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Potentially Harmful Elements in Agricultural Soils

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PHEs, Environment and Human Health

Abstract

Soil is a very complex and vulnerable system; a living surface soil is a mixture of solid matter, water, air, and biota components. Human activity nowadays involves such high level of environmental interventions which often irreversible damages and destroys the soil. During the past century, as a consequence of industrial, agricultural and urban activities of man, soil and water resources were contaminated with potentially harmful trace elements (metals and metalloids). As a consequence of pollution the fertility of soils, the most important feature of the soil for mankind was changed adversely. Trace element content and status of agricultural soils may influence plant uptake and concentration of the given element in the tissues of food and fodder crops, thus affecting the quality of food and drinking water with potential implications to human health. After demonstrating the sources of potentially harmful trace elements in agroecosystems the characteristics, ecological significance, environmental exposure, behaviour in soil and biological impacts of the seven most commonly occurring potentially harmful trace elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn) will be presented in this chapter. Focusing on soils and plants, their accumulation is followed up in foods, and their impacts are summarized on human organism. Case studies are presented to demonstrate the presence of potentially harmful trace elements in urban and industrially contaminated soils, their accumulation in plants, and discussing the possibility of phytoremediation.

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Acknowledgements

Authors of the Sect. 11 thank for financial support of the GA ČR project P503/12/0682 and TA ČR project TA01020366.

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  1. Department of Agricultural Sciences and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences, College of Nyíregyháza, Sóstói str. 31/b, H-4400, Nyíregyháza, Hungary

    László Simon

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  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali Informatica e Statistica, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, Venice, Italy

    Claudio Bini

  2. Faculty of Biology, Soil Sc. Lab., University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Jaume Bech

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Simon, L. (2014). Potentially Harmful Elements in Agricultural Soils. In: Bini, C., Bech, J. (eds) PHEs, Environment and Human Health. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8965-3_3

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