Biogeochemical Selectiveness of Cedars Over Metamorphic Rocks of the Escambray Complex, Sancti Spíritus, Cuba/Study Area

The studied area is located 10 km Northwest at Cumanayagua, in Central Sancti Spíritus, on the South flank of the Escambray Mountains. There are several small pyrite-copper outcrops in the area, and also talc and other nonmetallic outcrops neighbouring to the Northeast.

In general, the soil sampling method is sufficiently effective, but very hard to perform due to the mountainous conditions. This is one of the main reasons for testing the effectiveness of biogeochemical methods in the area.

Notes on the Geology of the Area
The area of study is located within the metamorphic complex of the Escambray, in Central Cuba. All formations represent the low-phases of dynamic metamorphism, characteristic for the border of the metamorphic cupola.

Accordingly to Nuñez Mantilla (1988), the selected sector (Fig. 2), is represented by four Cretaceous formations: The S.G.L. formation is the larger exposed in the area. It's composed mainly by dark schist-graphite limestone. A total of 13 sampling points corresponds to this formation.

The L.G.S. formation is the second larger uncover in the area. It's composed chiefly by grey schist with a limestone-graphite matrix. In this formation we have 10 sampling points.

The H.A.R. formation is composed by rocks with a high degree of hydrothermal alteration, which include the substitution of carbonates by silica, chlorite, etc. A total of five sampling points falls on this formation.

The O.S. formation is composed mainly by dark orthoschist. His presence in the area is very limited, which explains that only four sampling points fall on it.



Figure 2. Geology of the studied sector