| Abstract: | Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis was used to determine iodine and bromine concentrations in several Austrian agricultural soils. The determined iodine concentrations in topsoils vary between 1.1 and 5.6 mg kg—1, the arithmetic mean amounted to 3.1 mg kg—1, bromine contents are always higher than the corresponding iodine values, varying between 2.4 and 11.9 mg kg—1 with an arithmetic mean of 5.7 mg kg—1. Due to their different geological origin lime-free soils on average contained significantly less iodine and bromine than calcareous soils. In general the observed values are supported by literature values from other countries far from the sea. A correlation analysis of results with several soil parameters resulted in positive correlations with clay content and a negative relation to sand content. In the group of calcareous soils I and Br correlated positively with organic carbon contents and exchangeable calcium. |
