Rational Scheme of Chemical Analysis of Urban Soils for Ecological Monitoring

Abstract

AbstractThe ecological monitoring of soils requires a set of modern analytical methods that is being often expensive. Sometimes, analytical methods provide customers with the same analytical information. Therefore, in order to assess the environmental state of the soil cover, a few chemical analysis methods are united into rational schemes, and then, they are used in analytical studies. In this work, on the example of Ulaanbaatar city (Mongolia), a rational scheme of chemical analysis of urban soils is compiled using the informativity criterion of analytical methods. In this scheme, the total contents of 33 elements and concentrations of mobile species of 30 elements, extracted by an ammonium acetate buffer, were determined by rapid multi-element methods. The rational scheme of chemical analysis contains the methods of d.c. and a.c. arc discharge atomic emission spectrometry; flame atomic emission spectrometry; and X-ray fluorescence analysis. Analytical data obtained using a rational scheme provided an amount of the information required for visualizing the spatial distribution of total concentrations of elements and their mobile species within Ulaanbaatar city via geostatistical modeling methods.KeywordsEcological monitoringUrban SoilsAnalytical MethodsInformativity