Abstract
In the last years, urban soils have been increasingly subject of investigations concerning their description and composition. In several important cities all over the world, urban soils show a significant increase in metal levels, due to the rise of pollution originated from continuous urbanization and industrial development. This metal contamination can disturb the natural geochemical cycles and their depending ecosystems. The expected population growth during the next decades will concentrate in urban areas, which are already the predominant human habitat. Metal contamination is a key issue in São Paulo City, the biggest urban agglomeration in Latin America. There has been little research on metal levels in São Paulo urban soils and almost nothing related to the city’s parks. The present study presents the concentration of major and trace elements in soil samples of nine parks of the metropolitan region of São Paulo. Top soil samples (0-20 cm) were collected in lines across the parks in order to have representative samples of the entire park. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) were used for whole elemental analysis. The outcome of this study showed that the soils of the public parks studied presented, in general, concentration levels higher than the reference values for soils in São Paulo State. For As, V and Ni, which showed significant enrichment factors in relation to reference values, there is an indication of anthropogenic source. Cluster analysis grouped the elements Zn, Sb, Pb and Cu, well known as traffic-related elements, which may indicate a vehicular source.
Highlights
Urban soils have been increasingly subject of investigations that include their chemical characterization
A significant increase in metal levels in urban soils as compared to non urban soils was observed in cities such as Madrid [1], Palermo [2], Naples [3], Hong Kong [4], Torino [5], Lisbon [6], and many others, due to the rise of metal pollution originating from continuous traffic and industrial related sources
Ajmone-Marsan and Biasoli [7] reviewed 153 studies published during a recent period of 10 years, in which the urban environment was assessed and trace elements in soils of 94 world cities were investigated
Summary
Urban soils have been increasingly subject of investigations that include their chemical characterization. Ajmone-Marsan and Biasoli [7] reviewed 153 studies published during a recent period of 10 years, in which the urban environment was assessed and trace elements in soils of 94 world cities were investigated. According to those authors, the high data variability among the studies derives from the variety of land uses, number of samples, the depth of sample collection and sample treatments and analytical methods. São Paulo public parks play an important role as leisure areas for the population, mainly for children.
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