COBALT MOBILITY AND REACTIVITY IN WADI EL-YATIM SOIL IN THE WEST DESERT –EGYPT

ABSTRACT
This research was aimed to shed light on the cobalt content, its mobility and reactivity in Wadi El-Yatim soil in the Western Desert - Egypt. To achieve this, six soil profiles were taken, with nineteen soil samples representing the top, middle, and bottom of the valley.
The results showed that: - The texture of the soil in the valley soils was sandy in all soil samples that represent the valley soils. The soil reaction ranged from neutral to alkaline, and the electrical conductivity ranged from 5.25 to 50.20 dS/m at 25 ᴼC. The total content of calcium carbonate ranged from 2.93 to 67.76 gkg^-1. The soluble sodium cation was dominant, and the order of the content of the soluble cations was as follows: - sodium > calcium > magnesium > potassium.
The results also showed that the total content of some microelements was as follows: Iron > manganese > lead > zinc > copper > cobalt. It was found from the results that the chemically extracted, available microelements content was: - Iron > manganese > zinc > copper > cobalt > lead.
The results also showed that the chemical forms of the cobalt element were as follows: - the total form > the residual form > the chemically extracted form > the form bound with organic matter > the form bound with iron and manganese > the exchangeable form > the form bound with carbonates > the soluble form.
The results were discussed statistically between the chemical forms of cobalt and some soil variables.