Soil contamination by diffuse inputs

Abstract

The interaction of diffuse inputs with the soil and water systems and with their uses and functions has many uncertain aspects but it is certainly a potential source of soil contamination. The two main pathways for diffuse contaminant accumulation in soil are atmospheric deposition and agricultural practices. Two key issues can be defined: Diffuse contamination by heavy metals and by persistent organic pollutants. Monitoring can be a useful tool for assessing diffuse inputs and for increasing our knowledge about diffuse pollution processes. Heavy metal content in soils is an indicator that is relatively simple to interpret even if there is no unique methodology for defining a homogeneous map unit; many relevant data are already available throughout the world.