Biomineralisation by earthworms – an investigation into the stability and distribution of amorphous calcium carbonate

Table 2 Granule elemental composition

Sample name	Coombe	Frilsham	Hamble	Kettering	Neville	Parkgate	Soil Science	St Albans field	Tidmarsh	Wilderness	LOD
Elemental composition/mg kg⁻¹
Ag	2.56	2.30	<2.02	<2.02	2.37	3.73	3.02	2.63	<2.02	2.76	2.02
Al	135	190	133	127	96.0	244	171	172	83.7	133	44.4
Cu	2.12	2.01	2.97	<1.96	3.18	6.59	3.83	<1.96	<1.96	2.81	1.96
Fe	138	277	262	170	289	355	141	658	117	168	5.13
Li	0.76	0.28	0.57	0.81	0.54	0.81	0.47	0.63	0.37	0.39	0.11
Mg	929	473	479	863	644	602	596	710	446	420	0.50
Mn	326	386	1390	529	554	870	305	433	337	642	1.00
Na	870	632	664	668	834	1880	779	682	591	743	5.47
P	1640	149	<114	<114	249	254	<114	188	162	<114	114
Pb	<7.40	<7.40	<7.40	<7.40	<7.40	<7.40	185	<7.40	<7.40	371	7.40
Sr	482	352	419	437	491	546	550	528	383	640	0.16
Zn	11.7	13.2	5.82	4.54	57.0	70.5	14.2	81.9	9.04	36.7	0.79

Determined on an acid digest of the bulked granules obtained in 2008 (0.04–0.14 g material) followed by analysis by ICP-OES.
Additional analytes that were below detection (LOD in brackets) were B (11.8 mg kg⁻¹), Bi (71.7 mg kg⁻¹), Cd (0.86 mg kg⁻¹), Co (1.40 mg kg⁻¹), Cr (2.61 mg kg⁻¹), Ga (12.5 mg kg⁻¹), In (27.3 mg kg⁻¹), K (248 mg kg⁻¹), Ni (1.37 mg kg⁻¹), Tl (145 mg kg⁻¹).

ISSN: 1467-4866