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Heavy Metal Contamination of Soils pp 3–21Cite as

Heavy Metals in the Post-catastrophic Soils

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Part of the book series: Soil Biology ((SOILBIOL,volume 44))

Abstract

Soil is one the most important environmental factors, substantially influencing many aspects of human life, and hence its quality in long terms must be carefully maintained and preserved. It is also a key factor for sustainable agriculture, through which numerous impacts can more or less directly affect human activities and even pose serious threats to human health. Heavy metals are ubiquitously present in all soils, although their concentrations may vary in broad range. Their origin in soil can be from geological and anthropogenic sources, with generally very long retention time. If soil is contaminated by heavy metals for any reason, their intake by plants will increase to various extents, enabling possible entry of heavy metals into the food chain and potentially having long-term consequences to humans. In addition, contaminated soils can provoke pollution of corresponding water bodies and air by heavy metals, whose usage in some human activities can be hazardous. The distribution pattern of heavy metals in soil is generally stable, unless some environmental conditions are drastically changed, leading to the changes in their distribution in depth and/or relocation over broad areas. Catastrophic events, mostly contributing to mentioned processes, are metal mining activities, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, volcano eruptions, and wildfires. These extreme phenomena can be induced by human activities (whether it is in normal or emergency situations) or caused by natural disasters or most likely as a combination of them.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Department of Chemistry, University of Niš, Visegradska 33, 18 000, Niš, Serbia

    Vesna Stankov Jovanović, Violeta Mitić & Marija Ilić

  2. Faculty of Chemistry, Universty of Belgrade, Studentski trg14-16, 11 000, Belgrade, Serbia

    Snežana Nikolić Mandić

  3. Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Department of Chemistry, University of Priština (Kosovska Mitrovica), Ive Lole Ribara 29, 38220, Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia

    Strahinja Simonović

Authors
  1. Vesna Stankov Jovanović
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  2. Violeta Mitić
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  3. Snežana Nikolić Mandić
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  4. Marija Ilić
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  5. Strahinja Simonović
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vesna Stankov Jovanović .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Allgemeine Botanik und Pflanzenphysiologie, Universität Jena, Jena, Germany

    Irena Sherameti

  2. Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Ajit Varma

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Jovanović, V.S., Mitić, V., Mandić, S.N., Ilić, M., Simonović, S. (2015). Heavy Metals in the Post-catastrophic Soils. In: Sherameti, I., Varma, A. (eds) Heavy Metal Contamination of Soils. Soil Biology, vol 44. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14526-6_1

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