Notions and Geogenic Sources of Contamination of Elements Trace in Soils:

INTRODUCTION: Trace elements are those that are normally present in relatively low
concentrations in soils or plants, these may or may not be essential for the development of living
beings. The high concentrations of certain elements, usually minor, that occur in a soil may be due
to natural causes or due to human activities, which have exerted a considerable effect on the
concentration and mobility of metals in soils.

CONTENT: Heavy metals, and trace elements in general, are elements that are normally
present in low concentrations (<0.1%) in the earth's crust, soils and plants, and may or may not be
essential for the growth and development of biota. The presence in soils of harmful concentrations
of some chemical elements and compounds (toxic) is a special type of degradation called pollution.

The trace elements in the soils may be of geographical or anthropogenic origin. Trace
elements of geographical origin depend to a large extent on the availability of an element or
chemical compound of a terrestrial material, those that are geodesistible pass from the bedrock to
the soils after being released by weathering, dissolution, erosion and leaching of the rock , or
through volcanic emissions.

The release of the elements depends on the structure and thermodynamic stability of the
minerals in the rock. Highly polymerized structures are more stable and resistant to destruction,
with silicates generally being more stable structures. The main geographic sources of trace metals
in soils can be:

a. Leaching, Dissolution, Meteorization and erosion of the Rock: the process of alteration,
degradation, decomposition, disintegration and wear of rocks by physical or chemical agents to
which they are subjected, give rise to small particles where trace elements are very stable in the
soil, and can accumulate in ways that cannot be assimilated to organisms capable of extracting them
from the soil by absorption or ingestion, which allows them to increase their concentration to toxic
levels for plants, animals and humans.

b. Volcanic Eruptions: Volcanic eruptions are natural sources of acids that are quickly
neutralized by the alkaline elements of rocks or soils. However, if the acidity is very large, this
variation of pH can generate mobilization of heavy elements and accumulation of these in
anomalous and toxic amounts for living beings.

CONCLUSION: Trace elements can be considered contaminants in soils when their

concentration exceeds the toxicity thresholds, this implies that due to their stability and availability
according to the chemical species that forms in the soil solutions, geo-terrain processes and soil
characteristics can accumulate , be absorbed or leach to the water table. Naturally, contamination
by trace elements can occur due to a decrease in pH produced by volcanic activity, which allows to
inhibit the sorption and dissolved soluble species remain or more commonly by erosion, weathering
and leaching of the rock, especially in those basic rocks, which are less resistant to the effects of
weathering agents and are rich in heavy metals
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