Adsorption density,mobility and limit values of Cd,Zn, Cu and Pb in acid forest soils

To investigate Cd, Zn, Cu and Pb adsorption in acidified forest soils, six soil samples of the aluminium buffer range were selected and analyzed for their physical and chemical properties. Determination of the specific surface area using ethylene glycol monoethyl ether (EGME) adsorption yielded a characteristic value of the solid phases, which can parameterize the major properties of the various soil constituents with sufficient accuracy.

Traditional adsorption isotherms reveal the relation between the amount of a heavy metal adsorbed and the heavy metal concentration in the soil solution only for the soil under study and can therefore not be applied to other soils. To meet the aim of modelling heavy metal adsorption and mobility also for soils differing greatly in their properties, it was attempted to establish a generalizing adsorption isotherm for soils of entirely different composition of the solid phase. The generalizing adsorption density isotherms introduced in the following provide a useful mathematical model for the quantity/intensity relation of heavy metals in soils that differ greatly in their specific surface area and their composition.

It is also shown that limit values which take into account the major quantities influencing heavy metal adsorption and mobility in acid soils can be established from the regression equation between the adsorption density of a heavy metal (ions/m² specific surface area) and its concentration in the soil solution. In particular in view of the groundwater contamination to be expected if acid rain and, as a result, soil acidification continues, these limit values seem to provide considerably more information than the European limit values, given in mg heavy metal /kg soil, which are presently valid for any soil condition and property.