Distribution of heavy metals in calcareous and non-calcareous soils in Spain

The distribution of chemical forms of Cd, Ni, Cr, Co, Ag, Pb, Cu, Mn and Zn in eight contaminated soils from Spain was studied using a sequential extraction procedure that fractionates the metal into soluble-exchangeable, specifically sorbed-carbonate bound, oxidizable, reducible and residual forms. SEM and EDXA analysis was used to analyse the soil matrix to determine the distribution of heavy metals. The residual, reducible and carbonate-sorbed forms were dominant. Metals were generally dispersed throughout the soil matrix and could not be located by SEM-EDXA.