This is the first study to compare total arsenic (As) and other trace elements in the agricultural soils and grain of Eastern, Western and Southern Libya, North Africa and the Middle East (NA & MIDEA). Soil pot experiments and field experiments were conducted to determine the levels of As within wheat grains in Libya. In the soil pot experiments, wheat genotypes were planted in similar soils and yet differences in grain As concentration were found among the cultivars. The highest As accumulation was found in <i>T. durum; </i>however, in the field data the highest levels were found in <i>T. aestrivum.</i> The levels of As and other trace elements found in agricultural soils from the Eastern Western and Southern regions of Libya are examined. Mean As concentrations in the clay mineral agricultural soils of the Eastern Region were nearly 4.8 and 4.1 times higher than in the southern and western regions, respectively. It is possible that the parent material of that region contains elevated levels of As, which are then exhibited in the overlying soil. Differences in the levels of As and other trace elements found in the irrigated agricultural soil of Southern Libya were compared with non-irrigated soil from the same region. Concentrations of P, Zn and As in soil were higher in irrigated compared to non-irrigated soils, while the concentration of Cd is nearly the same in all soil samples. A market basket investigation was conducted to determine the total levels of As and Se in rice purchased from supermarkets. The average level of As in rice from NA & MIDEA is 0.22 mg/kg, comparable with average levels in Australia.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:521328 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Lawgali, Youssef F. |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=136842 |
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