Abstract

The spatial distribution of 49 major, trace and ultra trace elements within a Norway spruce system was examined in three sites within the Forsmark area in central Sweden. The system included stemwood, roots, fresh green shoots, litterbags, humus, mineral soil, rhizosphere soil and moss. Based on Principal Component Analysis and manual plots the elements were grouped according to their distribution within the different compartments. One large group of elements occurring abundantly in the soil, and in much lower concentrations in the biota and litter was distinguished, containing mainly elements typically associated with soil minerals. A similar pattern was found for a second group of elements, but with higher concentrations in the biological samples and/or litter. In contrast, there was also one group of elements with high concentrations in biological samples and/or litter and low content in soil. This was mainly nutrients, but also the highly toxic Cd, Hg and Sb. This study is part of the site investigation programme, carried out by the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB), in order to locate a suitable area for a deep repository for nuclear fuel waste. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Trace elements; Litter; Soil; Multielement; Trees; Heavy metals

Published in

Geoderma
2010, Volume: 159, number: 3-4, pages: 252-261
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

SLU Authors

• Johansson, Maj-Britt

  • Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Agricultural Science
Soil Science


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2010.07.018

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/47796