Cadmium in South Australian soils, pastures and crops. [Conference paper]
1989
Merry, R.H. (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Glen Osmond (Australia). Div. of Soils)
Soil properties control the uptake of cadmium by plants and can contribute directly when soil is ingested by stock. Virgin soils from the urban-rural transect study contained about 0.09 mg Cd per kg in the top 5 cm, about half the mean concentration found in pasture soils in the same area. Contaminated soils in metropolitan Adelaide, Port Pirie, or to which sewage sludge has been applied may contain 1 to 10 mg Cd per kg. Cruciferous weeds have been shown to have a higher cadmium content than companion medics in the South Australian cereal-sheep zone. The higher concentration measured in capeweed north-east of Adelaide was about 4 mg per kg. If capeweed is a significant source of cadmium to the grazing animals, the use of spray-graze management to control the plant may need to be reassessed, or the animals used should be monitored prior to consumption by humans. Cadmium accumulating in pasture soil usually remains at or near the soil surface and will not leach. About the only process that will result in a significant decline in cadmium from soils is erosion and removal of topsoil by wind or water.
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