Identification of Potential Sources of Mercury (Hg) in Farmland Soil Using a Decision Tree Method in China

Taiyang Zhong, Dongmei Chen and Xiuying Zhang
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Taiyang Zhong: School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, 163 Xianlin Road, Nanjing 210023, China
Dongmei Chen: Department of Geography and Planning, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
Xiuying Zhang: Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science and Technology, International Institute for Earth System Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-10

Abstract: Identification of the sources of soil mercury (Hg) on the provincial scale is helpful for enacting effective policies to prevent further contamination and take reclamation measurements. The natural and anthropogenic sources and their contributions of Hg in Chinese farmland soil were identified based on a decision tree method. The results showed that the concentrations of Hg in parent materials were most strongly associated with the general spatial distribution pattern of Hg concentration on a provincial scale. The decision tree analysis gained an 89.70% total accuracy in simulating the influence of human activities on the additions of Hg in farmland soil. Human activities—for example, the production of coke, application of fertilizers, discharge of wastewater, discharge of solid waste, and the production of non-ferrous metals—were the main external sources of a large amount of Hg in the farmland soil.

Keywords: sources of Hg concentrations; farmland soil; decision tree; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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