Fertilizers provide essential nutrients for crops, however, they may also inadvertently provide trace elements that in certain concentrations represent a risk to the soil and the food chain. The objective of this research was to determine the concentrations of Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn in the most common fertilizers used in Peruvian agriculture. Twenty-one products including inorganic, organic mineral, and organic fertilizers were analyzed by microwave plasma atomic emission spectrometry. The results were compared against international standards. The content of the trace elements was variable and related to the type of fertilizer. Phosphorus fertilizers showed higher concentrations of Cd (3.3-42.3 mgkg -1 ), most of which exceeded the regulatory limits of several countries. In the case of Pb, none of the fertilizers analyzed exceeded the regulatory limits. Chicken manure showed the highest concentrations of Cu and Zn. The concentration of trace elements such as Cd in fertilizers should be monitored in Peru, since the prolonged and intensive use of phosphorus fertilizers in doses that do not consider technical recommendations, could represent an accumulation of these elements in soils, with the consequent risk to human health and the environment.

Edaphic macrofauna is a biological soil indicator that is rarely applied in the identification of soil quality in coffee farms. The objective was to evaluate edaphic macrofauna and soil physico-chemical properties in four coffee farms at different altitudes. The farms were selected in four hamlets of small-scale coffee farmers. In one-hectare plantations, three monoliths of 25 × 25 cm wide by 30 cm depth were sampled. Soil samples were taken from each plot, then the organic matter (OM) content, hydrogen potential (pH), electrical conductivity (EC) and nitrogen (N) content were determined. There were no differences in macrofaunal diversity for the altitudes studied, but there were differences according to the time of year (rainfall and low water). The maximum Shannon index was 2.2 (rainy season) and 1.1 (dry season). Physico-chemical parameters such as soil pH ranged from 7.8 - 8.15 in the lower altitude farms and for the higher altitude farms it was 6.38 - 6.65. Soil pH was highly negatively correlated with altitude. Nitrogen was positively correlated with organic matter. Faunal diversity is negatively correlated with season and the presence of microorganisms is influenced by the physico-chemical characteristics of the soil.