Carpathian Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Physico-chemical and granulometric studies of two soil types (anthrosol and eutricambosol) revealed heavy metal concentration variations and its distribution in the particle size fractions. The copper and lead contents in the anthropic soil, at both sampling depths exceed the alert thresholds. Zinc and cadmium contents exceed these thresholds only partially. Lead accumulates in the topsoil’s coarse fraction, while Cu and Cd in the deeper fine fraction. In this soil type’s topsoil, heavy metal distribution shows no dependence on particle size fraction. At higher depth, concentrations increase from silt and gravel to clay fraction. Heavy metals in the eutricambosol mainly have normal concentrations, or below the alert threshold, except for the clay fraction from all horizons where the alert and intervention thresholds can be exceeded. In this case, heavy metals accumulate mainly in the topsoil, and their concentration decreases with soil-profile depth.