CONCENTRATIONS AND DISTRIBUTIONS OF 11 METALS IN FLORIDA SOILS

Concentrations and distributions of 11 elements-Hg, Cd, As, Cu, Cr, Pb , Ni, Zn, Mn, Al, and Fe-in 40 Florida soil profiles (94 soil samples) were investigated. The soils were classified as Spodosols, Entisols, and Ultisols, representing major mineral soils in Florida. The geometr ic mean concentrations of Hg, Cd, As, Cu, Cr, Pb, Ni, Zn, Mn, Al, and Fe in surface soils (A horizons) were 0.0042, 0.21, 1.1, 3.7, 3.9, 4.1 , 6.5, 12, 25, 730, and 820 mg kg(-1), respectively. Metal concentrati ons in these soils were lower than those of published values of Florid a agricultural soils and U.S. soils. Metal contents, excluding Cd and Mn, were strongly correlated with clay content (r = 0.35-0.77), and so me metals (Cr, Ni, Pb, and Al) were correlated with cation exchange ca pacity (r = 0.23-0.35). Metal distributions in soils, therefore, refle cted parent-material and pedogenic factors determining clay content va riations between and within soil profiles. Generally, metal contents i n soils decreased in the order of Ultisols > Entisols greater than or equal to Spodosols and Bt > Bh > A greater than or equal to E horizons . All metals except Cd, Hg, and Mn were concentrated in Bt horizons; A s, Cu, Cr, Fe, and Al were enriched in Bh horizons, where clay and org anic matter had accumulated.