The distribution of natural levels of trace elements in soils is rather variable. Therefore, the determination of background levels (BLs), based on averages or global intervals of concentration, are mostly unsuitable. This study proposed to establish BLs based on soils with similar properties, grouped by chemical and physical properties based on Pearson’s correlation analysis, factor analysis (FA), cluster analysis (CA), and discriminate analysis (DA). The Pearson correlation analysis and factor analysis showed that the variables soil Fe, Mn, Ti, silt […]