Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Identifying the origins and spatial distributions of heavy metals in soils of Ju country (Eastern China) using multivariate and geostatistical approach

  • SOILS, SEC 5 • SOIL AND LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY • RESEARCH ARTICLE
  • Published:
Journal of Soils and Sediments Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Identifying the sources of heavy metals in soils is a crucial issue for soil remediation and management. Most regions in China have been undergoing a rapid industrialization and urbanization since the last three decades. However, there is little information available on the spatial distribution of heavy metals in soils experiencing a rapid transition from agricultural-based to industrial-based economy. To resolve this problem and to provide references on similar regions, we carried out an investigation on heavy metals in soils in Ju country to identify potential sources and to map their spatial distributions.

Materials and methods

A total of 646 samples including 511 samples in topsoils (0–20 cm, regular grid of 2 × 2 km2) and 135 samples in subsoils (150–200 cm, regular grid of 4 × 4 km2) were collected in Ju country, and the total contents of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn were determined. Enrichment factor method and multivariate analyses (correlation analysis, principal component analysis, and cluster analysis) were applied to identify the sources of ten heavy metals in topsoils. Additionally, ordinary kriging was used to map the spatial distributions of heavy metals concentration in topsoils.

Results and discussion

The overall levels of all heavy metals did not show high values, but the enrichment factor results suggested that Hg, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in topsoils showed significant accumulation. Ten heavy metals can be grouped into three groups. Co, Cr, Mn, Ni, and V were associated with parent material and seemed to originate from a natural source. Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn seemed to be related to the combination of parent material and anthropic inputs. Hg as an isolated element was dominated by atmospheric deposition inputs related to various human activities. Distribution maps derived by ordinary kriging suggested that Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, and Zn were linked to the western part, corresponding well to the surroundings of urban areas located in the western part of Ju country.

Conclusions

Hg, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn were the main metals affected by human inputs in Ju country, and the high risk resulting from human influence was mainly shown around urban areas, consistent with the spatial distribution of industrial and traffic sites. Agricultural practices did not have significant influence on the spatial distribution of metals. The combination of multivariate analysis and geostatistics was found to be an effective approach to identify the origins and spatial distribution of heavy metals in soils.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abrahim GMS, Parker RJ (2008) Assessment of heavy metal enrichment factors and the degree of contamination in marine sediments from Tamaki Estuary, Auckland, New Zealand. Environ Monit Assess 136:227–238

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Alloway B (1995) Heavy metals in soils. Chapman and Hall, London

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Blake L, Goulding KWT (2002) Effects of atmospheric deposition, soil pH and acidification on heavy metal contents in soils and vegetation of semi-natural ecosystems at Rothamsted Experimental Station, UK. Plant Soil 240:235–251

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Boruvka L, Vacek O, Jehlicka J (2005) Principal component analysis as a tool to indicate the origin of potentially toxic elements in soils. Geoderma 128:289–300

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brumelis G, Lapina L, Nikodemus O, Tabors G (2002) Use of the O horizon of forest soils in monitoring metal deposition in Latvia. Water Air Soil Pollut 135:291–309

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cai LM, Xu ZC, Ren MZ, Guo QW, Hu XB, Hu GC, Wan HF, Peng PG (2012) Source identification of eight hazardous heavy metals in agricultural soils of Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 78:2–8

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chabukdhara M, Nema AK (2012) Heavy metals assessment in urban soil around industrial clusters in Ghaziabad, India: probabilistic health risk approach. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 87:57–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen TB, Wong JWC, Zhou HY, Wong MH (1997) Assessment of trace metal distribution and contamination in surface soils of Hong Kong. Environ Pollut 96:61–68

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen T, Liu XM, Zhu MZ, Zhao KL, Wu JJ, Xu JM, Huang PM (2008) Identification of trace element sources and associated risk assessment in vegetable soils of the urban-rural transitional area of Hangzhou, China. Environ Pollut 151:67–78

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen XD, Lu XW, Yang G (2012) Sources identification of heavy metals in urban topsoil from inside the Xi’an Second Ringroad, NW China using multivariate statistical methods. Catena 98:73–78

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dai JR, Pang XG, Yu C, Wang CL, Wang ZH, Hu XP (2011) Geochemical baselines and background values and element enrichment characteristics in soils in eastern Shandong Province. Geochimica 40:577–587

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davies BE (1997) Heavy metal contaminated soils in an old industrial area of Wales, Great Britain: source identification through statistical data interpretation. Water Air Soil Pollut 94:85–98

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davis HT, Aelion CM, McDermott S, Lawson AB (2009) Identifying natural and anthropogenic sources of metals in urban and rural soils using GIS-based data, PCA, and spatial interpolation. Environ Pollut 157:2378–2385

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • De Fouquet C, Gallois D, Perron G (2007) Geostatistical characterization of the nitrogen dioxide concentration in an urban area—part I: spatial variability and cartography of the annual concentration. Atmos Environ 41:6701–6714

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Facchinelli A, Sacchi E, Mallen L (2001) Multivariate statistical and GIS-based approach to identify heavy metal sources in soils. Environ Pollut 114:313–324

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fang GC, Wu YS, Chang SY, Huang SH, Rau JY (2006) Size distributions of ambient air particles and enrichment factor analyses of metallic elements at Taichung Harbor near the Taiwan Strait. Atmos Res 81:320–333

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Franco-Uria A, Lopez-Mateo C, Roca E, Fernandez-Marcos ML (2009) Source identification of heavy metals in pastureland by multivariate analysis in NW Spain. J Hazard Mater 165:1008–1015

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fu S, Wei CY (2013) Multivariate and spatial analysis of heavy metal sources and variations in a large old antimony mine, China. J Soil Sediment 13:106–116

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gu YG, Wang ZH, Lu SH, Jiang SJ, Mu DH, Shu YH (2012) Multivariate statistical and GIS-based approach to identify source of anthropogenic impacts on metallic elements in sediments from the mid Guangdong coasts, China. Environ Pollut 163:248–255

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guo JH, Liu XJ, Zhang Y, Shen JL, Han WX, Zhang WF, Christie P, Goulding KWT, Vitousek PM, Zhang FS (2010) Significant acidification in major Chinese croplands. Science 327:1008–1010

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang SS, Liao QL, Hua M, Wu XM, Bi KS, Yan CY, Chen B, Zhang XY (2007) Survey of heavy metal pollution and assessment of agricultural soil in Yangzhong district, Jiangsu Province, China. Chemosphere 67:2148–2155

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Imperato M, Adamo P, Naimo D, Arienzo M, Stanzione D, Violante P (2003) Spatial distribution of heavy metals in urban soils of Naples city (Italy). Environ Pollut 124:247–256

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jaradat QM, Massadeh AM, Momani KA, Al Saleem MA (2010) The spatial distribution of Pb, Cd, Zn, and Cu in agricultural roadside soils. Soil Sediment Contam 19:58–71

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kabata-Pendias A, Pendias H (2001) Trace elements in soils and plants. CSC press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Kartal S, Aydin Z, Tokalioglu S (2006) Fractionation of metals in street sediment samples by using the BCR sequential extraction procedure and multivariate statistical elucidation of the data. J Hazard Mater 132:80–89

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lai HY, Hseu ZY, Chen TC, Chen BC, Guo HY, Chen ZS (2010) Health risk-based assessment and management of heavy metals-contaminated soil sites in Taiwan. Int J Environ Res Public Health 7:3595–3614

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lee CS, Li XD, Shi WZ, Cheung SC, Thornton I (2006) Metal contamination in urban, suburban, and country park soils of Hong Kong: a study based on GIS and multivariate statistics. Sci Total Environ 356:45–61

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li XP, Feng LN (2012) Multivariate and geostatistical analyzes of metals in urban soil of Weinan industrial areas, Northwest of China. Atmos Environ 47:58–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lia XP, Feng LN (2010) Spatial distribution of hazardous elements in urban topsoils surrounding Xi’an industrial areas, (NW, China): controlling factors and contamination assessments. J Hazard Mater 174:662–669

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindberg S, Bullock R, Ebinghaus R, Engstrom D, Feng XB, Fitzgerald W, Pirrone N, Prestbo E, Seigneur C (2007) A synthesis of progress and uncertainties in attributing the sources of mercury in deposition. Ambio 36:19–32

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu RH, Wang QC, Lu XG, Fang FM, Wang Y (2003a) Distribution and speciation of mercury in the peat bog of Xiaoxing’an Mountain, northeastern China. Environ Pollut 124:39–46

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu WX, Li XD, Shen ZG, Wang DC, Wai OWH, Li YS (2003b) Multivariate statistical study of heavy metal enrichment in sediments of the Pearl River Estuary. Environ Pollut 121:377–388

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lu RK (2000) Analysis method of soil and agricultural chemistry. China Agricultural Science & Technology Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu LT, Chang IC, Hsiao TY, Yu YH, Ma HW (2007) Identification of pollution source of cadmium in soil—application of material flow analysis and a case study in Taiwan. Environ Sci Pollut Res 14:49–59

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lu AX, Wang JH, Qin XY, Wang KY, Han P, Zhang SZ (2012) Multivariate and geostatistical analyses of the spatial distribution and origin of heavy metals in the agricultural soils in Shunyi, Beijing, China. Sci Total Environ 425:66–74

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lv J, Liu Y, Zhang Z, Dai J (2013) Factorial kriging and stepwise regression approach to identify environmental factors influencing spatial multi-scale variability of heavy metals in soils. J Hazard Mater 261:387–397

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lv JS, Zhang ZL, Li S, Liu Y, Sun YY, Dai B (2014) Assessing spatial distribution, sources, and potential ecological risk of heavy metals in surface sediments of the Nansi Lake, Eastern China. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 299:1671–1681

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Martley E, Gulson BL, Pfeifer HR (2004) Metal concentrations in soils around the copper smelter and surrounding industrial complex of Port Kembla, NSW, Australia. Sci Total Environ 325:113–127

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McDermott S, Wu JL, Cai B, Lawson A, Aelion CM (2011) Probability of intellectual disability is associated with soil concentrations of arsenic and lead. Chemosphere 84:31–38

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mico C, Recatala L, Peris A, Sanchez J (2006) Assessing heavy metal sources in agricultural soils of an European Mediterranean area by multivariate analysis. Chemosphere 65:863–872

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nanos N, Rodríguez Martín JA (2012) Multiscale analysis of heavy metal contents in soils: spatial variability in the Duero river basin (Spain). Geoderma 189:554–562

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson DW, Sommers LE (1996) Total carbon, organic carbon, and organic matter. In: Sparks DL, Page AL, Helmke PA (eds) Methods of soil analysis. Part 3-chemical methods. Soil Science Society of America Inc, Madison

    Google Scholar 

  • Parkinson J, Allen S (1975) A wet oxidation procedure suitable for the determination of nitrogen and mineral nutrients in biological material. Commun Soil Sci Plan 6:1–11

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rizhao Municipal Bureau of Statistics (2012) Rizhao statistical yearbook in 2012. China Statistics Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodríguez Martín JA, Arias ML, Corbi JMG (2006) Heavy metals contents in agricultural topsoils in the Ebro basin (Spain). Application of the multivariate geoestatistical methods to study spatial variations. Environ Pollut 144:1001–1012

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodríguez Martin JAR, Ramos-Miras JJ, Boluda R, Gil C (2013) Spatial relations of heavy metals in arable and greenhouse soils of a Mediterranean environment region (Spain). Geoderma 200:180–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shan YS, Tysklind M, Hao FH, Ouyang W, Chen SY, Lin CY (2013) Identification of sources of heavy metals in agricultural soils using multivariate analysis and GIS. J Soils Sediments 13:720–729

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Siegel FR (2001) Environmental geochemistry of potentially toxic metals. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Smolders E, Degryse F (2002) Fate and effect of zinc from tire debris in soil. Environ Sci Technol 36:3706–3710

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Song MC (2002) Report on regional geological surveys in Rizhao, Shandong Institute of Geological Survey

  • State Environmental Protection Administration of China (1997) Environmental quality standard for soils (GB15618-1995). Standards Press of China, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Sultan K, Shazili NA (2009) Distribution and geochemical baselines of major, minor and trace elements in tropical topsoils of the Terengganu River basin, Malaysia. J Geochem Explor 103:57–68

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wackernagel H (2003) Multivariate geostatistics. Springer Verlag, Berlin

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wang GY, Pan M, Liu XD, Liang HH, Wu YZ, Sun ZY (1992) On the relationship between the concentrations of elements in soil and types of soil-forming parent material in Shandong Province, China. Acta Sci Nat Univ Pekin 28:475–485

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wilcke W, Muller S, Kanchanakool N, Zech W (1998) Urban soil contamination in Bangkok: heavy metal and aluminium partitioning in topsoils. Geoderma 86:211–228

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu S, Tao S (2004) Coregionalization analysis of heavy metals in the surface soil of Inner Mongolia. Sci Total Environ 320:73–87

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang CS (2006) Using multivariate analyses and GIS to identify pollutants and their spatial patterns in urban soils in Galway, Ireland. Environ Pollut 142:501–511

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng YM, Chen TB, He JZ (2008) Multivariate geostatistical analysis of heavy metals in topsoils from Beijing, China. J Soils Sediments 8:51–58

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was jointly funded by the China State-Sponsored Postgraduate Study Aboard Program (No. 201306190053), Multipurpose Geochemical Survey of Eastern Shandong Province (No.2006709), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.41101079, 41206092), the program B for Outstanding PhD candidate of Nanjing University (No.2014001B008), and the program for graduate student’s research innovation of Jiangsu Province (CXLX13-051). We want to thank the reviewers of this paper for their constructive comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Jianshu Lv, Bin Dai & Yuchi Zhu

  2. Geological Survey of Canada (Atlantic), Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS, B2Y 4A2, Canada

    Jianshu Lv

  3. State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Yang Liu

  4. College of Population, Resource and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, China

    Zulu Zhang

  5. Shandong Institute of Geological Survey, Jinan, 250013, China

    Jierui Dai

Authors
  1. Jianshu Lv
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yang Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Zulu Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jierui Dai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Bin Dai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Yuchi Zhu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jianshu Lv.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Winfried Schroeder

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lv, J., Liu, Y., Zhang, Z. et al. Identifying the origins and spatial distributions of heavy metals in soils of Ju country (Eastern China) using multivariate and geostatistical approach. J Soils Sediments 15, 163–178 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-014-0937-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-014-0937-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation