Some Heavy Metals Speciation and Bioavailability in Agricultural Soils Used for Cultivating Various Vegetables

Abstract

Vegetables produced on polluted soils with unregulated agrochemical applications may include a variety of heavy metals. This could happen in vegetables grown in Bedugul's agricultural soils because farmers used too many agrochemicals. A speciation and bioavailability approach had to be studied in order to consider metals transfer to vegetables. The goal of this study was to assess the speciation and bioavailability of certain heavy metals in agricultural soils in Bedugul, Bali, that were used to raise a variety of vegetables.  Prior to the metals detection by AAS, the sample was subjected to wet digestion and sequential extraction procedures. The average amounts of Pb, Cu, Cd, Cr, and Zn in the soils were 38.531, 132.126, 7.689, 15.952, and 147.275 mg/kg, respectively, according to the findings. Pb and Zn were identified in the highest concentrations in lettuce-growing soil, Cd and Cr in tomato-growing soil, and Cu in potato-growing soil. Pb, Cu, Cd, and Cr speciation were shown to be primarily connected with the Fe-Mn oxides fraction, whilst Zn was primarily linked with the EFLE (easily, freely, leachable, and exchangeable) fractions. Cr had the highest bioavailability of the metals examined in the soils, whereas Cu had the lowest.