Trophic Distribution of Cadmium and Zinc in Native Grassland Landscapes of the Salinas Valley, California, 1975

The sites span a natural soil Cd gradient (0.5–2.1 µg g⁻¹) attributed to weathering of Cd-bearing shale of the Monterey Formation rather than anthropogenic contamination. Soil, perennial grasses and forbs, earthworms, and species tissues (kidney and liver) of three small-mammal species (*Thomomys bottae*, *Peromyscus maniculatus*, *Reithrodontomys megalotis*) were sampled in May and November 1975.

They were then analyzed for Cd and Zn by acid digestion and flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Data include element concentrations, Zn:Cd ratios, and biomagnification factors relative to soil and plant concentrations at each trophic level. The dataset supports research on trace-element cycling and bioaccumulation in naturally, geologically metal-enriched, terrestrial food webs. ## About This Federated Record This CNRA Open Data Platform record is based on metadata federated from the Environmental Data Initiative (EDI) Data Portal.