for 13 C and air for nitrogen.…”

The bianchetto truffle (Tuber borchii) a lead‐resistant ectomycorrhizal fungus increases Quercus cerris phytoremediation potential

“…After digestion, the soil sample solution was made up to 20 ml with Milli-Q ultrapure distilled water and filtered with Whatman 42 filter paper. Pb concentration was determined by ICP-OES; each soil sample was analysed three time and the data calibrated using International Reference Materials (BCR) and internal laboratory standards (Ferronato et al, 2021).…”