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Ecotoxicological risk assessment of trace metals in humid subtropical soil

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Abstract

In this work, several physicochemical properties of sub-tropical soil (up to 20 cm depth) like water holding capacity, organic carbon content, cation exchange capacity, texture, pH, and electrical conductivity were determined along with the trace metals, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn, in order to evaluate inter-relations among the trace metals and the soil properties. The contribution of the trace metals to ecotoxicological risk was assessed using various tools. Cr, Cu, Mn and Zn contents were found to be lower than the world average, but Co, Ni, and Pb had higher contents. The trace metal concentrations were utilized to obtain the pollution index and the potential ecotoxicological aspects. The trace metals were shown to have come from similar origin and their retention in the soil was contributed by properties like organic carbon, cation exchange capacity, clay content and water holding capacity of the soil. The pollution index showed that the trace metals had the sequence of Pb (considerably polluted) > Co, Ni (moderately polluted) > Cr, Cu, Mn and Zn (unpolluted). The composite ecological risk index was the highest in agricultural land with irrigation and fertilizer use, and was the lowest in the forest land.

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Acknowledgments

This work was carried out under the Faculty Improvement Programme of University Grants Commission, New Delhi, India for one of the authors (G.A). The authors are grateful to the reviewers for suggesting a few important points for improving the quality of the manuscript.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Jagiroad College, Jagiroad, 782410, India

    Gopi Adhikari

  2. Department of Chemistry, Gauhati University, Guwahati, 781014, India

    Krishna G. Bhattacharyya

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  1. Gopi Adhikari
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  2. Krishna G. Bhattacharyya
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Correspondence to Krishna G. Bhattacharyya.

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Adhikari, G., Bhattacharyya, K.G. Ecotoxicological risk assessment of trace metals in humid subtropical soil. Ecotoxicology 24, 1858–1868 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-015-1522-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-015-1522-9

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