Determining the source of Cadmium in cacao plantation soils of San Vicente de Chucurí, Santander

From January 2020, the European Union will enforce a new regulation on the content of Cadmium (Cd) in cacao-derived food products. The high content of Cd in these products is related to the high content of the metal in the grains of cacao, which is simultaneously linked to high concentrations of Cd in soils. The objective of this work is to determine the origin of Cd in soils in order to identify strategies that are useful to reduce the content of Cd in the final product. Therefore, soil, rocks and fertilizer samples were taken from three farms in San Vicente de Chucurí (Santander, Colombia) to determine if the bedrock and/or fertilizers are related to the content and/or the Cd accumulation. XRF measurements were performed on all samples. Correlations between the relevant parameters were established and principal component analysis (PCAs) were performed to demonstrate the behavior of the samples and farms in relation to the quantified variables. The results relate the concentration of Cd in the soil mainly with the content of organic matter, the cadmium in rocks and the addition of organic fertilizers. This work is a first step for future studies that should be conducted to determine the origin of Cd in cacao plantation soils in Colombia.

• Autores: Joya Barrero, Valentina
• Tipo de recurso: Trabajo de grado de pregrado
• Fecha de publicación: 2019
• Institución: Universidad de los Andes
• Repositorio: Séneca: repositorio Uniandes
• Idioma: eng
• OAI Identifier: oai:repositorio.uniandes.edu.co:1992/44682
• Acceso en línea: http://hdl.handle.net/1992/44682
• Palabra clave: Análisis de suelos; Edafología; Contaminación de suelos; Química de suelos; Cadmio; Geociencias
• Rights: openAccess
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/