Mobilization of heavy metals and arsenic in polluted wetland soils and its dependence on dissolved organic matter.

The wetland soils of the Mulde river in the industrial district of Bitterfeld-Wolfen (Germany) are highly contaminated with heavy metals and arsenic. We studied the mobility of accumulated heavy metals and arsenic and the influence of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on element mobility. Undisturbed soil cores were taken from five different sites to represent a wide range of heavy-metal contamination, soil properties and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations. The acid-soluble concentrations (mostly equal to the total content) were up to 1100 mg kg-1 for Zn, 800 mg kg-1 for Cr, 364 mg kg-1 for Cu, 265 mg kg-1 for As and 37 mg kg-1 for Hg, depending on the sampling site. Percolation experiments using small lysimeters with undisturbed topsoil cores illustrated a considerable mobilization of Zn, Cd, Cu, Cr and Hg, depending on soil properties. Up to 80 micrograms l-1 Cd, 8 mg 1-1 Zn, 130 micrograms l-1 Cr, 160 micrograms l-1 Cu and 7 micrograms l-1 Hg were detected in the soil percolates. Arsenic mobilization was low. The concentration of Cr, Hg, Cu and As in the soil percolates was positively correlated with DOM. Besides the element content (mobile or acid-soluble), soil pH and soil characteristics describing the soil potential for heavy-metal adsorption (clay, oxides, cation exchange capacity), the DOC concentration in the soil solution should be known to access the potential mobilization of Hg, Cr, Cu and As. In contrast, Cd and Zn mobilization depends on soil pH and mobile element content, but not on DOM. Additional studies on two soil profiles (down to 1.5 m) confirmed the translocation of heavy metals from the highly contaminated topsoil into deeper soil horizons and into the groundwater and the influence of DOM as revealed with the percolation experiment. Our results also showed that DOM is of minor importance on the mobilization of heavy metals in soils with a low soil pH (< 4.5).