Source Apportionment and Ecological-Health Risk Assessments of Potentially Toxic Elements in Topsoil of an Agricultural Region in Southwest China

Yangshuang Wang, Shiming Yang, Denghui Wei, Haidong Li, Ming Luo, Xiaoyan Zhao, Yunhui Zhang and Ying Wang ()
Additional contact information
Yangshuang Wang: Faculty of Geosciences and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 611756, China
Shiming Yang: Faculty of Geosciences and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 611756, China
Denghui Wei: Faculty of Geosciences and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 611756, China
Haidong Li: Faculty of Geosciences and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 611756, China
Ming Luo: Sichuan Institute of Comprehensive Geological Survey, Chengdu 610081, China
Xiaoyan Zhao: Faculty of Geosciences and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 611756, China
Yunhui Zhang: Faculty of Geosciences and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 611756, China
Ying Wang: Faculty of Geosciences and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 611756, China

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-27

Abstract: Soil potentially toxic element (PTE) contamination remains a global concern, particularly in rural agricultural regions. This study collected 157 agricultural topsoil samples within a rural area in SW China. Combined with multivariate statistical analysis in the compositional data analysis (CoDa) perspective, the PMF model was applied to identify key contamination sources and quantify their contributions. Potential ecological risk assessment and Monte Carlo simulation were employed to estimate ecological-health risks associated with PTE exposure. The results revealed that the main exceeding PTEs (Mercury—Hg and Cadmium—Cd) are rich in urbanized areas and the GFGP (Grain for Green Program) regions. Source apportionment indicated that soil parent materials constituted the dominant contributor (32.48%), followed by traffic emissions (28.31%), atmospheric deposition (21.48%), and legacy agricultural effects (17.86%). Ecological risk assessment showed that 60.51% of soil samples exhibited higher potential ecological risk (PERI > 150), with moderate-risk areas concentrated in the GFGP regions. The elements Cd and Hg from legacy agricultural effects and atmospheric deposition contributed the most to ecological risk. Health risk assessment demonstrated that most risk indices fell within acceptable ranges for all populations, while only children showed elevated non-carcinogenic risk (THI max > 1.0). Among PTEs, the element As, mainly from traffic emissions, was identified as a priority control element due to its significant health implications. Geospatial distributions showed significant risk enrichment in the GFGP regions (legacy agricultural areas). These findings present associated risk levels in sustainable agricultural regions, providing valuable data to support soil environmental management in regions requiring urgent intervention worldwide.

Keywords: potentially toxic elements; compositional data analysis; positive matrix factorization model; ecological-health risk assessments; Monte Carlo simulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/6/1192/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/6/1192/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:6:p:1192-:d:1670539

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().