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Accumulation of trace elements in paddy topsoil of the Wudang County, Southwest China: parent materials and anthropogenic controls

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Abstract

The properties of soils derived from carbonate rock, red residua, and sand-shale in Guizhou province, China are essentially different. However, the effects of parent material and anthropogenic activities on the concentration of trace elements when the soils are converted into paddy soils are unknown. A total of 319 paddy topsoil samples (0–20 cm) were collected in a typical region to determine their relative contribution to the concentrations of trace elements in the soil. The results indicated that the contents of trace elements were far beyond the uncultivated soil background and the input of organic fertilizers was presumably responsible for accumulation of trace elements. In addition, principal component analysis showed that the first component included Cd, Cr, and As, which strongly associated with anthropogenic activities. Pb and Hg formed the second component, which related to both parent materials and anthropogenic input. Furthermore, the Cr and Hg contents in paddy soil derived from carbonate rock have higher values than other types of soils partly because of the high background values as well as slightly alkaline condition. In the paddy soil derived from red residua, high physical clay content accounted for enrichment of Pb.

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Acknowledgments

This work is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40721002), the front field foundation of Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Bureau of Science and Technology of GuiZhou province (Grant No. 2008-2243).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550002, China

    Cheng-Long Tu, Yun-Chao Lang & Long-Bo Li

  2. Agricultural College, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China

    Teng-Bing He

  3. School of Geographic and Environmental Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, 550001, China

    Xiao-Hui Lu

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  1. Cheng-Long Tu
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  2. Teng-Bing He
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  3. Xiao-Hui Lu
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  4. Yun-Chao Lang
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Correspondence to Teng-Bing He.

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Tu, CL., He, TB., Lu, XH. et al. Accumulation of trace elements in paddy topsoil of the Wudang County, Southwest China: parent materials and anthropogenic controls. Environ Earth Sci 70, 131–137 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-012-2109-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-012-2109-x

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