Heavy metals in surface soils of the Warta river valley in an urban area

In the urban area of the-city of Poznan the contamination with heavy metals was investigated. From the top.soil: layers of five cross-sections of the valley of the:Warta river 87 samples were collected. Beside common soil characteristics: the contents of a arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium,copper, Iron, lead, manganese, phosphorus and zinc were analyzed. Predominantly:the level of: contamination:with heavy metals is Ibv in the valley soils:A higher level was found in the area of the old city centre. Especially the contents of lead, copper and : zinc were raised. Downstream: of the :sewage plant discharge into the river Warta: increased contents:of lead: and cadmium were found. The distribution of heavy metals in the river Warta sediments indicates that the reason of the local increase of heavy metal contents is the sewage water discharge, Correlations between the content df different heavy metals and other soil properties (pH, clay and P-content, C/N-ratio) were calculated.