Assessment of Copper Pollution in the Surface Layer of Vineyard Soils in Malayer, Iran

Soil contamination by copper (Cu) very often occurs in the soil surface layer of vineyard cultivations, due to the heavy use of copper fungicides in order to protect against fungal grape diseases. The objective of this study was therefore to evaluate copper concentration in the superficial layer of vineyard cultivation in Malayer, Iran, and also to prepare the pollution map of copper in this region. Twenty five surface soil samples (0-20 cm) of Malayer vineyard region were collected and consequently were subjected to Cu concentration assessment. Soil samples were air dried and sieved, and the categorized <0.149 mm fraction was used in subsequent digestion operation. The concentrations of Cu in extracted solutions were determined by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. The inverse distance weighting (IDW) method was used to interpolate copper concentrations in the whole study area owing to the limited amount of data. The low concentrations of copper in the range of 3.95 to 15.09 mg/kg with a mean value of 7.36 mg/kg were noticed in the studied vineyard soils. The total Cu concentrations were generally similar to those reported for natural soils. Observed low concentrations of copper in studied vineyard cultivations and indeed homogeneous distribution of copper in the soil, implies that the copper concentrations were controlled by geological processes. Heterogeneous distribution of Cu in the small part of southern region could be linked with anthropogenic impacts.