Pollution of montane soil with Cu, Zn, As, Sb, Pb, and nitrate in Kanto, Japan

Soil cores and rainwater were sampled under canopies of Cryptomeria japonica in four montane areas along an atmospheric depositional gradient in Kanto, Japan. Soil cores (30cm in depth) were divided into 2-cm or 4-cm segments for analysis. Vertical distributions of elemental enrichment ratios in soils were calculated as follows: (X/Al)i/(X/Al)BG (where the numerator and denominator are concentration ratios of element-X and Al in the i- and bottom segments of soil cores, respectively). The upper 14-cm soil layer showed higher levels of Cu, Zn, As, Sb, and Pb than the lower (14–30cm) soil layer. In the four areas, the average enrichment ratios in the upper 6-cm soil layer were as follows: Pb (4.93)≥Sb (4.06)≥As (3.04)>Zn (1.71)≥Cu (1.56). Exogenous elements (kg/ha) accumulated in the upper 14-cm soil layer were as follows: Zn (26.0)>Pb (12.4)>Cu (4.48)≥As (3.43)≥Sb (0.49). These rank orders were consistent with those of elements in anthropogenic aerosols and polluted (roadside) air, respectively, indicating that air pollutants probably caused enrichment of these elements in the soil surface layer. Approximately half of the total concentrations of As, Sb, and Pb in the upper 14-cm soil layer were derived from exogenous (anthropogenic) sources. Sb showed the highest enrichment factor in anthropogenic aerosols, and shows similar deposition behavior to NO3−, which is a typical acidic air pollutant. There was a strong correlation between Sb and NO3− concentrations in rainfall (e.g., in the throughfall under C. japonica: [NO3−]=21.1 [dissolved Sb], r=0.938, p