Cu and Zn mobilization in soil columns percolated by different irrigation solutions.

We investigated the effects of different concentrations of nitrate and ammonium in irrigation water on the mobilization of Zn and Cu in repacked soil columns with a metal-polluted topsoil and unpolluted subsoils over two and a half years. Soil solution samples were collected by suction cups installed at vertical distances of a few centimeters and analyzed for dissolved organic carbon (DOC), Cu, and Zn (total and labile). During high N treatments the pH decreased and the presence of exchangeable cations resulted in Zn mobilization from the surface soil. The nitrogen input stimulated the biological activity, which affected both concentration and characteristics of DOC and consequently Cu speciation. Metal leaching through the boundary between the polluted topsoil and the unpolluted subsoils increased soil-bound and dissolved metals within the uppermost 2cm in the subsoils. Our study shows that agricultural activities involving nitrogen fertilization can have a strong influence on metal leaching and speciation.

Seven thousand years of records on the mining and utilization of metals from lake sediments in central China.

A 268 cm section of sediment core from Liangzhi Lake in Hubei province in central China was used to assess the use and accumulation of metals in the lake in the past 7,000 years. The concentrations of trace metals, including Cu, Pb, Ni, and Zn, and major elements, Ca, Fe, and Mg, in a 14C- dated segment of sediment core were analyzed. Historical trends on the input of metals to Liangzhi Lake from around 5000 BC to the present were recorded in the sediments, representing about 7,000 years of history on the mining and utilization of metals in central China. The concentrations of Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn increased gradually from about 3000 +/- 328 BC, indicating the start of the Bronze Age in ancient China. During the period 467 +/- 257 to 215 +/- 221 AD, there was a rapid increase in the concentrations of these metals in the sediments, indicating enormous inputs of these metals at that time. This era corresponded to China's Warring States Period (475- 221 BC) and the early Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), during which copper and lead were extensively used in making bronze articles such as vessels, tools, and weapons. From 1880 +/- 35 AD to the early 1900s, there was also a significant increase in the concentrations of metals such as Cu, Ni, and Pb, which probably reflected the metal emissions and utilization during the early period of industrial development and weapon manufacture during the wars in China. The Pb isotopic analysis showed that the surface and subsurface sediments had lower 206Pb/207Pb and 208Pb/ 207Pb ratios than the deeper layers, reflecting the additional input of Pb from mining activities that took place during the Bronze Age era and in modern times. This study provides direct evidence of the environmental impact of the mining and utilization of metals in the last 7,000 years in one of the important regions of Chinese civilization.

The effects of plants on the mobilization of Cu and Zn in soil columns.

Whereas metal effects on plants have been well studied, much less is known about plant effects on metal mobilization in soils. We investigated metal mobilization and speciation with a resolution of a few cm in soil columns planted with willows (Salix viminalis). In the presence of plants, the concentration profiles of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), major ions (e.g., Ca), Cu, and Zn exhibited more variation than in the absence of plants, and both smaller and larger concentrations were observed, indicative of strong local effects. The Cu concentration in the absence and presence of plants was controlled by DOC mobilization and could be described by the same relationship. Zn mobilization was controlled by DOC and Ca in the plant-free system and by pH and Ca in the presence of plants. Cu2+ and labile Zn were reasonably well predicted by the NICA-Donnan model and were influenced by the plant-induced changes of the soil solution composition. Plant uptake reduced the dissolved Zn concentration and transpiration reduced Cu and Zn leaching.