Abstract
Samples of soils and vegetation from the mining area of South-West Sardinia (Italy) were analyzed for Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cu content. The area (more than 100 km2) is inhabited by many thousands of people; land utilization includes mainly grapes on some small plains and permanent sheep pasture on the hills. The levels of Pb, Zn, and Cd were found to be exceptionally high in most samples. Lead concentration was up to 71000 μg g−1 in the soils and 4000 jig g−1 in vegetation; Cd concentration was found up to 665 μg g−1 in soils and 26.5 μg g−1 in vegetation. The heavy metal content of some soil samples was highly variable. Data show that Pb is easily absorbed by plant roots and translocated to foliage. In spite of the high heavy metal level, no signs of toxicity were apparent in vegetation.
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Leita, L., De Nobili, M., Pardini, G. et al. Anomalous contents of heavy metals in soils and vegetation of a mine area in S.W. Sardinia, Italy. Water Air Soil Pollut 48, 423–433 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00283340
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00283340