ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Soil Processes
Geospatial distribution of cadmium in soil profiles of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) plantations in the Peruvian Amazon basin
Geomar Vallejos Torres 1,2
Rodolfo J. Chuchon 1
Nery Gaona-Jimenez 2
César Marín 3,4
Juancarlos Cruz 1
RICHARD SOLÓRZANO 1
1. Instituto Nacional de Innovacion Agraria, La Molina, Peru
2. Universidad Nacional de San Martin Tarapoto, Tarapoto, Peru
3. Universidad Santo Tomas, Santiago, Chile
4. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Abstract
Cacao plants can translocate heavy metals from the soil to vegetative tissues, potentially leading to concentrations that exceed maximum permissible limits. This study aimed to analyze the geospatial distribution of cadmium (Cd) in soil profiles of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) plantations in the Amazon basin of Peru. The research was conducted in the localities of Jeberillos, Arahuante, and Luz del Oriente, within the department of Loreto. In each locality, 10 plots of 100 m² were selected, totaling 30 plots. Cd concentrations and physicochemical soil parameters were evaluated. In cacao soils from Luz del Oriente at 0–30 cm depth, Cd concentrations averaged 1.11 ± 0.26 mg·kg⁻¹, representing the highest values; whereas the lowest average was recorded in Arahuante at the same depth, with 0.61 ± 0.15 mg·kg⁻¹. Cd levels in Luz del Oriente cacao soils (0–30 cm) were above the average among all localities, while Jeberillos and Arahuante soils showed comparatively lower Cd levels. Overall, Cd in cacao soils was found to be strongly associated with edaphic factors such as pH, texture, effective cation exchange capacity (CEC), and cation composition. The maps represented the spatial distribution of the metal and guided the identification of potential accumulation zones. These findings provide essential insights for guiding agricultural management decision-making, environmental monitoring, and metal contamination risk assessment in cacao-growing areas and other agrarian systems in the Peruvian Amazon basin.
Summary
Keywords
agricultural management, Edaphic factors, heavy metals, physicochemical properties, soil contamination
Received
21 September 2025
Accepted
05 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Vallejos Torres, Chuchon, Gaona-Jimenez, Marín, Cruz and SOLÓRZANO. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Geomar Vallejos Torres
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