Toward Sustainable Land Management: Improving Ecological Risk Assessment by Incorporating Temporal–Spatial Activities of Protected Birds

Dan Zhao, Weida Wu, Wenqi Zhang, Fang Yu () and Qian Sun
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Dan Zhao: Key Laboratory of Environmental Damage Identification and Restoration, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Beijing 100041, China
Weida Wu: Key Laboratory of Environmental Damage Identification and Restoration, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Beijing 100041, China
Wenqi Zhang: Key Laboratory of Environmental Damage Identification and Restoration, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Beijing 100041, China
Fang Yu: Key Laboratory of Environmental Damage Identification and Restoration, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Beijing 100041, China
Qian Sun: Key Laboratory of Environmental Damage Identification and Restoration, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Beijing 100041, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 5, 1-19

Abstract: While methodologies for health risk assessment at contaminated sites are well established, ecological risk assessment remains in its exploratory stages. To explore suitable methods for evaluating the ecological risks of soil pollution, this study selected ten protected birds as risk receptors and evaluated the ecological risks posed by lead (Pb), arsenic (As), and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) at a petrochemical-contaminated site using a tiered approach. In the first tier, the risks of pollutants in soil and water were preliminarily evaluated based on existing ecological risk screening values, environmental quality standards, etc. The results indicated that pollutants in the soil and water at certain sampling points required attention. In the second tier, the ecological risks of multi-pathway exposure were assessed using the quotient method. This study improved the traditional exposure calculation model, which relied solely on bird body weight, by incorporating an exposure frequency adjustment coefficient. This coefficient accounts for the global activity patterns of birds, including the types of their activities (overwintering, breeding, migration, etc.) on the site, the temporal patterns of their activities, and the proportion of the site area relative to their annual activity range. Due to the low exposure frequency of birds on the site, ranging from 7.8 × 10 −11 to 9.69 × 10 −7 , the total exposure levels of birds were relatively low and their risk quotients were below 1, indicating an acceptable level. This study demonstrates the rationality and feasibility of a tiered ecological risk assessment method based on an improved pollutant exposure model for birds, laying the foundation for developing soil pollution ecological risk assessment methodologies and standards in China and other countries while also supporting comprehensive and effective risk management and sustainable utilization of land.

Keywords: sustainable land management; protected bird; ecological risk; oil processing sites; temporal–spatial activities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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