Volume 25 , Issue 2 , December 2023 , Pages 1-12
Qadri Karim Salh 1 ; Zhino Othman Abdalla 1 ; Khasraw Abdulla Rashid 1 ; Shuela Mohammed Sheikh-Abdullah 1
1 Natural Resource Department, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Sulaimani, Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
The properties of an open dump area are important to the application of the elements to
the soils and their migrations through soil depth; therefore this study was investigated to
evaluate the migration of elements in an open dump area. Soil samples were taken from
three soil profiles, one of them was at an open dump site, and the second and third
profiles were taken at different distances from the open dump site. In total eighteen soil
sample were collected. Some soil physical and chemical properties were determined for
each horizon. Total concentrations of Fe, Ni, Zn, Cu, Cr, and Cd were determined in
each soil sample. The results indicated that the Fe had the highest value and the Cd had
the lowest values in all soil samples. The orders of profiles for the total heavy (Ni, Cd,
and Cr) metals were as follows: Profile1 > profile3 > profile 2. The order of profiles for
the total heavy (Zn and Cu) metals was as follows: Profile 1 > profile 2 > profile 3. The
mean value of total Ni ranged between 9.17 and 11.13, Cd between 0.29 and 0.37, Cr
between 2.67 and 3.36, Zn between 6.90 and 17.23, and Cu between 4.90 and 12.52.
The highest amount of total Ni, Cd, Cr, Zn, and Cu were observed in open dump area
(profile 1) with the mean value (11.13, 0.37, 3.36, 17.23, and 12.52) respectively,
compared to the profile 2 and 3. In general, the heavy metals did not show a specific
pattern of distribution with depth in the three soil profiles, because there are many
factors affecting migration of heavy metals in soil depth. In both profile 2 and 3, some
of the heavy metals migrated in soil depth.