Can acid sulfate soils from the southern Baltic zone be a source of potentially toxic elements (PTEs)?

The mobility of Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in acid sulfate (AS) soils in the reverse delta of the Świna River, NE Poland was studied using extraction of the target metals using the BCR protocol, which targets acid-extractable (F1), reducible (F2), oxidizable (F3) fractions, and aqua regia digestion for residual (F4) fraction. It was assumed that the content of mobile forms determined in air-dried samples during consequent steps of BCR extraction refers to two scenarios of possible release of selected metals from the studied soils: (1) attributed to seasonal soil moisture variation or (2) caused by artificial drainage. The studied AS soils had thin organic layers (muck, peat and mud) overlaying deltaic sands, and contained hypersulfidic material. The field pH was 6.2 ± 0.5 and significantly decreased to 4.3 ± 1.4 after the 8-weeks incubation period. This can be explained by low buffering properties (e.g. lack of carbonates). Total concentrations of metals (Cr 17.9-61.6, Cu 5.7-27.7, Ni 6.2-47.0, Pb 2.2-17.7, and Zn 13.6-130 mg∙kg) in the AS soils were diversified but none of the concentrations exceeded the Polish legal limits. Despite the relative low content of analyzed metals, the studied soils can be a potential source of metal contamination affecting the coastal environment in the southern Baltic Sea region that has been overlooked so far. This is confirmed by the high proportion (44-82%) of Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn in the F1-F3 fractions which can potentially be released as assumed in two scenarios. The BCR protocol seems to be a useful tool for understanding the chemical behavior and fate of metals in AS soils. Challenges in the assessment of metal mobility in the oxidized and unoxidized zones of individual soil profiles occurred due to their complex morphology resulting from the heterogeneous depositional environment under the human impact.