Comparing mineral weathering and elemental transport between earth’s critical zone with different parent rocks in Yanshan Mountain, Hebei province, China

Bedrock weathering performs a significant influence on the evolution of Earth’s critical zone. Carbonate rock (dolostone), metamorphic rock (gneiss), and sedimentary rock (sandstone) geological formations in Yanshan Mountain, Hebei Province, are taken as objects to probe the controlling of geological formations on weathering characteristics, migration, and enrichment of elements as well as structure of Earth’s critical zone under the identical climate conditions through geological field survey, analysis on minerals component, element distribution in the weathering profile. The dolostone geological formation (DGF) is lithologically dominated by dolostone, characterized by the strongest and predominant chemical weathering. During bedrock weathering and pedogenesis, DGF is marked by significant depletion of CaO, MgO, S, Mn, Mo and enrichment of N, K, Fe 2 O 3 , and Zn with concentrations of P, Cu, and B keeping stable. Shortage of soil-forming materials and significant loss are driven by soil erosion, which results in thin regolith and soil. The soil thickness is less than 10 cm, and the regolith thickness is less than 30 cm. The vegetation community is predominantly rock arbor or brush, which is calcivorous and tolerant of barrenness. Plagiogneiss is a dominant rock type of gneiss geological formation (GGF), characterized by the weakest weathering and fast chemical and physical weathering rate. GGF is masked by significant depletion of P, K, CaO, MgO, Fe 2 O 3 , Mn, Cu and enrichment of N, S, Mo, and B, with contents of Zn keeping stable. Both soil and regolith developed in GGF are relatively thick for one of the reasons that biotite expands during weathering. The soil thickness is more than 50 cm, and the regolith thickness ranges from 100 to 200 cm. The vegetation community is predominantly high-quality economic forests and various arbors because of the enrichment of nutrients in GGF. Sandstone is primarily a rock type of sandstone geological formation (SGF), characterized by moderate weathering degree and slow chemical weathering rate. SGF is marked by significant depletion of P, K, CaO, MgO, Fe 2 O 3 , and enrichment of N, S, Mn, Cu, Zn, and Mo, with fluctuant changes of Zn and B. The thickness of soil developed in SGF varies between that of DGF and GGF. The soil thickness ranges from 30 to 50 cm, and the regolith thickness ranges from 50 to 100 cm. Chinese pines are widely spread on the shady slopes of SGF. Research provides theoretical support for scre