In a temperate climate zone, the outermost part of forest soil forms the organic‐O horizon. It consists of subhorizons of varying thickness, including the organic fermentative‐humic subhorizon (Ofh), which resembles a tobacco tangled mat. The scientific novelty of this project is to evaluate whether the specific structure of the subhorizon‐Ofh makes it a ‘natural sponge’ for trace elements such as Cd, Hg, Pb and Zn, and whether it can be used as a potential geoindicator of soil quality. To test this hypothesis, 110 soil samples (55 from the subhorizon‐Ofh and 55 from the underlying soil horizons‐A [humic] or AE [humic‐eluvial]) were collected from five forest areas located in the south‐central Poland (Świętokrzyskie province). All samples were analysed for Ba, Ca, Cd, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, Mn, Pb, S, Ti and Zn. pH, EC, soil organic matter, total C and N were also measured. Our results confirm that the subhorizon‐Ofh acts like the sponge in relation to Cd, Hg and Zn. Concentrations of these elements are two to four times higher than in the A and AE horizons. Such a relationship is not observed for Pb which predominates in the A horizon. This feature means that analyses of samples from different (sub)horizons can lead to misleading conclusions about soil quality and contamination levels, which have been verified by geochemical factors. Our results can be a starting point for further research into the possible use of the subhorizon‐Ofh as a geoindicator of temperate soil quality in relation to selected trace elements.

中文翻译：

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有机发酵腐殖土地平线（Ofh）作为选定微量元素的“天然海绵”：这一特征是否使其成为温带土壤质量的潜在地理指标？

在温带气候区，森林土壤的最外层形成有机-O层。它由不同厚度的底层组成，包括有机发酵腐殖质底层（Ofh），它类似于烟草缠结的垫子。该项目的科学新颖之处在于评估subhorizo​​n-Ofh的特定结构是否使其成为Cd、Hg、Pb和Zn等微量元素的“天然海绵”，以及是否可以用作土壤的潜在地理指示剂质量。为了检验这一假设，我们从位于波兰中南部（Świętokrzyskie）的五个森林地区采集了 110 个土壤样本（55 个来自地下土壤层 -Ofh，55 个来自地下土壤层 -A [腐殖质] 或 AE [腐殖质-残积土]）。省）。分析了所有样品的 Ba、Ca、Cd、Cu、Fe、Hg、K、Mn、Pb、S、Ti 和 Zn。还测量了 pH、EC、土壤有机质、总 C 和 N。我们的结果证实，地平线-Ofh 对于 Cd、Hg 和 Zn 的作用就像海绵一样。这些元素的浓度比 A 和 AE 层高出两到四倍。对于 A 层中占主导地位的 Pb，没有观察到这种关系。这一特征意味着对不同（次）地平线的样品进行分析可能会得出有关土壤质量和污染水平的误导性结论，这些结论已通过地球化学因素得到验证。我们的结果可以作为进一步研究 subhorizo​​n-Ofh 作为与选定微量元素相关的温带土壤质量地理指标的可能性的起点。