Impact of Industrial Pollution of Cadmium on Traditional Crop Planting Areas and Land Management: A Case Study in Northwest China

Yu Song, Wenlong Li, Yating Xue, Huakun Zhou, Wenying Wang and Chenli Liu
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Yu Song: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
Wenlong Li: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
Yating Xue: Resources and Environment College, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu 610225, China
Huakun Zhou: Key Laboratory of Cold Regions Restoration Ecology, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China
Wenying Wang: Department of Life Sciences, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, China
Chenli Liu: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-20

Abstract: Cadmium in soils not only reduces crop yield and quality but also threatens the safety of human health and wildlife due to bioaccumulation. Baiyin City, a typical industrial region located in northwest China, was evaluated to examine the spatial distribution of cadmium. We simulated soil cadmium concentrations in the laboratory, based on levels found at local sampling sites, to examine how both Medicago sativa and Zea mays plants accumulate cadmium. The experimental results revealed that cadmium in all soil samples exceeded China’s national standard levels for general farmland; in addition, cadmium accumulation in all tissues of M. sativa and Z. mays exceeded the national fodder standards. Therefore, M. sativa and Z. mays from the study area should not be used for fodder. However, about 36% of the planting area of M. sativa and Z. mays can be used for phytoextraction because of cadmium accumulation. For soil pollution management, we suggest dividing the study area into three different regions, including a non-planting region, a phytoremediation region, and a planting region. Our soil management model can effectively help local people to avoid food safety risks and to realize sustainable development of soil utilization in contaminated areas.

Keywords: soil pollution; cadmium; food safety; spatial distribution; GIS spatial threshold analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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