VERTICAL-DISTRIBUTION OF TRACE-ELEMENTS I N FOREST SOIL PROFILES OF EAST-GERMANY

Forest soil series of the Saxon Erzgebirge (ore Mountains) and the nor th-east German lowland, overlying various solid and loose rock and occ urring beneath spruce stands, were investigated for their vertical dis tribution of the macroelements C, Al and Fe, for protons and for the t race elements Mn, Ba, Zn, Pb, Sr, As, V, Cr, Cu, Ni, Co and Cd. The pr ofiles in the region of Freiberg, overlying the bedrocs basalt, gray g neiss, quartz porphyry, Planer sandstone, block sandstone and fluvial clayish deposits (Niederschonaer layer) appear to have higher element contents than those in the region of Pasewalk/Usedom/Eldena. Here, the quantities of As, Pb and Cd contained in the soil (mean concentration s of 112, 248, and 0.5 mg/kg) exceed those of the soils of the glacial series by the 19-, 9-, and 5-fold. The vertical element distribution in the profiles of both regions is very similar. The elements Zn, Pb, As, Cu, and Cd are bound to the organic substance in O- and A-horizons , while Ba, Sr, V, Cr, and Co are primarily found in the mineral soil. Mn and Ni may occur in the surface horizon with its accumulation of h umified organic matter as well as in the subsurface horizon. The succe ssion of element-rich and element-poor horizons allows the trace eleme nts to be classified into three variants of distribution, which, howev er, are unsuitable for territorial differentiation.