Distribution and Contamination Assessment of Soil Heavy Metals in the Jiulongjiang River Catchment, Southeast China

Qian Zhang, Guilin Han, Man Liu, Xiaoqiang Li, Lingqing Wang and Bin Liang
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Qian Zhang: School of Water Resources and Environment, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Guilin Han: School of Water Resources and Environment, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Man Liu: School of Water Resources and Environment, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Xiaoqiang Li: School of Water Resources and Environment, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Lingqing Wang: Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Bin Liang: School of Water Resources and Environment, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 23, 1-13

Abstract: A total of 63 soil samples were collected from three soil profiles (yellow soil, red loam, red soil) from Jiulongjiang river catchment to investigate the distribution, controlling factors, and toxic risks of heavy metals, including Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, and Ni. The results showed that Cr and Cd in soils were enriched. The relationships between heavy metals and soil properties were assessed by principal component analysis. The results indicated that soil organic matter (SOM) played a fundamental role in controlling Cd and Pb in yellow soil and red loam sites. The Cd was significantly correlated with Pb and Cu, and Cr, Zn, Ni, Fe displayed strong correlations with each other, however, no statistical correlation was found between Cd and Cr. The enrichment factor and geoaccumulation index analyses showed that the soils in the study area were contaminated by Cd. Potential ecological risk analyses indicated that Cd posed a considerable ecological risk in yellow soils, and posed a moderate ecological risk in red loams and red soils.

Keywords: environmental pollution; heavy metal content; toxic risk assessment; Fujian province (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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