Abstract

Several levels of cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), or cobalt (Co) were added to samples of a soil as solutions of nitrate salts. The samples were incubated at about field capacity for up to 30 days at differing temperatures and the concentration of the metal ions in the soil solution was estimated at 4 times for each temperature. The effects of level of addition, time, and temperature on solution concentration were well described using a mechanistic model. The model suggests that the metals react with a differing range of soil components and that the pathways for diffusion into the particles also differ. The change in solution concentration was slowest for Cd and fastest for Co and Ni but these were not significantly faster than Zn. These results suggest that the toxic effects of Cd added to soils will not decrease greatly with time whereas the effectiveness of fertilisers (Zn and Co), and potential fertilisers (Ni), will decrease.