Distribution of Heavy Metals in Various Litter Horizons and Forest Soils

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Abstract
In order to evaluate a procedure for estimating differences in the total input into a forest ecosystem, heavy metal concentrations in various litter and soil compartments within two stands were considered. As a basis for the investigation of differences between various stands, the variability within the different horizons in a stand had to be evaluated. The variance within a stand is lowest for sampling locations which are midway between two stems, and thus these sampling locations were chosen for monitoring studies. The concentrations of heavy metals in the L-horizon depends to a great extent on the immission situation. For the other horizons, additional factors are important as well, for example Cd and Zn concentrations in the Ah-horizons depend mainly on pH. In the case of Pb, the local immission situation is the predominant factor for all horizons. Because pH is an intrinsic parameter of a stand, only to a minor extent influenced by the immission situation, it appeared logical to choose the Pb content in the L-horizon in order to gain information about the local immission. On the basis of this knowledge, it is possible to perform monitoring programs which enable different stands to be classified according to their heavy metal burden, including interception.

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