Method of determining loosely bound compounds of heavy metals in the soil

Method of determination of heavy metals loosely bound compounds in the soil was developed using three separate extractions. The group of loosely bound compounds of metals includes exchangeable, complexed, and specifically adsorbed forms. This method is available, rapid and not expensive. Extraction takes less than 24 h. Sample procedure preparation is simple, and the analysis consists of only three steps, which can be performed simultaneously. The parallel extraction gives reliable and reproducible results and provides a relatively complete idea of the metals mobility in the soil, their availability to plants, migratory capacity, and transformation. •Method is suitable for a wide range of heavy metals and soil types. From the obtained data, the content of loosely bound compounds of heavy metals and the coefficients of metals mobility in the soil can be calculated.•Method is suitable for estimation the microelement supply of uncontaminated soils. The content of elements in the 1 N CH₃COONH₄ extract characterizes the actual pool of elements, and their content in the 1 N HCl extract defines their potential pool in the soil.•The coefficient of mobility (Km) is calculated to assess the contamination of soil with heavy metals. Estimation criteria of Km for Haplic Chernozem were developed.