Distribution of Selenium in Corn and Its Relationship With Soil Selenium in Yutangba Mini—Landscape

Within the range of 0.01 km mini-landscape in Yutangba, Enshi, Hubei Province, the content of Se in corn is very high. The average Se contents in root, stem, leaf and seed of corn were estimated to be 4.36±3. 27mg/kg, 3.08±2.24 mg/kg, 9.74±7.62mg/kg, and 8.07±5.02mg/kg, respectively. The research results show that there is a significantly positive correlation between corn selenium and soil selenium, and thus according to the distribution of Se in corn, three subregions can be divided in Yutangba. The content of selenium in corn is controlled by that of soil. A little variation in selenium content in soil will lead to a considerable corresponding variation in corn. So it is deduced that the organs that contain relatively high Se in plants may be used as a sensitive selenium indicator of Se levels in the environment.     

Importance of measurement of rare-earth elements from the Soil Information and Monitoring System： A normalization method for detection of chromium contamination in soils

The Soil Information and Monitoring System （TIM） is an independent subsystem of the integrated Environmental Information and Monitoring System in Hungary. Based on physiographical-soil-ecological units 1202 representative observation points were selected and exactly defined by geographical coordinates using GPS. The first sampling was done in 1992. Some soil parameters are measured every year, some others every 3 years or every 6 years depending on their changeability （stability）. Toxic element, heavy metal and rare earth element contents in soil samples were determined after hot and strong acid digestion by ICP-OES equipment. The rare earth elements were measured in TIM soil samples and some of them can be found in a relatively high amount, e.g. cerium and neodymium concentration are 3-4 times higher than the very often-measured copper concentration. Close correlation was found among some of the rare earth element concentrations. The Y-Yb correlation is the strongest, its r-value is higher than 0.95. The reason of difference among the yttrium concentrations of samples is not the deviation of ICP-OES measurement that is much smaller than the difference among the individual soil samples. Similar, close correlation was obtained between the soil yttrium and chromium concentration. The amount of chromium contamination can be calculated as the distance from the Y-Cr trend line. We call this method yttrium normalization. The principle of this method is described as follows： such elements than chromium and yttrium insist in the soil in a strongly bonded form. Therefore, in a non-contaminated area there is a close correlation between the yttrium and chromium concentrations. If the measured chromium concentration in a sample is not on the Cr-Y trend line than the distance it indicates the amount of antropogenic chromium. Contamination can be detected in that case of course if the contaminant does not contain yttrium.     

Analysis on the sources of mercury in soils in the Chengdu Basin, China

Mercury is a pollutant of concern due to its toxic and bioaccumulative properties. Studies on the distribution and hazard of mercury in the environment are mainly focused on its forms, toxicity and the environment standard, and progresses and results have been achieved. But these studies in the past were concentrated on the scales of laboratory or smaller districts merely, such as a small unit of mineral area, vegetable base, paddy field, lake, etc. Multi-target regional geochemical survey carried out by China Geological Survey from the 1990s to now is a fundamental and commonweal geological survey, large-scale and systematical inquisition and research were conducted in 19 provinces （or municipalities directly under the Central Government） in the eastern overlay region of China, and the purpose is to provide the basic geochemical data for national economic construction, adjustment of industrial and agricultural structures and sustainable social development. Geochemical studies aim at investigating soils in these regions and 52 elements have been tested, producing a great amount of data at the same time. Methods： based on the data from 3061 samples of surface soil and 832 samples of deep soil from the project of multi-purpose geochemical survey in the Chengdu Basin, Sichuan, China, this paper describes the correlation relationship between Hg and other 48 elements and their spatial distribution in surface and deep soils of these areas by applying the method of linear regression and factor analysis.     

Studies on soil organic carbon of density-isolated fractions and water-stable aggregates under different types of land use on black soils

The experiment was conducted to determine the organic carbon concentrations of black soils by using density fractionation and wet-sieving of aggregates into five size fractions. Soil samples （0-20 cm layer） were collected from the following experiment sites （National Field Research Station of Agro-ecosystem in Hailun, Northeast of China）： （1） grassland （GL）, formerly cropped, and but fallowed in 1985 with Leymus chinesis as the dominant species; （2） bareland （BL）, like grassland, fallowed in 1985, but grasses were eliminated periodically during the plant growth stages; （3） cropland, three treatments in a long-term site experiment established in 1993 were selected, including no fertilizer applied （NF）, nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers applied （NP）, and NP fertilizer amended with organic materials （NPOM）. The results showed that the total organic carbon （TOC） concentrations within five experiment sites differed significantly at P〈0.01. The natural ecosystem subjected to human disturbance or transferred into cropland resulted in loss of TOC, however, TOC concentrations increased significantly with chemical fertilizer plus organic manure incorporated into cropland. The OC concentrations in the free light fraction （free-LF） and heavy fraction （HF） had significant correlations with those of TOC in the whole soil at P〈0.01, which indicated that the accumulation of free-LF and HF was very important for the net increase in the TOC. In GL more than 90% of the aggregate separates was larger than 0.25 mm, in which aggregates larger than 2 mm accounted for 44%, as a result of physical enmeshing of fine roots.     

Adsorption and stabilization of organic carbon by mineral surfaces in soils

Soils are the largest carbon reservoir in the terrestrial system. Soils contain about three times more carbon than vegetation and twice as much as that present in the atmosphere. Soil organic matter （SOM） is very complex in composition and structure, formed of heterogeneous substances and generally associated with minerals in soils. SOM is classified as labile and stable fractions on the basis of residence time, determined not only by the chemical composition of SOM, but also by types of protection or bonds within soils. The stable carbon fraction is protected either physically or chemically. To understand the process of SOM stabilization, physicochemical properties of organic-mineral complexes were determined by Fourier transformed infrared （FTIR） with attenuated total reflectance （ATR） and diffuse reflectance （DRIFT）, atomic force microscopy （AFM）, and nuclear magnetic spectroscopy （NMR）. Humic acids and carboxylic acids with relatively short carbon chains were used as sorbates, and goethite, kaolinite, and montmorillonite as adsorbents. Humic acid was fractionated during adsorption on the minerals, which was highly influenced by the characteristics of minerals. For instance, long-chain aliphatic carbon was likely to be adsorbed onto the surface of kaolinite and montmorillonite, while goethite surface attracted carboxylic functional groups of humic acid.     

Improved reliability in the interpretation of geochemical measurements by the quantification of uncertainty from sampling

All geochemical measurements require the taking of field samples, but the uncertainty that this process causes is often ignored when assessing the reliability of the interpretation, of the geochemistry or the health implications. Recently devised methods for the estimation, optimisation and reduction of this uncertainty have been evaluated by their application to the investigation of contaminated land. Uncertainty of measurement caused by primary sampling has been estimated for a range of six different contaminated land site investigations, using an increasingly recognized procedure. These site investigations were selected to reflect a wide range of different sizes, contaminants （organic and metals）, previous land uses （e.g. tin mining, railway sidings and gas works）, intended future use （housing to nature reserves） and routinely applied sampling methods. The results showed that the uncertainty on measurements was substantial, ranging from 25% to 186% of the concentration values at the different sites. Sampling was identified as the dominant source of the uncertainty （〉70% of measurement uncertainty） in most cases. The fitness-for-purpose of the measurements was judged using the optimized contaminated land investigation （OCLI） method. This identifies the optimal level of uncertainty that reduces to overall financial loss caused by the measurement procedures and the misclassification of the contamination, caused by the uncertainty. Generally the uncertainty of the actual measurements made in these different site investigations was found to be sub-optimal, and too large by a factor of approximately two. The uncertainty is usually limited by the sampling, but this can be reduced by increasing the sample mass by a factor of 4 （predicted by sampling theory）. It is concluded that knowing the value of the uncertainty enables the interpretation to be made more reliable, and that sampling is the main factor limiting most investigations. This new approach quantifies this problem for the first time, and allows sampling procedures to be critically evaluated, and modified, to improve the reliability of the geochemical assessment.     

Estimating contributions of sources of soil CO2 at the shallower layer in a Japanese larch forest area

Soils contain about twice the amount of carbon presented in the atmosphere, so a small change in the soil carbon will influence atmospheric chemistry and heat balance. The soil carbon ultimately exchanged with the atmospheric CO2 as soil CO2, which mainly exists at the depth of 0-20 cm. The transport of soil CO2 is affected by the sources of soil CO2. Thus, separation of the contributions of sources of soil CO2 is a fundamental need to understand and predict implications of environmental change on soil carbon cycling and sequestration. It is a complicated task, so that a number of different methodological approaches such as component integration, root removal, and gap analyses have been developed. However, these methods could not avoid changing soil characteristics such as air-filled porosity, soil temperature and soil water contents. Consequently, fractional contributions of respiration of living root and decomposition of soil organic matter to the total soil CO2 cannot be estimated correctly. In this study, based on mass balance theory of both concentrations and δ^13C of soil CO2, a trenching method with a stable-isotope technique was used to determine both soil CO2 sources at the depth of 3-13 cm in a Japanese larch forest area during 30 May to 7 October 2005 and fractional contributions of these sources. Experimental results showed that the amount of atmospheric CO2 invaded the soil air was not significantly variable while its percent rate in the total soil CO2 had significantly temporal variations with the lower values between 5 August and 1 September. The litter-layer decomposition was very small. The soil CO2 derived from the respiration of living root and the decomposition of soil organic matter showed significantly temporal variations with increase from 30 May to 5 Aug. and decrease from 1 September to 7 October, 2005; and it accounted for 82%-98% of the total soil CO2 in which the respiration of living root was in the range from 32% to 62%.     

Impacts of wastewater irrigation on soils and crops in suburban area of Shiraz, Iran

This preliminary work reported here dealt with potential impacts of wastewater irrigation on soils and crops sampled along the Koshk River canal in the suburban area of Shiraz City, Iran. It also attempts to assess the extent of heavy metal contamination in soils and crops and human exposure risk. For this purpose, samples including soils and plants were collected from two wastewater irrigated sites and a tubewell-irrigated site （marked by A, B and C）. Concentrations of the six heavy metals Ni, Pb, Cd, Zn, Cr and Cu were determined by AAS. Physical and chemical properties of soil samples were also determined. The PLIs and CF for soils and HQ （Hazard quotient） for some vegetables were calculated. The results showed that organic matter content increased from 22% to 30 % in wastewater-irrigated soils as compared to tubewell water irrigated and admixture water irrigated ones. The soil pH was raised by 2 units as a result of wastewater irrigation at site A compared to sites B and C. Wastewater irrigation also result in relatively high concentrations of Ni, Pb and Zn （275.5, 441.3 and 177 mg/kg, respectively） in wastewater irrigated soils over tubewell water irrigated soils. These levels are higher than the maximum permissible limits in unpolluted soils, indicating that a degree of contamination has occurred. This was confirmed by calculated PLIs and contamination factors in soil samples, The results also showed some crops cultivated at sites A and B contained high levels of Ni and Cd beyond the maximum permissible concentrations and those cultivated at site C. The concentrations of these heavy metals are within or very close to the critical levels. HQ indices and daily intake calculated in respect of metal contents in some vegetables （spinach, lettuce and celery） showed that toxic risk due to Cd in these vegetables and crops was greater than one. This study generally concludes that although the content of heavy metals did not reach toxic level, extensive use of untreated wastewater drawn from the Koshk River has obviously increased the contamination of Ni and Pb in soils and Cd in some vegetables cultivated along the canal, causing potential health risk in the long-term scense for consumers or local residents.     

Spatial analysis of elements in soils from Chengdu City

Three kinds of spatial analysis methods （geostatistics, concentration-area fractal model and the multifractal analysis called the moment method） were used for almost 50 elements, including heavy metals, disperse elements, rare elements and even others, in 6586 top soil （0-20 cm） samples and 1833 deep soil （150-200 cm） samples from Chengdu metropolitan area of 12400 km^2, southwestern China. The ranges of spatial correlation revealed by variograms are quite different for different kinds of elements in the top and deep soils. The most interest is the fact that the multifractal spectra of environmentally important elements such as Pb, Cr, Cd and Ni in top soils in the metropolitan area show systematic change from those in the deep soils, revealing a strong anthropogenic addition, while Hg, Zn, As, Cu and all common elements show no such kind of addition. In terms of multifractal properties based on the multifractal spectrum curves, those disperse and rare elements show great deviation from other major and trace elements, which is also of great interest.     

Variations of nutrient element contents of plants and soils in the process of karst rocky desertification

The present research on karst rocky desertification is mainly focused on qualitative analysis and obviously lack of quantitative and successive mechanism studies. Currently, classification of rocky desertification grades mainly depends on ratio of rocky coverage or ratio of plant and soil coverage. The process of rocky desertification was divided into latent, slight, medium and serious grades without mention of soil degradation. The Cha＇eryan catchment in the Huajiang Gorge of Guizhou Province was selected as the research area in this paper. Soil basic physical characteristics, nutrient element contents of soil and plant were studied in the process of rocky desertification. The karst soil characteristics elucidated that the clay content was high, the contents of soil organic matter, nutrient element （except potassium and sodium）, available contents of elements （except of potassium） were also high; ashes of plants were rich in calcium and nitrogen, and poor in iron, zinc, potassium and phosphorus. Meanwhile, the contents of plant ashes showed a significant positive relationship with calcium content of plant. There were no clear relations between soil degradation and succession of rocky desertification according to current classification standard. Soil particle size distribution, specific gravity, soil organic matter content, total and available nutrient element contents did not vary with the succession of rocky desertification.     

Enrichment of arsenic, antimony, thallium and selenium in high-arsenic coal from Xingren County, Guizhou Province

Since 1976 high arsenic coal in Xingren County, Guizhou Province, has attracted more and more attention because of coal-burning-type arsenic poisoning, There are many studies on enrichment of arsenic in high-arsenic coal and they come from difference materials： organic matter, authigenic pyrite, epigenetic pyrite, authigenic clay mineral and epigenetic clay mineral. In this paper, fourteen samples were examined by proximate analysis. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry （ICP-MS） was used to determine the trace element contents of thirty-six samples in high-arsenic coal, As was determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis （INAA） and atomic fluorescence spectrometry （AFS）. SEM-EDX was used to analyze the contents of As, Sb, Tl and Se in sample XR-8 from Xingren, Guizhou, and we analyzed the petrographic compositions of the same sample.     

Research on the Eco-Geochemical Effects of Black Shales in Pingli County,Shaanxi

This paper presents the results of eco-geochemical research on black rock series enriched in metallic elements in Pingli County,Shaanxi Province,which lies at the northern margin of the Yangtze Platform.There is a suite of bone coal-bearing black carbonaceous rocks in the Cambrian Donghe Formation throughout the region.Soils in Pingli contain high metallic elements derived from the bone coal and carbonaceous rocks.Edible plants growing in the soils contain high Se,Cu and Mo.Two case studies are documented.One is a black shale area with bone coal and Se enrichment,and the other is a black shale area with bone coal mine and copper mineralization.Eco-geochemical effects of metallic element-rich black shales on plants are reported in this paper.     

Jurassic Intra-plate Basaltic Magmatism in Southeast China: Evidence from Geological and Geochemical Characteristics of the Chebu Gabbroite in Southern Jiangxi Province

Geochemical and isotopic investigations have been carded out on the Chebu gabbroite in southern Jiangxi Province, southeast China and these results are compared with gabbro bodies along the coast of Fujian Province in order to understand their magma sources and tectonic implications. The Chebu intrusion formed at the beginning of the Middle Jurassic （172~4.3 Ma）. These rocks are Ti-rich and Al-poor in major elements, characterized by strong enrichment in large-ion lithophile elements （LILE） and moderate enrichment in high field strength elements （HFSE） and light rare-earth elements CLREE）, without pronounced Nb or Ta anomalies. Age-correlated Sr-Nd isotope ratios show moderately high ranges of （^87Sr/^86Sr）i from 0.7065 to 0.7086 and 0.5124 to 0.5125 of （^143Nd/^144Nd）i. The geochemical characteristics of the Chebu gabbroite suggest that it is notably different from island-arc basalt and similar to intra-plate basaltic rocks. By combining interpretations of its geological and geochemical characteristics and the regional geological development history, the Chebu gabbroitic intrusion is thought to be the product of asthenosphere upwelling and rapid lithosphere extension during a transition of tectonic systems in southeast China. The tectonic environment and source characteristics of the intrusion are different from Cretaceous gabbro bodies along the coast of Fujian Province, The former formed in a tectonic environment of rapid intra-plate lithospheric extension and the source characteristics were of a weakly enriched primitive mantle, whereas the latter originated mainly in a volcanic-magmatic arc extensional tectonic environment and the nature of the source was an enriched mantle with more subduct subducted components.     

Heavy metals accumulation in urban soils of Belarus： Testing, mapping and ecological risk assessment

Soil pollution is among priority environmental problems in Belarus, especially in cities. Main compound of the health risk are connected with soil pollution-consumption of plants production cultivated at polluted soils. Now in Belarus cultivation of vegetables and potatoes is rather typical at allotment gardens, in rural parts of cities and towns and in suburban regions. Mapping of soil pollution and study of pollutant accumulation in plant production in connections with soil contamination and health risk assessment were conducted in a few large cities of Belarus （Minsk, Gomel, Svetlogorsk, etc）. Investigation includes sampling of soils and vegetation according to a certain plan, sample processing, chemical analysis, results assimilation, mapping, and risk assessment. Contents of soluble compounds （nitrates, sulphates etc.）, total and reactive heavy metals （lead, zinc, cadmium, etc.） were determined. Heavy metal contents were determined by AAS. Elevated levels of heavy metals were detected in soils used for growing vegetables and potatoes. Priority pollutants, as for urban soils on the whole, are lead and zinc. Average accumulation coefficient （related to local background values） for investigated areas within the limits 2.1-7.8. Contents of lead exceeding Maximum Permissible Concentrations （MPC） were detected in 16% of the samples collected in kitchen gardens of Gomel, of zinc in 38% of the samples from kitchen gardens of Svetlogorsk. Average content of zinc in cabbage, carrot and red beet in background conditions amounts to 4 mg/kg, in potatoes, 3.6 mg/kg. In samples of agricultural production from Svetlogorsk the contents of zinc vary from 1.7 to 156.6 mg/kg; average content in cabbage, 25.8 mg/kg, in red beet, 18.0, carrot, 11.8, potatoes, 5.6 mg/kg. For ecological risk assessment from polluted agricultural products consumption the concept of reference dose was applied.     

U-Pb Age and Hf Isotope Study of Detrital Zircons from the Wanzi Supracrustals： Constraints on the Tectonic Setting and Evolution of the Fuping Complex, Trans-North China Orogen

Located in the middle segment of the Trans-North China Orogen, the Fuping Complex is considered as a critical area in understanding the evolution history of the North China Craton （NCC）. The complex is composed of various high-grade and multiply deformed rocks, including gray gneiss, basic granulite, amphibolite, fine-grained gneiss and marble, metamorphosed to upper amphibolite or granulite facies. It can be divided into four rock units： the Fuping TTG gneisses, Longquanguan augen gneisses, Wanzi supracrustals, and Nanying granitic gneisses. U-Pb age and Hf isotope compositions of about 200 detrital zircons from the Wanzi supracrustals of the Fuping Complex have been analyzed. The data on metamorphic zircon rims give ages of 1.82-1.84 Ga, corresponding to the final amalgamation event of the NCC, whereas the data for igneous zircon cores yield two age populations at -2.10 and -2.51 Ga, with some inherited ages scattering between 2.5 and 2.9 Ga. These results suggest that the Wanzi supracrustals were derived from the Fuping TTG gneisses （-2.5 Ga） and the Nanying granitic gneisses （2.0-2.1 Ga） and deposited between 2.10 and 1.84 Ga. All zircons with -2.51 Ga age have positive initial εHf values from ＋1.4 to ＋10.9, suggesting an important crustal growth event at -2.5 Ga through the addition of juvenile materials from the mantle. The Hf isotope data for the detrital zircons further imply that the 2.8 Ga rocks are important components in the lower crust, which is consistent with a suggestion from Nd isotope data for the Eastern Block. The zircons of 2.10 Ga population have initial εHf values of-4.9 to ＋6.1, interpreted as mixing of crustal re-melt with minor juvenile material contribution at 2.1 Ga. These results are distinct from that for the Western Block, supporting that the Fuping Complex was emplaced in a tectonic active environment at the western margin of the Eastern Block.