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Elemental Contents of Plants Growing on Soil-Covered Retorted Shale¹

ABSTRACT

The concentrations of several potentially toxic elements (F, B, Mo, Pb, Ni, Co, Cd, Cr, Hg, Se, and As) were determined in plants growing on various depths of soil covering retorted (Paraho) shale. The plants that were sampled include: Indian ricegrass (Oryzopsis hymenoides), fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens), western wheatgrass (Agropyron smithii), Sherman's big bluegrass (Poa ampla), Utah sweetvetch (Hedysarum boreale), and winterfat (Ceratoides lanata). The F levels were elevated in some of the plants growing on 30 cm of soil over shale. The concentrations of Mo and the Cu/Mo ratios in the plants indicate that molybdenosis could be expected with livestock grazing on revegetated plants. Increasing the depth of soil cover reduced the Mo levels, but the second year's data indicate that increasing the soil depth may only temporarily reduce the potential molybdenosis problem. The plant levels of Pb, Co, Cd, and Hg were below analytical detection limits. The plant concentrations of Ni, As, Se, B, and Cd were too low to be of environmental concern.

Key Words: molybdenosis • toxic elements • revegetation • drastically disturbed land

¹ Contribution from the Department of Agronomy, Colorado State University. Published as Experiment Station Scientific Paper no. 2690. This work was supported by the U.S. Dep. of Energy under Contract Grant no. EU-10298.

² Former graduate research assistant and Professor of Soils, respectively, Department of Agronomy, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523. Senior author is now Assistant Professor, Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506.

Received for publication September 28, 1981.