Geochemical mapping of soils and selected plant species has been carried out in the Mole National Park, Ghana. The distribution of the essential nutrients: cobalt, copper and manganese is largely controlled by bedrock geology, while the geochemical dispersion of Ca, I, Fe, Mg, Mo, P, K, Se, Na and Zn has been modified by soil and hydromorphic processes. From selective extraction experiments, Fe, Mn and Co are found to be largely fixed in the soil mineral fraction. Larger proportions of Cu, I, Mo, Se and Zn are EDTA extractable and have a high chelation potential.Cobalt, Cu and Mn were preferentially concentrated in grass species while molybdenum and selenium are concentrated in browse plants. Copper uptake is antagonistic to Fe, Mo and Zn accumulation in all plant and grass samples. Similarly, Se and Mn appear antagonistic and Fe uptake is antagonistic to Co, Cu, Mn, Mo and Zn.The low concentration of P points to a potential dietary deficiency of this element throughout the park. Cobalt deficiency may also occur due to a love extractability of these elements in the soils and low concentration in plants. However, the lack of data on the elemental requirements of wildlife allows only tentative conclusions to be drawn.

Abstract. The concentration of selected trace elements (Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Se, and Zn) were analysed in soils, grass, bush, and tree samples from the Mole National Park, Ghana. The distribution of the essential nutrients: cobalt, copper, manganese, and selenium is controlled by bedrock geology, whereas iron, molybdenum, and zinc distribution is controlled by soil and hydrological processes. In the soils, iron, manganese, and cobalt are largely fixed in the mineral fraction while most of the copper, molybdenum, and selenium in the soils can be extracted by disodium ethylenediaminetetracetate. Copper, cobalt, and manganese appear to be preferentially concentrated in grass species while molybdenum and selenium are concentrated in browse plants.Variations in uptake exist between wet and dry seasons with all trace elements studied, except iron and manganese, showing a marked increased availability in the wet season and increased concentration in the residual fraction of the mineral and organic soils in the dry season. In the dry season the plant concentration of molybdenum and selenium decreased while copper and zine showed increased concentrations and this may be related to a lower pH of the groundwaters at this time.A budget of metal input and output in the ecosystem at Mole has been computed. From this potential dietary deficiencies in cobalt can be observed, however for other metals soil and plant concentrations are sufficient to prevent straightforward deficiencies while the concentrations of molybdenum and selenium are sufficiently low to be considered safe.