Accumulation of Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) at different depths clay and loamy sand textural soils due to tobacco waste application

The effects of tobacco waste (TW) application to the soil surface on the accumulation of Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) in clay and loamy sand textural soils at various depths were investigated in two different fields. The tobacco waste had been found to be infected with TMV. Eighteen months after TW application to the soil surface, soils were sampled at 20 cm intervals through to 80 cm depth. The DAS-ELISA method was performed to determine infection of soil with TMV. The viruses persisted in clay soil for a long period compared with loamy sand soil. There was no accumulation of TMV at any depth of loamy sand soil in Experimental Field 2. TMV adsorption to soil particles in 0-60 cm depth of clay soil was determined in all TW treatments in Experimental Field 1. The highest ELISA Absorbance (A405) values in all treatments were determined in the 20-40 cm soil depth that had the highest clay content. ELISA A405 values of TMV at different depths of clay soil gave significant correlations with clay content (r = 0.793**), EC values (r = 0.421**) and soil pH (r = -0.405**). Adsorption of TMV to net negatively charged clay particle surfaces increased with increasing EC values of soil solution. Decreasing soil pH and infiltration rate increased adsorption of TMV to clay particles. Higher infiltration rate and lower clay content in loamy sand soil caused leaching of TMV from the soil profile.     

Sorption and desorption of salinomycin sodium in clay, loamy sand, and sandy soils

Salinomycin sodium (BIO-COX) is polyether ionophore, commonly used in the poultry industries for the prevention of coccidial infections and promotion of growth. Salinomycin sodium (SAL-Na) is very toxic, and may be fatal, if swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin than many other antibiotics, thus evaluating their fate in the soil environment is of importance. Sorption of SAL-Na was measured in clay, loamy sand, and sandy soil at different pH 4, 7, and 9, and desorption with phosphate buffer (pH 7) using batch equilibration technique. SAL-Na was sorbed by all the soils studied, the sorption of SAL-Na by the sandy soil increased as the pH decreased, while the sorption of salinomycin in clay and loamy sand soil increased as the pH increased. Desorption of salinomycin from the soil with phosphate buffer (pH 7) over the 24 h period was 80-95% of the amount added. The similar trend was observed in desorption with pH 4, 7 and at different concentrations and slight less desorption was observed in pH 9. When compared to clay and loamy sand soil, sandy soil was recorded maximum (95%) desorption.     

The effects of land use changes on some soil properties in İndağı Mountain Pass – Çankırı, Turkey

Understanding spatial variability of dynamic soil attributes provides information for suitably using land and avoiding environmental degradation. In this paper, we examined five neighboring land use types in Indagi Mountain Pass - Cankiri, Turkey to spatially predict variability of the soil organic carbon (SOC), bulk density (BD), textural composition, and soil reaction (pH) as affected by land use changes. Plantation, recreational land, and cropland were the lands converted from the woodland and grassland which were original lands in the study area. Total of 578 disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were taken with irregular intervals from five sites and represented the depths of 0-10 and 10-20 cm. Soil pH and BD had the lower coefficient of variations (CV) while SOC had the highest value for topsoil. Clay content showed greater CV than silt and sand contents. The geostatistics indicated that the soil properties examined were spatially dependent to the different degrees and interpolations using kriging showed the dynamic relationships between soil properties and land use types. The topsoil spatial distribution of SOC highly reflected the changes in the land use types, and kriging anticipated significant decreases of SOC in the recreational land and cropland. Accordingly, BD varied depending on the land use types, and also, the topsoil spatial distribution of BD differed significantly from that of the subsoil. Generally, BD greatly decreased in places where the SOC was relatively higher except in the grassland where overgrazing was the more important factor than SOC to determine BD. The topsoil spatial distributions of clay, silt, and sand contents were rather similar to those of the subsoil. The cropland and grassland were located on the very fine textured soils whereas the woodland and plantation were on the coarse textured soils. Although it was observed a clear pattern for the spatial distributions of the clay and sand changing with land uses, this was not the case for the silt content, which was attributed to the differences of dynamic erosional processes in the area. The spatial distribution of the soil pH agreed with that of the clay content. Soils of the cropland and grassland with higher amounts of clay characteristically binding more cations and having higher buffering capacities had the greater pH values when compared to the soils of other land uses with higher amounts of sand naturally inclined to be washed from the base cations by the rainwater.     

Short-term responses of soil chemistry, needle macronutrients and tree growth to clinker dust and fertiliser in a stand of Scots pine

Waste management of clinker dust by spreading it on forest soil was studied in a 25-year-old Scots pine stand on acidic sandy soil. Clinker dust (0.5 kg m?2), fertiliser (N, P, K, Mg, 0.05 kg m?2; N 190 kg ha?1) and untreated soil were applied on 120-m2 plots in four replicates. The fertiliser was included to confirm the nutrient limitation in the stand. Clinker dust increased the soil pH by 1.2 units relative to the pH of 4.6 in the untreated soil by the second year. Soil K and Mg concentrations were larger in the dust and fertiliser treatments. Nutrient diagnostics indicated that needles of untreated trees were deficient in N and K. Fertiliser treatment indicated that the growth of trees was limited by N, since the fertiliser tended to increase needle K, N, N/P, needle dry mass and diameters of stem and shoots. By an auxiliary dataset, no effects of the dust and fertiliser on possible excess of the micronutrient Mn were observed. Clinker dust increased needle K concentration, but due to the N limitation, there was no increase in the growth of stems, branches, shoots and needles. It was concluded that in plots of 120 m2 application of clinker dust at a rate of 0.5 kg m?2 was safe for the 21-year-old Scots pine stand in this trial on an acid nutrient-poor sandy soil during 4 years after the treatment.     

Status and habitat preferences for endemic inhabitants of fiddler crab Uca formosensis in Hsiang-Shan wetland, Taiwan

This article reports on soil samples collected from Hsiang-Shan wetland, Taiwan. Canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) was applied to identify an existing habitat type's scheme by identifying the physico-chemical properties of sediment in Hsiang-Shan wetland. The three constructed discriminant functions (CDFs) showed a marked contribution by most of the discriminant variables, and the recognition capacities in these three CDFs were 49.5, 32.8 and 17.7%. Our study revealed that the most important latent factors in Hsiang-Shan wetland are soil texture-caused factor, ocean current-caused factor, nutrient-caused factor, and the redox reaction-caused factor. And the most sensitivity parameters in this habitat followed the descending order: OBD, EC, Eh, sand, TN, porosity, STP, silt, VCP and pH. And the inhabited sediment properties for U. formosensis in terms of soil texture are sand, silt, and clay (34.05, 29.72, and 32.35%, respectively): that is clay loam soil. We also found that U. formosensis preferred to inhabit the upper intertidal zone, spending 8.41% of the time submerged. Vegetation coverage on the ground was less than 2.20%, showing that it preferred to live in a bare intertidal habitat. Concerning nest choosing, excavating burrows is more difficult when a high soil penetration force is required, and in this study the soil penetration force for 20 cm was found to be is 45.98 N/cm(2). The results will be helpful in developing a methodology for use by the government in refining its management programs.     

Predicting field capacity,wilting point,and the other physical properties of soils using hyperspectral reflectance spectroscopy: two different statistical approaches

In this study, we examined the ability of reflectance spectroscopy to predict some of the most important soil parameters for irrigation such as field capacity (FC), wilting point (WP), clay, sand, and silt content. FC and WP were determined for 305 soil samples. In addition to these soil analyses, clay, silt, and sand contents of 145 soil samples were detected. Raw spectral reflectance (raw) of these soil samples, between 350 and 2,500-nm wavelengths, was measured. In addition, first order derivatives of the reflectance (first) were calculated. Two different statistical approaches were used in detecting soil properties from hyperspectral data. Models were evaluated using the correlation of coefficient (r), coefficient of determination (R ²), root mean square error (RMSE), and residual prediction deviation (RPD). In the first method, two appropriate wavelengths were selected for raw reflectance and first derivative separately for each soil property. Selection of wavelengths was carried out based on the highest positive and negative correlations between soil property and raw reflectance or first order derivatives. By means of detected wavelengths, new combinations for each soil property were calculated using rationing, differencing, normalized differencing, and multiple regression techniques. Of these techniques, multiple regression provided the best correlation (P?<?0.01) for selected wavelengths and all soil properties. To estimate FC, WP, clay, sand, and silt, multiple regression equations based on first(2,310)-first(2,360), first(2,310)-first(2,360), first(2,240)-first(1,320), first(2,240)-first(1,330), and raw(2,260)-raw(360) were used. Partial least square regression (PLSR) was performed as the second method. Raw reflectance was a better predictor of WP and FC, whereas first order derivative was a better predictor of clay, sand, and silt content. According to RPD values, statistically excellent predictions were obtained for FC (2.18), and estimations for WP (2.0), clay (1.8), and silt (1.63) were acceptable. However, sand values were poorly predicted (RDP?=?0.63). In conclusion, both of the methods examined here offer quick and inexpensive means of predicting soil properties using spectral reflectance data.     

Comparison of soil solution sampling techniques to assess metal fluxes from contaminated soil to groundwater

The unsaturated zone plays a major role in elemental fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems. A representative chemical analysis of soil pore water is required for the interpretation of soil chemical phenomena and particularly to assess Trace Elements (TEs) mobility. This requires an optimal sampling system to avoid modification of the extracted soil water chemistry and allow for an accurate estimation of solute fluxes. In this paper, the chemical composition of soil solutions sampled by Rhizon® samplers connected to a standard syringe was compared to two other types of suction probes (Rhizon®?+?vacuum tube and Rhizon®?+?diverted flow system). We investigated the effects of different vacuum application procedures on concentrations of spiked elements (Cr, As, Zn) mixed as powder into the first 20 cm of 100-cm columns and non-spiked elements (Ca, Na, Mg) concentrations in two types of columns (SiO₂ sand and a mixture of kaolinite?+?SiO₂ sand substrates). Rhizon® was installed at different depths. The metals concentrations showed that (i) in sand, peak concentrations cannot be correctly sampled, thus the flux cannot be estimated, and the errors can easily reach a factor 2; (ii) in sand?+?clay columns, peak concentrations were larger, indicating that they could be sampled but, due to sorption on clay, it was not possible to compare fluxes at different depths. The different samplers tested were not able to reflect the elemental flux to groundwater and, although the Rhizon®?+?syringe device was more accurate, the best solution remains to be the use of a lysimeter, whose bottom is kept continuously at a suction close to the one existing in the soil.     

Effect of different soil layers on porewater to remediate acidic surface environment at a close mine site

This paper describes the chemistry of porewater when constructing different soil layers on acidic weathered rock of a closed mine to remediate the surface environment. Three cases were set on a flat surface of the site, all under different layer systems. Case 1 was only composed of weathered rocks. A top neutralization layer was constructed on the weathered rocks in case 2, whereas both an upper low-permeable and middle neutralization layers were constructed on the weathered rocks in case 3. The low-permeable layer of 30?cm thick consists of clay, and the neutralization layer of 30?cm thick consists of the mixture of the weathered rock and calcium carbonate as a neutralizer. Porewater sampling systems and soil sensors to measure temperature, water content, and electrical conductivity were set at different depths. In case 1, steadily high concentrations of heavy metals were observed regardless of the depth, and the pH ranged from 2 to 4. In cases 2 and 3, a dramatic decrease in concentrations of heavy metals was observed, even below the neutralization layer. For both cases, pH values were circumneutral. There were no significant seasonable changes in heavy metals concentrations and pH of porewater by considering the temperature and precipitation. In addition, the water content of the layers in case 3 fluctuated more mildly than that in cases 1 and 2, indicating that the low-permeable layer reduced the rate of infiltration. Therefore, a significant reduction in the load of heavy metals released from the site can be achieved by both implementing neutralization and low-permeable layers.     

Impact of Sand Dune Stabilization Structures on Soil and Yield of Millet in the Semi-Arid Region of NW Nigeria

The low-rainfall ecologies of the northern fringes of Nigeria are prone to desertification and sand dune activities that are phenomenal and extensive. Stabilization structures put in place by various governmental and non-governmental agencies to check desertification in northwestern Nigeria were evaluated with respect to efficiency, impact on soil development and yield of millet. The study focused on the active and stabilized sand dune formations in NW Nigeria. Various stabilization techniques were identified within Gidan Kaura (the study site) and results were compared with an unstabilized sand dune (control site). Results obtained indicated that the sand dunes within the study area are still active despite the numerous stabilization structures, some of which were established over 15 years ago. Shelterbelts were the most effective techniques in sand dune stabilization and soil development when properly sited across wind direction. Shelterbelts recorded significantly higher levels of pH, organic carbon, total nitrogen, exchangeable bases and micronutrients except for copper, when compared with all other treatments. The least effective of all the structures was mechanical fencing, probably due to the inadequate quantity of plant residues used in its construction. The impact of the various structures on the physical and chemical soil properties was evaluated for surface soils as were the structures on the yield of millet in stabilized dunes and non-dune areas. The results are discussed in depth in this paper.     

Bioremediation of metal contamination

A study was initiated to evaluate the use of the fungus Aspergillus niger for bioleaching and then todetermine the effect of process steps, the tailingsconcentration and type of substrate. An oxidized miningtailing containing mainly copper (7240 mg kg^-1 tailings) was studied. A sucrose and mineral salts medium was initially used to produce citric and gluconic acids by A. niger atvarious concentrations of tailings (1, 5, 7, 10 and 15% w/v).Maximal removal of up to 60% of the copper was obtained forthe 5% tailings when the organic acid supernatant was addedto the tailings. In a single step process, A. niger wasthen grown in the presence of mining tailings at variousconcentrations. Maximum copper solubilization (63%) occurredwith 10% mining tailings using sucrose as the substrate.Other substrates were then evaluated including molasses, corncobs and brewery waste (10% mining tailings). Sucrose gavethe best results for copper removal, followed by molasses,corn cobs and brewery waste. Other experiments usingultrasound as a pretreatment showed that 80% removal of thecopper could be obtained for a 5% tailings concentration. Inconclusion, leaching of copper from mining tailings istechnically feasible using A. niger but furtherresearch will be required to increase the economic feasibilityof the process.     

Fluoride in fractionated soil samples of Ajmer district,Rajasthan

The natural abundance of fluoride in soils of the Ajmer distict, Rajasthan was examined. From undisturbed soil, the top 15 cm of the profile was examined and the soil split into fractions based on sand, silt and clay particle size. Clay contained a high amount of fluoride, whereas sand and silts are enriched with much less fluoride. The relation between the soil fractions in observed clay fraction fluoride content matched groundwater fluoride variation. However, the enrichment of fluoride material extracted from the largest soil fraction had considerably lower amounts of clay relative to that from the smaller fractions.     

Geochemical position of Pb,Zn and Cd in soils near the Olkusz mine/smelter,South Poland: effects of land use,type of contamination and distance from pollution source

The soils adjacent to an area of historical mining, ore processing and smelting activities reflects the historical background and a mixing of recent contamination sources. The main anthropogenic sources of metals can be connected with historical and recent mine wastes, direct atmospheric deposition from mining and smelting processes and dust particles originating from open tailings ponds. Contaminated agriculture and forest soil samples with mining and smelting related pollutants were collected at different distances from the source of emission in the Pb–Zn–Ag mining area near Olkusz, Upper Silesia to (a) compare the chemical speciation of metals in agriculture and forest soils situated at the same distance from the point source of pollution (paired sampling design), (b) to evaluate the relationship between the distance from the polluter and the retention of the metals in the soil, (c) to describe mineralogy transformation of anthropogenic soil particles in the soils, and (d) to assess the effect of deposited fly ash vs. dumped mining/smelting waste on the mobility and bioavailability of metals in the soil. Forest soils are much more affected with smelting processes than agriculture soils. However, agriculture soils suffer from the downward metal migration more than the forest soils. The maximum concentrations of Pb, Zn, and Cd were detected in a forest soil profile near the smelter and reached about 25 g kg^− 1, 20 g kg^− 1 and 200 mg kg^− 1 for Pb, Zn and Cd, respectively. The metal pollutants from smelting processes are less stable under slightly alkaline soil pH then acidic due to the metal carbonates precipitation. Metal mobility ranges in the studied forest soils are as follows: Pb > Zn ≈ Cd for relatively circum-neutral soil pH (near the smelter), Cd > Zn > Pb for acidic soils (further from the smelter). Under relatively comparable pH conditions, the main soil properties influencing metal migration are total organic carbon and cation exchange capacity. The mobilization of Pb, Zn and Cd in soils depends on the persistence of the metal-containing particles in the atmosphere; the longer the time, the more abundant the stable forms. The dumped mining/smelting waste is less risk of easily mobilizable metal forms, however, downward metal migration especially due to the periodical leaching of the waste was observed.     

Adsorption study of 14C-paraquat in two Malaysian agricultural soils

The adsorption equilibrium time and effects of pH and concentration of ¹⁴C-labeled paraquat (1,1^??-dimethyl-4,4^??-bipyridylium dichloride) in two types of Malaysian soil were investigated. The soils used in the study were clay loam and clay soils from rice fields. Equilibrium studies of paraquat in a soil and pesticide solution were conducted. Adsorption equilibrium time was achieved within 2 h for both soil types. The amount of ¹⁴C-labeled paraquat adsorbed onto glass surfaces increased with increasing shaking time and remained constant after 10 h. It was found that paraquat adsorbed by the two soils was very similar: 51.73 (clay loam) and 51.59 ?? g g^???1 (clay) at 1 ?? g/ml. The adsorption of paraquat onto both types of soil was higher at high pH, and adsorption decreased with decreasing pH. At pH 11, the amounts of ¹⁴C-labeled paraquat adsorbed onto the clay loam and clay soil samples were 4.08 and 4.05 ?? g g^???1, respectively, whereas at pH 2, the amounts adsorbed were 3.72 and 3.57 ?? g g^???1, respectively. Results also suggested that paraquat sorption by soil is concentration dependent.     

Levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and dibenzothiophenes in wetland sediments and aquatic insects in the oil sands area of Northeastern Alberta, Canada

An immense volume of tailings and tailings water is accumulating in tailings ponds located on mine leases in the oil sands area of Alberta, Canada. Oil sands mining companies have proposed to use tailings- and tailings water-amended lakes and wetlands as part of their mine remediation plans. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are substances of concern in oil sands tailings and tailings water. In this study, we determined concentrations of PAHs in sediments, insect larvae and adult insects collected in or adjacent to three groups of wetlands: experimental wetlands to which tailings or tailings water had been purposely added, oil sands wetlands that were located on the mine leases but which had not been experimentally manipulated and reference wetlands located near the mine leases. Alkylated PAHs dominated the PAH profile in all types of samples in the three categories of wetlands. Median and maximum PAH concentrations, especially alkylated PAH concentrations, tended to be higher in sediments and insect larvae in experimental wetlands than in the other types of wetlands. Such was not the case for adult insects, which contained higher than expected levels of PAHs in the three types of ponds. Overlap in PAH concentrations in larvae among pond types suggests that any increase in PAH levels resulting from the addition of tailings and tailings water to wetlands would be modest. Biota-sediment accumulation factors were higher for alkylated PAHs than for their parent counterparts and were lower in experimental wetlands than in oil sands and reference wetlands. Research is needed to examine factors that affect the bioavailability of PAHs in oil sands tailings- or tailings water-amended wetlands.     

Addressing the challenges of tetracycline analysis in soil: extraction, clean-up, and matrix effects in LC-MS

An optimized extraction and clean-up method for the analysis of chlortetracycline, doxycycline, oxytetracycline, and tetracycline antibiotics in soil is presented in this work. Soil extraction using different solvents was performed, but the use of a 50 : 50 (v/v) methanol : acetate buffer (pH 8) solvent mixture in a pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) system proved to give the best extraction efficiency and reproducibility. The effect of soil composition on the PLE extraction efficiency was also examined, and results indicated that recovery data for one soil is not necessarily consistent with other soil types containing different compositions of clay and organic matter content. The percent recoveries of the optimized PLE method varied between the soils and ranged from 22-99%, depending on soil type, and more specifically clay content. In addition, the extent of ionization suppression caused by co-extracted humic acids was examined in an ion trap mass spectrometer (MS), and a single quadrupole MS. It was found that under positive electrospray ionization, the single quadrupole MS was less susceptible to ionization suppression than the ion trap MS. Therefore, various sample clean-up procedures were evaluated to selectively reduce the amount of co-extracted humic acids in the soil extracts. The most effective clean-up was obtained from the use of StrataX sorbent in combination with a strong anion exchange cartridge.     

Heavy metals in soils near the nickel smelter: chemistry,spatial variation,and impacts on plant diversity

Air pollution induced changes were observed both in plant communities and in soil chemistry in forest ecosystems near the nickel-copper smelter in the Kola Peninsula, Russia. All measured forest plant community parameters describing their floristic composition and structure were affected by pollution. Heavy metals were significantly concentrated in organic horizons of forest soils. The concentrations of ammonium acetate-extractable nickel and copper in organic horizons near the smelter were approximately two orders of magnitude higher than the background levels in the region. Based on pH values, air pollution has not resulted in a detectable topsoil acidification near the smelter. However, concentrations of extractable magnesium, potassium and nitrogen in organic horizons tended to be lower towards the smelter. The spatial variability of data obtained results in necessity of the two complementary, macroscopic and microscopic, approaches to ecosystem investigation. The macroscopic approach better revealed the influence of pollution. The ordination of the major species diversity indexes was highly related to soil properties, suggesting that the content of heavy metals and nutrients is the best soil related predictor of species diversity in polluted areas. Besides direct input of pollutants from the atmosphere, soil contamination and nutritional disturbance contribute significantly to the observed vegetation damage in subarctic forest ecosystems.     

Influence of formulation on mobility of metazachlor in soil

The mobility of metazachlor [2-chloro-N-(pyrazol-1-ylmethyl)acet-2′,6′-xylidide] in sand soil and loamy sand soil was studied in a soil column under laboratory conditions. Commercial metazachlor formulation (Metazachlor 500 suspension concentrate (SC)) and metazachlor immobilized in alginate matrix were used for leaching experiment. The initial concentration of metazachlor in soil for both formulations was 2.0 mg mL^?1. After application of herbicide, the columns were irrigated with 100, 40, and 3.7 mm of water. After 1 h, when addition of water was completed, soils were sampled in 5-cm segments and were used for the analysis of residues. The use of alginate controlled release (CR) formulation reduced the vertical mobility of metazachlor into soil layer in comparison with the formulation SC.     

甘家湖湿地边缘带土地荒漠化演变中土壤颗粒分形特征

采用分形理论,研究了甘家湖湿地边缘带不同景观变化类型土壤颗粒体积分形维数的特征。结果表明,（1）从芦苇湿地边缘、胡杨林土、梭梭灌木林土、芦苇湿地、耕地周边、耕地到盐化草甸土的土壤粒径变化可以看出：湿地边缘带土壤荒漠化演变中砂粒含量在逐渐上升,粉粒、粘粒含量逐渐下降。这表明湿地边缘带人为的放牧、开垦、牛羊践踏对土壤产生了...     

Impacts of two best management practices on Pb weathering and leachability in shooting range soils

This study investigated the impacts of two best management practices (BMPs) recommended by US Environmental Protection Agency on Pb weathering and leachability in shooting range soils. The two BMPs included replacing soil berm with sand berm and periodically removing bullets or shot from a berm. A column experiment corresponding to the first BMP was conducted by mixing the bullets with sand/soil, or placing bullets on the surface of sand/soil. After a 16–18-week incubation under high or low rainfall simulations, total Pb concentrations in sand were lower than that in soil. Total leachable Pb in sand (8.48 and 5.52 μg?kg^?1) was also lower than that in soil (60.0 and 30.4 μg?kg^?1) when bullets were mixed with sand/soil; however, they were comparable when bullets were placed on the sand/soil surface. These results indicate that lower Pb concentration in the sand than in soil may be attributed to reduced weathering of bullets. Mechanical removal of Pb bullets in the field transferred Pb from large to finer particles, increasing total Pb in the soil (<2 mm) from 2,170 to 5,000 mg?kg^?1. In contrast, mechanical removal of Pb shot effectively reduced the shot in the soil by 86–92 %. Thus, we concluded that, while replacing soil berm with sand berm can slow down Pb weathering, it may increase Pb leachability in the long term. Removal of Pb bullets and Pb shot can be effective, but caution needs to be exercised to minimize the adverse impacts, especially in pistol/rifle ranges because of increased total Pb content in the soil.     

Concentration of Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, Al, and Fe in soils of Manresa, NE Spain

The aims of this study were to determine the contents of cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), aluminium (Al), and iron (Fe) (aqua regia-extractable) in 27 soil plots (54 samples) from Manresa, NE Spain, and to establish relationships between heavy metals and some soil properties. The main soil types were surveyed and the median concentrations (mg kg(-1)) obtained were Cd 0.28, Cu 20.3, Pb 18.6, Zn 67.4, Al 22,572, and Fe 21,551. Element concentrations for these soils were lower than the published values for the Valencia region (Spain) and Torrelles and Sant Climent municipal districts (Catalonia, Spain). In terms of soil properties, the results of this study suggest that, in Manresa soils, both trace element adsorption and retention are influenced by several properties such as clay minerals, carbonates, organic matter, and pH. All element contents were positively correlated with clay content. Pb and Zn were negatively correlated with pH and CaCO(3).