SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF ZINC IN SOIL FROM THE CITY OF SKOPJE AND ITS ENVIRONS, REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

Abstract

The results of the spatial distribution of zinc in topsoil (0–10 cm) over the city of Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, are reported. The soil samples from 233 previously defined locations in the study area were collected. Inductively coupled plasma – atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) was applied for the determination of zinc. Data analysis and construction of the map were performed using the Statistica (ver. 9), AutoDesk Map (ver. 2008) and Surfer (ver. 9) software’s. It was found that the median content of zinc in the topsoil for the entire study area is 100 mg/kg (with a range of 23–18000 mg/kg) which exceeds the estimated Macedonian and European zinc median contents in topsoil by a factor of 1.2 and 1.9, respectively. It is evident that the content of zinc is high in the topsoils from the industrial areas (156 mg/kg) exceeding the target value of Dutch standards (140 mg/kg) which is a result of contamination, mainly by dust from the iron and steel works.

Key words: zinc; soil; spatial distribution; Skopje; Republic of Macedonia