Trace metals in the roadside mountain soils of Sierra Nevada, Spain

The investigations were made to determine the total contents of Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, Ni and Cr in the roadside soils and rocks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Spain. There were differences in both the age and lithology of the bed-rock in the study area. The surface soil layer is primarily enriched with lead in relation to the bed-rock, but zinc, manganese, and cadmium also occur.Lead, zinc and cadmium concentrations show a decrease with increasing distance from the road, whereas the levels of iron, manganese, copper, nickel and chromium do not show such a variation. The change in lead and zinc concentrations with increasing distance from the road is related to the topography of the area immediately adjacent to the road. On the descending slopes the concentrations of these metals remain unchanged or increase with the increasing distance from the road, whereas on the ascending slopes they show a clear decrease.