Assessment of the potentially toxic elements sources in forest soils of the Czech Republic using isotopic ratios

Hana Hurychová

Master's thesis

Abstract:

Lead is an element which serves no known purpose in living organisms and may be a cause of severe poisoning in humans, especially young children. Lead can be introduced to the environment from both natural and anthropogenic sources and distinguishing between them is often an arduous task. Lead isotope analyses can serve as a solid base for recognizing the leading sources of pollution in an area if all possible inputs are known.The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate possible sources of lead in forest soils of the Czech Republic which are not directly affected by industrial activities or urban areas. The focus was on finding differences in isotope ratios across different regions, vegetation compositions, and altitudes.120 sites were sampled across the area of Czech Republic, digested using aqua regia and analyzed using ICP-MS for lead isotope ratios. All sites showed an impact of coal burning and the use of leaded gasoline and a generally uniform pollution signature most likely stemming from a mixture of atmospheric pollution and local sources. Fluvisols showed an increased 206Pb/207Pb ratio, which could be connected to chemical processes in soils and a larger scale of possible pollution sources. In full soil profiles, the 206Pb/207Pb ratio increased with increasing depth due to greater effect of bedrock.

Keywords

forest soil, vegetation levels, lead isotopes, ICP_MS, aqua regia

Jazyk práce: English

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 15. 4. 2019

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Vedúci: RNDr. Václav Tejnecký, Ph.D.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources

Master programme / odbor:
Geology / Environmental Geosciences