Trace Metals in Forest Soils at Four Sites in Southern China

Industrial development has increased fast in China the last decades. This has led to a range of environmental problems. Deposition of heavy metals to forest ecosystems via the atmosphere is one potential problem. In this paper we report results from a pilot study where the heavy metal levels in forest soils at four different sites have been measured. Three of the sites are located relatively close to the large cities Chongqing, Guiyang and Guangzhou; one site is located in a remote, mountainous area in Guizhou province. Total metal contents as well as fractions according to Tessier's scheme were determined. With a few exceptions, the metal concentrations can be characterized as low; i.e. in most cases within the range of what has been reported as typical background values in the literature. High content of arsenic (up to 100 ppm) was found in the samples from the site outside Guangzhou, most likely due to naturally high arsenic levels in the soil. Metals bound to organic matter and to iron- and manganese oxides were the dominant fractions. No clear differences in metal levels were found between topsoil and subsoil samples, indicating that the atmospheric deposition of heavy metals has been low.