Soil geochemical baseline and background in Yangtze RiverHuaihe River basin of Anhui Province

Abstract：Geochemical parameters of top and deep soils as well as geochemical baseline and background were calculated based on multi-purpose regional geochemical survey covering Yangtze River-Huaihe River basin of Anhui Province. The concentrations of most elements in top soils are mainly controlled by their concentrations in deep soils. The concentrations of some elements in different soil layers are apparently different. Soil formation processes and anthropogenic activities have had remarkable impact on the distribution of elemental concentrations in soils. It is demonstrated that soil parent material usually has significant influence on geochemical baseline. Geochemical baselines of soils derived from the same parent materials have the tendency to vary in different geographical units. Therefore calculation of soil geochemical baseline should consider spatial variation. These results can be widely used in eco-geochemistry and related multi-discipline research.