Porosity of leached forest-meadow chernozem polluted with lead and cadmium

A b s t r a c t . The porosity of leached forest-meadow chernozem polluted by Cd and Pb was studied by mercury porosimetry. The samples were taken from the research field of the Lviv State Agrarian University, from layers of 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm deep. The pore volume of polluted soils ranged from 370 mm -3 g -1 to 515 mm -3 g -1 and was higher for Cd- than Pb-polluted polluted s oil. The soil samples containing Cd were also characterized by higher tot al porosities and average pore radii. The pore size distributions for the investigated soils exhibited one or two peaks of different height. The distribut ions for Cd-polluted soils were shifted towards larger p ore radii compared with those for Pb-polluted soils . Different influence of lead and cadmium on porosity of leached chernozem was connected with the chemical properties of both heavy metals and with t he properties of the soil.