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Distribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soils of an Arid Urban Ecosystem

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Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread environmental pollutants produced by incomplete combustion sources such as home heating, biomass burning, and vehicle emissions. PAH concentrations in soils are influenced by source inputs and environmental factors that control loss processes and soil retention. Many studies have found higher concentrations of these pollutants in soils within cities of temperate climates that have a centralized urban core. Less is known about the factors regulating PAH abundance in warm, arid urban ecosystems with low population densities but high traffic volumes. The relative importance of sources such as motor vehicle traffic load and aridland ecosystem characteristics, including temperature, silt, and soil organic matter (SOM) were explored as factors regulating PAH concentrations in soils near highways across the metropolitan area of Phoenix, AZ (USA). Highway traffic is high compared with other cities, with an average of 155,000 vehicles/day. Soils contained low but variable amounts of SOM (median 2.8 ± 1.8% standard deviation). Across the city, median PAH concentrations in soil were low relative to other cities, 523 ± 1,886 μg/kg, ranging from 67 to 10,117 μg/kg. Diagnostic ratio analyses confirmed that the source of PAHs is predominantly fuel combustion (i.e., vehicle emissions) rather than petrogenic, biogenic, or other combustion sources (coal, wood burning). However, in a multiple regression analysis including traffic characteristics and soil properties, SOM content was the variable most strongly related to PAH concentrations. Our research suggests that dryland soil characteristics play an important role in the retention of PAH compounds in soils of arid cities.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank James Hutchings, Tejkaran Dhillon, David Huber, Yun Ouyang, Jolene Trujillo, Elizabeth Cook, Dana Nakase, and Ferran Garcia-Pichel for the training, field/lab assistance, and/or discussion and review of the manuscript. This material is based upon the work funded by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DEB-0423704, Central Arizona–Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research. Additionally, this research was supported by the ASU Graduate & Professional Student Association (GPSA) Research Grant.

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  1. School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 874501, Tempe, AZ, 85287-4501, USA

    Yevgeniy Marusenko & Sharon J. Hall

  2. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA

    Pierre Herckes

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Marusenko, Y., Herckes, P. & Hall, S.J. Distribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soils of an Arid Urban Ecosystem. Water Air Soil Pollut 219, 473–487 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0721-5

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