Although widely reported, studies on chemical forms and concentrations of heavy metals in polluted soils and their effects upon ecosystems are still not much emphasized in the tropics. The present study was developed in a waste area of a zinc processing industry owned by the Companhia Mineira de Metais-CMM at Três Marias (MG), Brazil, to evaluate heavy metal quantities and forms in seven representative sites, selected according to differences in form of contamination, pedological aspects, topography and current vegetation status. […]