Potentially toxic elements and rare earth elements in sandy soils from the Brazilian Cerrado

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment Vol. 193; no. 12
• Main Authors: Martins, Vanessa, Barbosa, Ronny Sobreira, Costa Jr, Ozeas S, da Silva, Yuri Jacques Agra Bezerra, da Silva, Ygor Jacques Agra Bezerra, de Sousa, Julio César Galdino, Nardoto, Gabriela Bielefeld
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.12.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aluminum oxide; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Cation exchange; Cation exchanging; Cations; Chemical analysis; Clay; Clay minerals; Clay soils; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental monitoring; Environmental science; Exchange capacity; Feldspars; Ferric oxide; Geochemistry; Iron oxides; Kaolinite; Minerals; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Organic carbon; Rare earth elements; Sand; Sandy soils; Soil; Soil profiles; Soil properties; Titanium dioxide; Total organic carbon; Trace elements; Zinc; Background concentration; Geochemistry; Tropical soils; Trace elements; Lanthanides; State of Piauí
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-021-09583-0

This study aims to determine the concentration of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and rare earth elements (REEs) in Brazilian sandy soils under the Cerrado at the Parnaíba–São Francisco Basin transition. We also explored the geochemical correlation between these elements and pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), total organic carbon (TOC), sand, clay, oxides from secondary minerals, and chemical index of alteration for each basin. Mineralogical, physical, and chemical analyses were used to examine PTE and REE geochemistry in six sand soil profiles from the Brazilian Cerrado. The background concentrations of these elements are low, but soils from the Parnaíba Basin have higher concentrations of PTEs than soils from the São Francisco Basin. In soils from the Parnaíba Basin, mainly Al 2 O 3 has relevance in the V and Cr geochemistry, as these elements increase with increasing Al 2 O 3 content. On the other hand, the REEs have CEC as a soil attribute of higher relevance in the geochemistry of those elements is soils from the Parnaíba Basin, and this relevance divides the TOC, Fe 2 O 3 , and TiO 2 minerals from the clay fraction. In soils from the São Francisco Basin, the geochemistry of PTEs is possibly associated with kaolinite, especially Cu, V, and Zn. In contrast, the Ba concentration was associated with the presence of feldspar. Unlike soils from the Parnaíba Basin, the REEs do not correlate with the studied soil attributes, except for Ho and Lu. Ho had a positive association with Al 2 O 3 . Ho and Lu are negatively related to the presence of iron oxides.