Abstract
Soil trace metal concentrations (e.g., cadmium, copper, lead, zinc) in vegetable gardens have often been observed as exceeding the geochemical background levels. These metals are a threat both to soil and plant functioning and to human health through consumption of contaminated vegetables. We used a mass balance-based model to predict the four metal (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) concentrations in soils after a century’s cultivation for 104 urban vegetable gardens, located in three French metropolises, Nancy, Nantes, and Marseille, based on a survey of gardening practices. If current gardening practices are maintained, an increase in soil Cd (35% on average), Cu (183%), and Zn (27%) contents should occur after a century. Soil Pb concentration should not vary consistently. Organic amendments are the major source of Cd, Pb, and Zn, followed by chemical fertilizer while fungicide application is the major source of Cu. Cessation of chemical fertilizer use would only slightly reduce the accumulation of the four metals. The solubility of the four metals would decrease significantly after a century, when pH increases by one unit. A liming practice of acidic soils should therefore be a feasible way to prevent any increase in the metal mobility and bioavailability.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
ADEME (2012) Base de données des teneurs en éléments traces métalliques de plantes potagères (BAPPET): présentation et notice d’utilisation
ADEME (2019) Le compostage et le paillage
Agreste (2020a) Utilisation du territoire|Agreste, la statistique agricole [WWW Document]. URL https://agreste.agriculture.gouv.fr/agreste-web/disaron/SAANR_1/detail/ (accessed 12.23.20)
Agreste (2020b) Production mensuelle de légumes pour la France et ses bassins|Agreste, la statistique agricole [WWW Document]. URL https://agreste.agriculture.gouv.fr/agreste-web/disaron/D_0029/detail/ (accessed 4.3.20)
Alloway BJ (2004) Contamination of soils in domestic gardens and allotments: a brief overview. Land Contamination & Reclamation 12:179–187. https://doi.org/10.2462/09670513.658
Alloway BJ (2013) Sources of heavy metals and metalloids in soils. In: Alloway BJ (ed) Heavy Metals in Soils: Trace Metals and Metalloids in Soils and Their Bioavailability. Environmental Pollution. Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht, pp 11–50. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4470-7_2
Arora M, Kiran B, Rani S, Rani A, Kaur B, Mittal N (2008) Heavy metal accumulation in vegetables irrigated with water from different sources. Food Chemistry 111:811–815. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2008.04.049
Augustsson A, Uddh-Soderberg T, Filipsson M, Helmfrid I, Berglund M, Karlsson H, Hogmalm J, Karlsson A, Alriksson S (2018) Challenges in assessing the health risks of consuming vegetables in metal-contaminated environments. Environ. Int. 113:269–280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2017.10.002
Bechet B, Joimel S, Jean-Soro L, Hursthouse A, Agboola A, Leitão TE, Costa H, do Rosário Cameira M, Le Guern C, Schwartz C, Lebeau T (2018) Spatial variability of trace elements in allotment gardens of four European cities: assessments at city, garden, and plot scale. Journal of Soils and Sediments 18:391–406. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-016-1515-1
Bell, S., Fox-Kaemper, R., Keshavarz, N., Benson, M., Caputo, S., Noori, S., Voigt, A., (2016) Urban allotments gardens in Europe. Routledge
Belon E, Boisson M, Deportes IZ, Eglin TK, Feix I, Bispo AO, Galsomies L, Leblond S, Guellier CR (2012) An inventory of trace elements inputs to French agricultural soils. Science of The Total Environment 439:87–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.09.011
Bengtsson H, Alvenäs G, Nilsson SI, Hultman B, Öborn I (2006) Cadmium, copper and zinc leaching and surface run-off losses at the Öjebyn farm in Northern Sweden—Temporal and spatial variation. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 113:120–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2005.09.001
Bretzel F, Calderisi M, Scatena M, Pini R (2016) Soil quality is key for planning and managing urban allotments intended for the sustainable production of home-consumption vegetables. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23:17753–17760. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6819-6
Bretzel F, Caudai C, Tassi E, Rosellini I, Scatena M, Pini R (2018) Culture and horticulture: protecting soil quality in urban gardening. Sci. Total Environ. 644:45–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.289
Cambier P, Pot V, Mercier V, Michaud A, Benoit P, Revallier A, Houot S (2014) Impact of long-term organic residue recycling in agriculture on soil solution composition and trace metal leaching in soils. Science of The Total Environment 499:560–573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.06.105
Cambier P, Michaud A, Paradelo R, Germain M, Mercier V, Guerin-Lebourg A, Revallier A, Houot S (2019) Trace metal availability in soil horizons amended with various urban waste composts during 17 years - monitoring and modelling. Sci. Total Environ. 651:2961–2974. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.013
Chalmandrier M, Canavese M, Petit-Berghem Y, Rémy É (2017) « L’agriculture urbaine », entre concept scientifique et modèle d’action. Une notion mise à l’épreuve par le jardinage et le sol urbains. Géographie et Cultures:119–138. https://doi.org/10.4000/gc.5052
Coleman K, Jenkinson DS (1996) RothC-26.3 - A Model for the turnover of carbon in soil. In: Powlson DS, Smith P, Smith JU (eds) Evaluation of Soil Organic Matter Models. Springer, Berlin, pp 237–246. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-61094-3_17
de Vries W, McLaughlin MJ (2013) Modeling the cadmium balance in Australian agricultural systems in view of potential impacts on food and water quality. Science of The Total Environment 461–462:240–257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.04.069
Degryse F, Smolders E, Parker DR (2009) Partitioning of metals (Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) in soils: concepts, methodologies, prediction and applications – a review. European Journal of Soil Science 60:590–612. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.2009.01142.x
Douay F, Pruvot C, Roussel H, Ciesielski H, Fourrier H, Proix N, Waterlot C (2008a) Contamination of urban soils in an area of Northern France polluted by dust emissions of two smelters. Water Air Soil Pollut 188:247–260. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-007-9541-7
Douay F, Roussel H, Pruvot C, Loriette A, Fourrier H (2008b) Assessment of a remediation technique using the replacement of contaminated soils in kitchen gardens nearby a former lead smelter in Northern France. Sci. Total Environ. 401:29–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.03.025
EFSA (2012) Cadmium dietary exposure in the European population. EFSA Journal 10:2551. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2012.2551
Equiterre (2009) Guide de gestion globale de la ferme maraîchère biologique et diversifiée
Faivre, R., Bertrand Iooss, Stéphanie Mahévas, David Makowski, Hervé Monod (2013) Analyse de sensibilité et exploration de modèles
FAO (2019) The State of Food and Agriculture 2019. Online
Feng W, Guo Z, Peng C, Xiao X, Shi L, Han X, Ran H (2018) Modelling mass balance of cadmium in paddy soils under long term control scenarios. Environ. Sci.-Process Impacts 20:1158–1166. https://doi.org/10.1039/c8em00153g
Filipovic V, Cambier P, Filipovic L, Coquet Y, Pot V, Bodineau G, Jaulin A, Mercier V, Houot S, Benoit P (2016) Modeling copper and cadmium mobility in an albeluvisol amended with urban waste composts. Vadose Zone J. 15:15. https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2016.07.0056
France Urbaine (2018) « Villes, agriculture et alimentation : expériences françaises », une nouvelle publication de France urbaine | France urbaine [WWW Document]. URL http://www.franceurbaine.org/villes-agriculture-alimentation-experiences-francaises-une-nouvelle-publication-france-urbaine (accessed 6.28.19)
Hernandez L, Probst A, Probst JL, Ulrich E (2003) Heavy metal distribution in some French forest soils: evidence for atmospheric contamination. Sci. Total Environ. 312:195–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(03)00223-7
Hu W, Huang B, Shi X, Chen W, Zhao Y, Jiao W (2013) Accumulation and health risk of heavy metals in a plot-scale vegetable production system in a pen-urban vegetable farm near Nanjing, China. Ecotox. Environ. Safe. 98:303–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2013.09.040
Huang L, Wang Q, Zhou Q, Ma L, Wu Y, Liu Q, Wang S, Feng Y (2020) Cadmium uptake from soil and transport by leafy vegetables: a meta-analysis. Environmental Pollution 264:114677. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114677
ITAB (2020) Guide des produits de protection des cultures utilisables en AB en France
Ivezic V, Almas AR, Singh BR (2012) Predicting the solubility of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn in uncontaminated Croatian soils under different land uses by applying established regression models. Geoderma 170:89–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2011.11.024
Joimel S (2015) Biodiversité et caractéristiques physico-chimiques des sols de jardins associatifs urbains français (thesis). Université de Lorraine
Joimel S, Cortet J, Jolivet CC, Saby NPA, Chenot ED, Branchu P, Consalès JN, Lefort C, Morel JL, Schwartz C (2016) Physico-chemical characteristics of topsoil for contrasted forest, agricultural, urban and industrial land uses in France. Science of The Total Environment 545–546:40–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.12.035
Joimel S, Cortet J, Consalès JN, Branchu P, Haudin C-S, Morel JL, Schwartz C (2021) Contribution of chemical inputs on the trace elements concentrations of surface soils in urban allotment gardens. J Soils Sediments 21:328–337. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02784-z
Kachenko AG, Singh B (2006) Heavy metals contamination in vegetables grown in urban and metal smelter contaminated sites in Australia. Water Air Soil Pollut 169:101–123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-006-2027-1
Laidlaw MAS, Alankarage DH, Reichman SM, Taylor MP, Ball AS (2018) Assessment of soil metal concentrations in residential and community vegetable gardens in Melbourne, Australia. Chemosphere 199:303–311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.02.044
Li XD, Poon CS, Liu PS (2001) Heavy metal contamination of urban soils and street dusts in Hong Kong. Appl. Geochem. 16:1361–1368. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-2927(01)00045-2
Li X, Liu L, Wang Y, Luo G, Chen X, Yang X, Hall MHP, Guo R, Wang H, Cui J, He X (2013) Heavy metal contamination of urban soil in an old industrial city (Shenyang) in Northeast China. Geoderma 192:50–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2012.08.011
Lin Z, Schneider A, Sterckeman T, Nguyen C (2016) Ranking of mechanisms governing the phytoavailability of cadmium in agricultural soils using a mechanistic model. Plant Soil 399:89–107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2663-6
Liu Y, Xiao T, Ning Z, Li H, Tang J, Zhou G (2013) High cadmium concentration in soil in the Three Gorges region: geogenic source and potential bioavailability. Applied Geochemistry 37:149–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2013.07.022
Liu Y, Vijver MG, Peijnenburg WJGM (2014) Comparing three approaches in extending biotic ligand models to predict the toxicity of binary metal mixtures (Cu–Ni, Cu–Zn and Cu–Ag) to lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). Chemosphere 112:282–288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.04.077
Liu Y, Xiao T, Baveye PC, Zhu J, Ning Z, Li H (2015) Potential health risk in areas with high naturally-occurring cadmium background in southwestern China. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 112:122–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2014.10.022
Loganathan P, Vigneswaran S, Kandasamy J, Naidu R (2012) Cadmium sorption and desorption in soils: a review. Crit. Rev. Environ. Sci. Technol. 42:489–533. https://doi.org/10.1080/10643389.2010.520234
López R, Hallat J, Castro A, Miras A, Burgos P (2019) Heavy metal pollution in soils and urban-grown organic vegetables in the province of Sevilla, Spain. Biological Agriculture & Horticulture 35:219–237. https://doi.org/10.1080/01448765.2019.1590234
Marie M (2019) Estimation de la contribution de la production potagère domestique au système alimentaire local . Enseignements à partir de l’étude des cas de Rennes, Caen et Alençon. VertigO - la revue électronique en sciences de l’environnement. https://doi.org/10.4000/vertigo.26215
Mcbride, M.B. (Cornell U.), Richards, B.K., Steenhuis, T., Russo, J.J., Sauve, S., (1997) Mobility and solubility of toxic metals and nutrients in soil fifteen years after sludge application. Soil Science (USA)
Michaud AM, Cambier P, Sappin-Didier V, Deltreil V, Mercier V, Rampon J-N, Houot S (2020) Mass balance and long-term soil accumulation of trace elements in arable crop systems amended with urban composts or cattle manure during 17 years. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27:5367–5386. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-07166-8
Nriagu JO (1989) A global assessment of natural sources of atmospheric trace metals. Nature 338:47–49. https://doi.org/10.1038/338047a0
Omrani M, Ruban V, Ruban G, Lamprea K (2017) Assessment of atmospheric trace metal deposition in urban environments using direct and indirect measurement methodology and contributions from wet and dry depositions. Atmos. Environ. 168:101–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2017.08.064
Opitz I, Berges R, Piorr A, Krikser T (2016) Contributing to food security in urban areas: differences between urban agriculture and peri-urban agriculture in the Global North. Agric Hum Values 33:341–358. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-015-9610-2
Pearson LJ, Pearson L, Pearson CJ (2010) Sustainable urban agriculture: stocktake and opportunities. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 8:7–19. https://doi.org/10.3763/ijas.2009.0468
Pelfrene A, Waterlot C, Mazzuca M, Nisse C, Cuny D, Richard A, Denys S, Heyman C, Roussel H, Bidar G, Douay F (2012) Bioaccessibility of trace elements as affected by soil parameters in smelter-contaminated agricultural soils: a statistical modeling approach. Environ. Pollut. 160:130–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2011.09.008
Pourias J, Duchemin E, Aubry C (2015) Products from urban collective gardens : food for thought or for consumption? The Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development 5:175–199. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2015.052.005
Santo R, Palmer A (2016) Vacant lots to vibrant plots: a review of the benefits and limitations of urban agriculture
Sauve S, Hendershot W, Allen HE (2000) Solid-solution partitioning of metals in contaminated soils: dependence on pH, total metal burden, and organic matter. Environ. Sci. Technol. 34:1125–1131. https://doi.org/10.1021/es9907764
Shi T, Ma J, Wu F, Ju T, Gong Y, Zhang Y, Wu X, Hou H, Zhao L, Shi H (2019) Mass balance-based inventory of heavy metals inputs to and outputs from agricultural soils in Zhejiang Province, China. Sci. Total Environ. 649:1269–1280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.414
Singh S, Kumar M (2006) Heavy metal load of soil, water and vegetables in peri-urban Delhi. Environ Monit Assess 120:79–91. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-005-9050-3
Six L, Smolders E (2014) Future trends in soil cadmium concentration under current cadmium fluxes to European agricultural soils. Science of The Total Environment 485–486:319–328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.03.109
Slaveykova VI, Wilkinson KJ (2005) Predicting the bioavailability of metals and metal complexes: critical review of the biotic ligand model. Environ. Chem. 2:9–24. https://doi.org/10.1071/EN04076
Smit J, Nasr J (1992) Urban agriculture for sustainable cities: using wastes and idle land and water bodies as resources. Environment and Urbanization 4:141–152. https://doi.org/10.1177/095624789200400214
Sterckeman, T., Thomine, S., 2020. Mechanisms of cadmium accumulation in plants. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences 0, 1–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352689.2020.1792179, 39
Sterckeman T, Douay F, Baize D, Fourrier H, Proix N, Schvartz C (2006) Trace elements in soils developed in sedimentary materials from Northern France. Geoderma 136:912–929. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2006.06.010
Sterckeman T, Gossiaux L, Guimont S, Sirguey C, Lin Z (2018) Cadmium mass balance in French soils under annual crops: Scenarios for the next century. Science of The Total Environment 639:1440–1452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.225
Taylor SR, McLennan SM (1995) The geochemical evolution of the continental crust. Reviews of Geophysics 33:241–265. https://doi.org/10.1029/95RG00262
Torres AC, Prevot A-C, Nadot S (2018) Small but powerful: the importance of French community gardens for residents. Landsc. Urban Plan. 180:5–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.08.005
United Nations (2019) World Population Prospects 2019 [WWW Document]. URL https://population.un.org/wpp/ (accessed 12.21.20)
Verbeeck M, Salaets P, Smolders E (2020) Trace element concentrations in mineral phosphate fertilizers used in Europe: a balanced survey. Science of The Total Environment. 712:136419
Wei B, Yang L (2010) A review of heavy metal contaminations in urban soils, urban road dusts and agricultural soils from China. Microchemical Journal 94:99–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2009.09.014
Weissengruber L, Möller K, Puschenreiter M, Friedel JK (2018) Long-term soil accumulation of potentially toxic elements and selected organic pollutants through application of recycled phosphorus fertilizers for organic farming conditions. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 110:427–449. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-018-9907-9
WHO (2020) Food safety [WWW Document]. URL https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/food-safety (accessed 12.18.20)
Zasada I (2011) Multifunctional peri-urban agriculture-a review of societal demands and the provision of goods and services by farming. Land Use Pol. 28:639–648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2011.01.008
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Mieke Verbeeck and Erik Smolders for providing the composition of French P fertilizers.
Availability of data and materials
Most data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information file. The other datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Funding
This work was supported by the Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur, de la Recherche et de l’Innovation (PhD grant for Xueqian Zhong).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
X. Z.: conceptualization, methodology, software, visualization, writing—original draft. S. J.: data curation, writing—review and editing. C. S.: supervision, data curation, funding acquisition. T. S.: conceptualization, methodology, visualization, validation, supervision, project administration, writing—review and editing, corresponding author
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate
The manuscript does not involve human participants, human data, or human tissue.
Consent for publication
The manuscript does not contain any individual person’s data in any form.
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Kitae Baek
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
ESM 1
(PDF 2.07 mb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhong, X., Joimel, S., Schwartz, C. et al. Assessing the future trends of soil trace metal contents in French urban gardens. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 3900–3917 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15679-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15679-4