Environmental behaviors of selenium in soil of typical selenosis area, China
LI Yonghua , WANG Wuyi , LUO Kunli , LI Hairong
DOI:
Received September 20, 2007,Revised December 24, 2007, Accepted , Available online
Volume 20,2008,Pages 859-864
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Daba Mountain area is one of the two endemic selenosis areas in China, which may relate with the environmental behaviors of
selenium (Se) in soil. This study focuses on the concentraion and distribution of Se and its relationships with some other elements
in natural soil in the area. The average concentration of Se in Daba Mountain soils was 14.3 times higher than the value cited for
natural soil background worldwide, suggesting that soils in the region were contaminated by the element. The finding was confirmed
byM¨uller geoaccumulation index assessment with 22% slightly polluted, 15% moderately polluted, 11% highly to very highly polluted
and 8% moderately polluted to highly polluted. Soil Se is generally enriched in topsoil, and its distribution is extremely uneven and
significantly site-specific. However, the concentrations of Se in soils have significant positive correlation with them in corresponding
parent materials (r = 0.995, P < 0.01). Besides of Se, the concentrations of elements, such as Ca, Sr, V, Cu, Zn, Ni, Mg, Co, and Fe
are also obviously abnormal compared with their background values of Chinese soil. Selenium behaviors in the region were controlled
by multifactors: in addition to the parent material, pedogenic processes, biologic processes, and element geochemical behaviors also
impacted the concentration and distribution of selenium in soil.
