Soil solution in soils under Erica andevalensis formations in the Riotinto mining area (Huelva, SW Spain)

Abstract

Erica andevalensis is an endemic heather in the Iberian Pyrite Belt listed as endan­gered species by Junta de Andalucía (De­cree 104/1994, Law 8/2003) which grows spontaneously in mining areas. The study of soil solution may be a useful tool to charac­terize the geochemical conditions of its habitat. We analyzed the soil solution of 11 plots from two mining areas in Riotinto. Ion speciation was obtained using the SOL­MIN88 software.

Our results indicate that it grows ade­quately under a wide range of conditions, being tolerant to ionic strength until up to 10^-2 M, soil solutions ranging from hyper­acid (3.43) to neutral (6.97) and with vari­able ions (sulphate 4-376, Ca 0.3-25 and Mg 0.1-25 mg L^-1) and metals (Al 0.1-10, Cu 0.01-3.94, Pb 0.01-0.23, Zn 0.01-1.88 y Mn 0.02-2.81 mg L^-1) concentrations. This spe­cies seems to be indifferent to the dominant cation of the soil solution. The Al-tolerant character of this species was also confirmed.