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Accumulation of atmospherically deposited metals in Wetland soils of Sudbury, Ontario

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Abstract

Concentrations of Cu, Ni, Fe, and Mg in soil/sediment material from 25 wetlands in the Sudbury, Ontario, region decline logarithmically with increasing distance from several ore smelters. Total Cu and Ni reach concentrations potentially toxic to plant life in soil/sediment material near the smelters.

Despite random variation in soil/sediment pH and Eh, NH4OAc extractable Cu, Ni and Fe, and DTPA extractable Cu Ni and Mg show the same pattern as total Cu, Ni, Fe, and Mg. The failure of DTPA extractable Fe to show the same pattern as total Fe may be due to the inadequacy of the DTPA soil test when testing Fe in acid soils. Soil/sediment organic C content increases with distance from the smelters, but is unrelated to pH or Eh.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

    Gregory J. Taylor & A. A. Crowder

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  1. Gregory J. Taylor
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  2. A. A. Crowder
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Taylor, G.J., Crowder, A.A. Accumulation of atmospherically deposited metals in Wetland soils of Sudbury, Ontario. Water Air Soil Pollut 19, 29–42 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00176793

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00176793

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