BIOAVAILABILITY OF ZINC, CADMIUM, AND LEAD IN A METAL-CONTAMINATED ALLUVIAL SOIL

Metal mining activities can cause a variety of soil contamination prob lems including the deposition of sediments having high concentrations of heavy metals on alluvial soils. This study was conducted to investi gate the effects of various soil amendments or combinations of amendme nts on Zn, Cd, and Pb bioavailability in a metal-contaminated alluvial soil as indicated by a chemical fractionation procedure and soybean [ Glycine mar (L.) Merr.] growth and heavy metal composition. Total soil concentrations were 1165 mg/kg for Zn, 11 mg/kg for Cd, and 110 mg/kg for Pb, and evidence suggested that Zn phytoxicity was limiting soybe an growth. In one greenhouse experiment, the addition of limestone, N- Viro soil, and K2HPO4 significantly increased soybean yields; and the addition of limestone, limestone suspension, cattle manure, poultry li tter, N-Viro, and K2HPO4 significantly decreased soybean tissue Zn con centrations as compared to the control. The limestone, limestone suspe nsion, cattle manure, N-Viro, and K2HPO4 amendments also significantly reduced KNO3-extractable Zn as compared to the control. In a second g reenhouse experiment, the combination of limestone at 1. 12 or 2.24 Mg /ha and 10 Mg/ha of cattle manure produced significantly higher soybea n yields as compared to either amendment alone for the first cutting. For the same cutting, a significant limestone by manure rate interacti on was found for concentrations of Zn, Cd, and Pb in soybean tissue an d for Zn, Cd, and Pb uptake. Generally, the effects of increasing lime stone rate were diminished as the manure rate increased. Root dry weig hts significantly increased and root tissue Zn concentrations signific antly decreased with both rates of limestone application compared to 0 Mg limestone/ha for samples taken at the completion of experiment two . Root tissue Cd or Pb concentrations were not significantly influence d by limestone or manure rates. Significant increases in NaOH-extracta ble Zn and Pb were found with increasing limestone rates whereas NaOH- extractable Cd significantly decreased. Correlations between soybean t issue Zn concentrations and various Zn fractions and diethylenetriamin epentaacetic acid (DTPA)-extractable Zn indicated significant relation ships for KNO3-Zn (r = 0.92), NaOH-Zn (r = 0.62), KNO, + H2O-Zn (r = 0 .82), KNO3 + NaOH-Zn (r = 0.88), KNO, + H2O + NaOH-Zn (r = 0.54), and DTPA extractable Zn (r = 0.70).