Abstract
Abstract Lead concentrations were determined in samples of soil B-horizon ( N = 258), forest-floor humus (O-horizon, N = 259), grass ( Avenella flexuosa , N = 251) and spruce ( Picea abies , N = 253) needles (2nd year) collected at the same locations evenly spread over the territory of the Czech Republic at an average density of 1 site/300 km 2 . Median Pb concentrations differ widely in the four materials: soil B-horizon: 27 mg/kg (3.3–220 mg/kg), humus: 78 mg/kg (19–1863 mg/kg), grass: 0.37 mg/kg (0.08–8 mg/kg) and spruce needles: 0.23 mg/kg (0.07–3 mg/kg). In the Pb distribution maps for humus, grass and spruce a number of well-known Pb-contamination sources are indicated by unusually high concentrations (e.g., the Pb smelter at Pribram, the metallurgical industry in the NE of the Czech Republic and along the Polish border, as well as the metallurgical industry in Upper Silesia and Europe’s largest coal-fired power plant at Bogatynia, Poland). The ratio 206 Pb/ 207 Pb was determined in all four materials. The median value of the 206 Pb/ 207 Pb isotope ratio in the soil B-horizon is 1.184 (variation: 1.145–1.337). In both humus and grass the median value for the 206 Pb/ 207 Pb isotope ratio is 1.162 (variation: 1.130–1.182), in spruce needles the median ratio is 1.159 (variation: 1.116–1.186). In humus, grass and spruce needles the known contamination sources are all marked by higher 206 Pb/ 207 Pb isotope ratios in the maps. Furthermore, the soil B-horizon, humus, grass and spruce needles show distinctly different spatial distribution patterns of the 206 Pb/ 207 Pb isotope ratios. The B-horizon does not provide a viable background value for metal concentrations in the O-horizon or plant materials. None of the maps provides evidence for the importance of traffic-related emissions for the observed isotope ratios at the scale of the Czech Republic.
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