Concentrations of major and trace elements in soil and grass at Shimba Hills National Reserve,Kenya |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, Devon, PL4 8AA, UK;2. Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Royal School of Mines, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London SW7 2BP, UK;1. GeoQuEST Research Centre, School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia;2. Beijing SHRIMP Centre, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, 26, Baiwanzhuang Road, Beijing, 100037, China;3. Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia;4. Glendale, Tiddington, Oxon, OX9 2LQ, UK;5. State Key Laboratory for Continental Dynamics, Department of Geology, Northwestern University, Xi’an, 710069, China;1. Department of Botany, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand;2. Ministry for Primary Industries, Wellington, New Zealand;1. Marine Biology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium;2. Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O Box 3021, Morogoro, Tanzania;3. Analytical, Environmental and Geo- Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium;4. Department of Biological Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O Box 3038, Morogoro, Tanzania;1. Pulmonologist, Army Hospital (Research & Referral), New Delhi, India;2. Consultant & Head of Dept of Pulmonology, Army Hospital (Research & Referral), New Delhi, India;3. Consultant Pulmonologist, Military Hospital (Cardiothoracic Centre), Pune, India;4. Radiologist, Army Hospital (Research & Referral), New Delhi, India;5. Pathologist, Army Hospital (Research & Referral), New Delhi, India;6. Medical Officer and Statistician, Base Hospital, New Delhi, India;1. Department of Otolaryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA, United States;2. Department of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States;3. Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States;4. Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States |
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| Abstract: | Concentrations of major and trace elements in soils and grass are determined at Shimba Hills National Reserve in Kenya using geochemical mapping techniques. The study investigates the influence of soil and vegetation type on the concentrations of Na, K, Mg, Ca, Mn, P, Co, Cu, Zn, Mo, Ni and Se in soils and grass. The implications are assessed for the nutrition of the sable antelope, of which the Reserve supports the last remaining viable population in Kenya. Low concentrations in surface soils of a number of major and minor elements are attributed to the geochemical nature of the underlying parent materials of sands, sandstone and grits. Within the Reserve, variations in the element status of surface soils are related to the vegetation and soil types. Elevated element concentrations in surface soils in natural forest areas are attributed to the influence of litterfall whilst in grassland areas, soil element status is controlled by soil type and decreases in the order ferralsols > acrisols > arenosols. The general depletion of major and minor elements in soils at Shimba Hills is not reflected as fully in grasses in which nutrient concentrations were of similar magnitude to those reported from other Kenyan conservation areas. Burning of grassland areas leads to elevated concentrations of K, P, Co, Cu and Mo in grasses, elevated soil-plant uptake ratios for P and K and elevated soil pH. It is suggested that increased availability of P in soils at elevated soil pH levels contributes to its enhanced uptake into grass. A tentative assessment of the mineral status of grass at the Reserve using guidelines developed for domestic ruminants indicates deficiencies of Na, K, P and Zn and that the Ca:P ratio exceeds the tolerable range for animals. In addition, the low concentrations of Cu, Co and Zn in surface soils in the Reserve indicate that the potential supply of these elements to plants is limited. |
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