Characterization of Heavy Metals in Soil as Affected by Different Land Uses in Northern Pakistan

Land use has a greater influence on the contamination of soils. The current research is conducted to study the effect of different land-use patterns and soil depth on heavy metal fractions in the soil. Significant differences among heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in soils under various land use systems were observed. Variations in the soil heavy metals concentration were found dependent on land use patterns. Irrespective of the type of metal, Land uses differed for heavy metals concentrations in the order of fallow>pasture>crop>forest soils. Extracting reagents considerably varied for the concentrations of metals: HNO3>Na2EDTA>NaOH>KNO3>H2O. However, Ni concentration was found higher with NaOH than Na2EDTA. Surface soil indicated a higher magnitude of heavy metals than sub-surface soil. This study will provide valuable information on heavy metal fractions associated with land use in the Abbottabad region of lesser Himalayas, Pakistan.