The content and distribution of lead in the permafrost soils of the northern-taiga landscapes of Yakutia

Abstract

We studied the content and nature of the distribution of lead in permafrost soils of the “Burannyi” site of the Tomtor rare-earth deposit. We explored three types of permafrost soils with low power of the soil profile: permafrost fawn-brown podzolized, permafrost fawn-brown and homogeneous non-gleyed cryozem. An experiment on lead sorption by genetic horizons of permafrost soil was constructed in the laboratory. The contents of the mobile forms of Pb in the studied soils are arranged in the ascending order: homogeneous non-gleyed cryozem < permafrost fawn-brown < permafrost fawn-brown podzolized. The experiment identified high correlation dependence of the lead content on humus values, as well as the average negative dependence on pH. Based on the constructed sorption model, it claims that the mineral horizons have the highest sorption capacity.