Evaluating a mass balance model for soil trace metals using the historical data from the King's Kitchen Garden (Versailles, France).

The mass balance of reconstituted Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn fluxes from 1683 to 2021 was compared to the current levels of the soil used only for vegetable production in the King's Kitchen Garden in Versailles (France). This comparison was made on the basis of 4 scenarios of organic matter application in the 18th and 19th centuries and by an uncertainty analysis over the entire period. The topsoil contamination falls within that of French kitchen gardens.

Assessing the future trends of soil trace metal contents in French urban gardens.

Soil trace metal concentrations (e.g., cadmium, copper, lead, zinc) in vegetable gardens have often been observed as exceeding the geochemical background levels.