Mineral and pedogenic controls on metal(loid) retention in contaminated agricultural topsoils

Agricultural soils are often affected by multi-element contamination, yet the geochemical behavior of co-occurring metal(loid)s remains insufficiently understood. This study investigates the mineralogical associations and potential mobility of As, Sb, Cu, Pb, and Zn in 57 agricultural topsoils from seven Czech sites, including natural and anthropogenic geochemical anomalies. We combined chemical analyses of bulk and fine fractions with selective extractions and mineralogical characterization using X-ray diffraction and electron probe microanalysis. Arsenic concentrations reached up to 2000 mg/kg, while soils impacted by historical mining were enriched in Sb (≤ 540 mg/kg), Cu (≤ 1600 mg/kg), Pb (≤ 4460 mg/kg), and Zn (≤ 3630 mg/kg). These contaminants accumulated in the