Description
Scitus Academics Trace Elements In Waterlogged Soils And Sediments-Scitus by Dalmiro Martell
Trace elements occur naturally in soils and some are essential nutrients for plant growth as well as human and animal health. However, at elevated levels, all trace elements become potentially toxic. Anthropogenic input of trace elements into the natural environment therefore poses a range of ecological and health problems. In environmental sciences, the development of monitoring systems is of main importance. Increasingly strict environmental regulations require the development of new methods for analysis and ask for simple and meaningful tools to obtain information on metal fractions of different mobility and bioavailability in the solid phases. The objectives of monitoring are to assess pollution effects on humans and the environment, to identify possible sources, and to establish relationships between pollutant concentrations and health effects or environmental changes. Fifteen or more elements present in rocks and soils normally in very small amounts are essential for plant and/or animal nutrition. By the nature of their low abundance in natural uncontaminated earth materials or plants, they are known as trace elements, minor elements or micronutrients. Boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, silicon, vanadium and zinc are required by plants; copper, cobalt, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium and zinc by animals. Thus, it is necessary to investigate and understand the transport mechanisms of trace elements and their complexes to understand their chemical cycles in nature.
Trace Elements in Waterlogged Soils and Sediments analyses the state-ofthe-art research in the field, providing a inclusive outline of the chemistry, analysis, fate and regulation of trace elements in soils, in addition to remediation strategies for contaminated soil. This book brings the current knowledge concerning trace elements in temporary waterlogged soils and sediments together. It deliberates factors controlling the dynamics and release kinetics of trace elements and their underlying biogeochemical processes. It also discusses current technologies for remediating sites contaminated with trace metals, and the role of bioavailability in risk assessment and regulatory decision making. It will be a valuable tool for professionals around the world in disciplines related to contaminant bioavailability in aquatic organisms, contaminant fate and transport, remediation technologies, and risk assessment of aquatic and wetland ecosystems.