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Potential sources of and ecological risks from heavy metals in agricultural soils, Daye City, China

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Abstract

Concentrations of eight heavy metals (arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn)) were measured in 92 topsoil samples collected from agricultural areas in Daye City to (1) assess the distribution of these heavy metals, (2) discriminate natural and anthropic contributions, and (3) identify possible sources of pollution. Mean concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, and Zn in the investigated soils were 23.8, 1.41, 105, and 159 mg kg−1, respectively. These values were higher, in some cases by several orders of magnitude, than their corresponding background values. Estimated ecological risks, based on contamination factors and potential ecological risk indexes, were mostly low, but were considerable for As and Cd. A range of basic and multivariate statistical analyses (Pearson’s correlation analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis, and principal component analysis) clearly revealed two distinct metal groups, comprising As/Cd/Cu/Zn and Cr/Ni/Hg/Pb, whose concentrations were closely associated with the distribution and pollution characteristics of industries in and around the city. Results demonstrated that As/Cd/Cu/Zn were indicators of anthropic pollution, while Cr/Hg/Ni/Pb were from parent materials. Maps of pollutant distribution compiled for the entire arable area further indicated that non-ferrous metal smelting and mining is the main source of diffuse pollution, and also showed the contribution of point source pollution to metal concentrations in agricultural topsoil. Results of this study will be useful for planning, risk assessment, and decision making by environmental managers in this region.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the Fund for Basic Scientific Research of the Central Research Institute, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (project number: CRAES2012YSKY19).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China

    Ping Du, Yunfeng Xie, Huanhuan Zhao, Zhuo Zhang, Bin Wu & Fasheng Li

  2. Beijing Municipal Research Institute of Environmental Protection, Beijing, 100037, China

    Shijie Wang

Authors
  1. Ping Du
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  2. Yunfeng Xie
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  3. Shijie Wang
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  4. Huanhuan Zhao
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  5. Zhuo Zhang
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  6. Bin Wu
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  7. Fasheng Li
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ping Du.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Supported by National Nonprofit Institute Research Grant of Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences.

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Fig. S1

Canonical variate analysis (CVA) for heavy metals in agricultural soils from subareas of Daye City. The definition of the subareas refers to Fig. 1. (DOCX 42 kb)

Table S1

Pearson’s correlation matrix for the metal concentrations (n = 92). (DOCX 27 kb)

Table S2

Total variance explained and component matrixes (two factors selected) for heavy metals in soils from Daye City. (DOCX 28 kb)

Table S3

Concentrations of heavy metals (median and range) in agricultural soils from 12 subareas of Daye City. (DOCX 28 kb)

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Du, P., Xie, Y., Wang, S. et al. Potential sources of and ecological risks from heavy metals in agricultural soils, Daye City, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 3498–3507 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3532-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3532-1

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