Abstract
This study is for geochemical relationships between ginsengs and soils from three representative soil types from Keumsan, shale, phyllite and granite areas. For this study, ginsengs (2, 3 and 4 years), with the soils and their host rock, are collected and are analysed for the transitional elements. In the weathered soils, the shale area is high in the most of elements, but low in the granite area. High correlation relationships are shown in the shale area. In the field soils, the shale area is mainly high, but low in the granite area. Comparing with ages, most of elements are high in the 2 year soils, but low in the 4 year soils. Regardless of the localities, positive and negative correlations are dominant in the shale area. In the host rocks, high element contents are shown in the phyllite and shale areas. Positive and negative correlations are found in the shale and phyllite areas for large numbers of the element pairs. In the ginsengs, differences of the element contents with ages are not clear, but show high element contents in the 2 year ginsengs of the shale and phyllite areas, and low contents in the 4 year ginsengs of the granite area. Positive correlations are shown in the Cu-Zn pair in the shale and phyllite areas, and Co-Cu pair in the granite area. In the relative ratios(weathered soil/field soil), most of elements from the shale area are high, above I, suggesting high element contents in the weathered soils of the shale area relative to the granite and phyllite areas. In the relative ratios(weathered soil/host rock), most of elements are above 1, suggesting the high element contents in the weathered soils relative to the host rocks. Relative ratios (soil/ginseng) of the element contents are several to ten times. Regardless of the areas, big differences of the relative ratios are found in the Co and small differences are in the Cu and Zn, which suggest that differences between soils and ginsengs are big in the Co contents and small in the Cu and Zn contents. Regardless of the ages, differences among relative ratios are small in granite area relative to the shale area, which suggest more similar contents between ginsengs and soils in the granite areas.
