Copper and zinc quantification in contaminated soil as evaluated by chemical extractants

Trace elements are potentially toxic to the environment. Their toxicity in soils relies on their type of chemical associations. Hence it is important to determine the chemical form they occur in the soils in order to assess their quantities. The objective the present work was to evaluate the possibility of using the concentrations of Cu and Zn in different soil fractions and the total concentration as predictors of their quantification by comparing the classical extractants DTPA, Mehlich-1 and HCl. Comparisons were made also with the concentrations of absorbed by rice and soybean in contaminated soil. Seven soil samples with a different degree of contamination were studied using a randomized experimental design, with four replicates. By using an ICP-OES we analyzed the concentrations of Cu and Zn in the diagnostic leafs, at the end of the cycle (LCE) and several of its content in the soil: available extracted with the DTPA, Mehlich-1 and HCl extractants, soluble+exchangeable contents, bound to organic matter, to oxides and the total content. For both, soybean and rice, the concentrations of Cu and Zn extracted from the sequential extraction was found to be correlated with the concentration in LCE. For soybean, Zn concentration extracted with DTPA was correlated with the total concentration, while Cu concentration extracted with three extractors, DTPA, Mehlich-1 and HCl, correlated with the total concentration, probably due to the high concentration of Cu and Zn in this soil. For rice, both Cu and Zn concentration as extracted by the three extracting solutions correlated with the concentration of all the fractions and with the total concentration. Os elementos traços são potencialmente tóxicos para o meio ambiente. Estas toxicidades dependem de suas associações químicas. Por isso a determinação da forma química destes elementos no solo é importante para quantificá-lo. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar a possibilidade de se utilizar teores de Cu e Zn nas diferentes frações do solo para prognosticar suas disponibilidades. Para isso, compararam-se as mesmas com soluções extratoras clássicas, como DTPA, Mehlich-1 e HCl, e com teores absorvidos por plantas de arroz e soja em materiais de solos contaminados. Foram estudadas sete amostras de solos com diferentes graus de contaminação empregando delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado, com quatro repetições. Utilizando a técnica de ICP-OES, foram avaliados teores de Cu e Zn em folha diagnóstico