Ecological risk potential assessment of metal contaminated soils in Baghdad city of Iraq

Metal pollution in the soil leads to deterioration of agricultural production by negatively affecting chemical, physical, and biological properties of the soils. In this research, levels of metal pollution in the soils of Baghdad city of Iraq was studied. Three different sites (farm, camp and park) were selected. Ten soil samples samples were taken randomly from 0-15 cm depht on each of three sites. Concentrations of metals (manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg)) of soil samples were measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). Texture components, electrical conductivity (EC), pH, CaCO3 content, field capacity (FC) and wilting point (WP) content, organic matter (OM) content, and bulk density (Db) of the soils' were measured on the disturbed samples. Metal concentrations increased as CrKeyword: Antropojenik = Anthropogenic ; Irak-Bağdat = Iraq-Baghdad ; Kadmiyum = Cadmium ; Metaller = Metals ; Toprak kirliliği = Soil pollution