| Abstract: | Heavy metals in garden soils from the urban area of Rostock The contents and mobility of Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn were determined in samples from 32 garden soils in the urban area of Rostock, Northeast Germany to assess possible risks for crop growth and human nutrition. The total contents of the heavy metals were larger in the garden soils than in the agricultural soils of the surrounding countryside. These relative enrichments originated from point sources and diffuse pollution. A number of soils had contents of total and mobile heavy metals above the threshold values for garden soils applied in Germany (Eikmann and Kloke, 1993). Generally, the topsoils had larger contents of the investigated metals than the subsoils. Furthermore, the soils in the centre of the city had metal contents larger than the soils in the outskirts. Generally, there was no large‐scale heavy soil pollution with the investigated metals in the garden soils of Rostock. However, several local enrichments indicate the monitoring of heavy metal contents and mobility in garden soils needs to be completed and continued. |
