Abstract In our study, the sequential extractions and environmental risk assessment of Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, Cr, Ba, Mn were performed in soil depth profiles and in sediments transported by surface runoff in two vineyards with contrasted soil pH in NE Hungary. Our data indicate that while both sites showed Cu contamination from fungicide applications, the slightly acidic soil in Tállya had considerably higher Cu levels (131 ± 38 mg/kg) than the alkaline soil in Tokaj (51 ± 15 mg/kg) due to longer-term pesticide use history in the former. Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) exhibited overall low mobility in both vineyard soils, with Cr and Ni being strongly retained in the residual fractions (≥ 64–95%). However, Cu revealed high extractability in Tállya (> 57%) down to a depth of 40 cm, further corroborating its predominantly anthropogenic origin and more labile character within the slightly acidic conditions. Contamination and risk assessments using the geoaccumulation index (I geo ) and the Risk Assessment Code (RAC) showed similar patterns between the two vineyards: while Ni, Cr, Mn, Ba, and Pb were of geogenic origin, Cu and Zn exhibited moderate to heavy contamination status (I geo up to 3.17 (sediment)-3.34 (topsoil) for Cu in Tállya), with sediments showing Cu enrichment compared to topsoil in Tokaj. Copper emerged as the dominant concern, reaching medium risk levels (RAC ≥ 10%) at both sites due to substantial proportions detected in the acid-soluble fraction. This study highlights two critical management priorities for winegrowers: monitoring mobile PTE fractions and preventing contaminated sediment transport to adjacent surface waters.
Pham et al. (Tue,) studied this question.