Bioavailability of Metals in the Biosphere

Abstract

In some areas, soil, sediment, water, and organic materials may exhibit elevated concentrations of various metals. Under certain conditions, these metals can take on most bioavailable forms. To assess the impacts and potential risks associated with elevated element concentrations, understanding the fraction of whole elements in water, sediment, and soil which are bioavailable is very important. The study aims to examine these conditions to accurately assess potential environmental impacts. For the study, searches were carried out using the keywords "bioavailability", "metal" and "environment" in various combinations in English. The search was limited to articles published open access in NCBI or PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. The language of the manuscript was not restricted. The complex interactions of these diverse factors highlight the difficulty of assessing and understanding the bioavailability of metals in different environmental matrices. The study identified key factors affecting the bioavailability of the metal. These factors can change over time and among different microorganisms, plants, and animals. Research involving field and laboratory studies conducted at specific locations in soil, sediment, and flora using selective chemical extraction techniques is critical to a detailed understanding of the complex ecological processes associated with the bioavailability of metals to organisms.

Keywords

• metal bioaccumulation
• metal mobility
• soil
• surface water
• plant uptake