Long-term trends in heavy metal and metalloid levels in a Saskatchewan prairie soil
Date
2008-02-28
Authors
Poscher, E.
Schellenberg, M.P.
Cutforth, H.W.
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Abstract
Global heavy metal and metalloid pollution has increased during the last few decades
accompanied by marked increases in global population and a rapid increase in metal production.
Since the mid-1990s, higher-than-desired levels of some metals have been found in crops,
increasingly so. Atmospheric deposition might play a role in these developments. We compared
soil samples derived from within a shed that was erected in the 1950s in a semiarid, agricultural
location within the Brown soil zone of south-western Saskatchewan with soil samples from the
adjacent open prairie, simulating environmental conditions then and now. With this setup, we
were able to examine long-term changes in soil heavy metals and metalloid concentrations. We
found that chromium, strontium, and vanadium have significantly increased between 1950 and
2007, while cobalt has significantly decreased during this same time frame. With regards to soil
parameters, alkalinity and conductivity have increased. Differences in all other heavy metals and
metalloids remained insignificant.
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Soils and Crops Workshop