Abstract:
This study conducted geochemical tests and analyses for vertical rock-soil profiles with different bedrock types in the Wenchuan section in the upper arid valley of the Minjiang River. Based on the above, this study explored the vertical distributions of elements in these weathering crust profiles to investigate the influence of bedrocks on the contents of chemical elements in soils. From a geological perspective, this study provided proposals for planting in agricultural production and eco-environmental restoration for the study area. The results of this study are as follows: (1) From top to bottom, weathering crust profiles can be divided into four layers: the humus layer (A), the illuvial layer (B), the soil parent material layer (C), and the bedrock layer (R). The humus layers exhibit higher average values of Al, Ca, K, Mg, Fe, Se, Zn, Cu, Cd, and Pb and lower average values of Si, Na, Mn, Cr, As, Cd, and Hg, compared to corresponding national average values in soils; (2) In weathering crust profiles with different bedrock types, except for elements with higher contents in both bedrocks and corresponding soil layers, the same elements manifest similar contents in other soil layers; (3) The chemical weathering intensity increased from the bedrock to the humus layers, with soil weathering degrees generally higher than bedrock weathering degrees; (4) In addition to characteristics inherited from soil parent materials, elements in weathering crust profiles show content differentiation, characterized by enriched Al, K, and Se in humus layers, enriched Na, Fe, Si, Pb, Cu, Zn, Mn, As, Cd, Cr, and Hg in illuvial layers, and enriched Mg and Ca in soil parent material layers.