Contaminant Assessment and Sources Analysis of Heavy Metals in Soils from the Upper Reaches of the Wushui River

BACKGROUND Eco-functional areas play an important role in soil and water conservation and biodiversity conservation. The Wushui River is a watershed located in the Nanling ecological function area. However, study on the content and potential ecological risk of heavy metals in the soil of the upstrea...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: LUO Fei, BA Jun-jie, SU Chun-tian, PAN Xiao-dong, YANG Yang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Science Press, PR China 2019-03-01
Series:Yankuang ceshi
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.ykcs.ac.cn/en/article/doi/10.15898/j.cnki.11-2131/td.201806040069
_version_ 1797953792659947520
author LUO Fei
BA Jun-jie
SU Chun-tian
PAN Xiao-dong
YANG Yang
author_facet LUO Fei
BA Jun-jie
SU Chun-tian
PAN Xiao-dong
YANG Yang
author_sort LUO Fei
collection DOAJ
description BACKGROUND Eco-functional areas play an important role in soil and water conservation and biodiversity conservation. The Wushui River is a watershed located in the Nanling ecological function area. However, study on the content and potential ecological risk of heavy metals in the soil of the upstream area of the watershed is scarce. OBJECTIVES To investigate the degree of heavy metals pollution and the potential ecological risk of soils in the upper reaches of the Wushui River. METHODS The soil samples of five land utilization types in the upper reaches of the Wushui River Basin, including mining, industrial, and cultivated land and forest, were collected to analyze the contents of seven heavy metals Cd, As, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn in the soil. The Nemerow comprehensive pollution index was used to evaluate the degree of heavy metal pollution, and the Hakanson potential ecological risk index was used to evaluate the potential ecological risk of heavy metals in soil. Principal component analysis was used to investigate the source of heavy metal pollution. RESULTS The results show that the average concentrations of Cd, As, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn in the upper reaches of the Wushui River were 1.28, 72.44, 54.62, 0.27, 68.32, 72.29 and 158.42mg/kg, respectively, which higher than the soil background values. The contents of the heavy metals, except mercury in mining land, were higher than those in other types of soils. The single factor pollution index of heavy metals in the mean state show that Cd and As were heavy pollution elements with factors of 5.07 and 3.25, respectively. In mining land, the Cd single factor pollution index reached 13.59. Heavy metal pollution in mining land was the most serious, followed by industrial land. Forest was in a safe state. Potential ecological hazard index evaluation results showed that Cd reached a very strong ecological hazard and As was a strong ecological hazard in mining land. Mining land and industrial land reached a strong ecological hazard, industrial land reached a moderate ecological hazard, and other types of soils were slightly ecologically harmful. The results showed that As, Cd, Cu and Zn came from industrial and mining activities, Ni and Hg mainly came from parent materials, and Pb came from transportation. CONCLUSIONS Heavy metal pollution of soil is relatively serious in the upstream area of the Wushui River Basin. Cd and As are the main risk factors in the area, mainly deriving from mining and industrial activities.
first_indexed 2024-04-10T23:07:41Z
format Article
id doaj.art-3ee7f925214b4790ac116cbf7d91658a
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 0254-5357
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-10T23:07:41Z
publishDate 2019-03-01
publisher Science Press, PR China
record_format Article
series Yankuang ceshi
spelling doaj.art-3ee7f925214b4790ac116cbf7d91658a2023-01-13T10:08:00ZengScience Press, PR ChinaYankuang ceshi0254-53572019-03-0138219520310.15898/j.cnki.11-2131/td.201806040069ykcs-38-2-195Contaminant Assessment and Sources Analysis of Heavy Metals in Soils from the Upper Reaches of the Wushui RiverLUO Fei0BA Jun-jie1SU Chun-tian2PAN Xiao-dong3YANG Yang4Key Laboratory of Karst Dynamics, Ministry of Land and Resources; Institute of Karst Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Guilin 541004, ChinaKey Laboratory of Karst Dynamics, Ministry of Land and Resources; Institute of Karst Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Guilin 541004, ChinaKey Laboratory of Karst Dynamics, Ministry of Land and Resources; Institute of Karst Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Guilin 541004, ChinaKey Laboratory of Karst Dynamics, Ministry of Land and Resources; Institute of Karst Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Guilin 541004, ChinaKey Laboratory of Karst Dynamics, Ministry of Land and Resources; Institute of Karst Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Guilin 541004, ChinaBACKGROUND Eco-functional areas play an important role in soil and water conservation and biodiversity conservation. The Wushui River is a watershed located in the Nanling ecological function area. However, study on the content and potential ecological risk of heavy metals in the soil of the upstream area of the watershed is scarce. OBJECTIVES To investigate the degree of heavy metals pollution and the potential ecological risk of soils in the upper reaches of the Wushui River. METHODS The soil samples of five land utilization types in the upper reaches of the Wushui River Basin, including mining, industrial, and cultivated land and forest, were collected to analyze the contents of seven heavy metals Cd, As, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn in the soil. The Nemerow comprehensive pollution index was used to evaluate the degree of heavy metal pollution, and the Hakanson potential ecological risk index was used to evaluate the potential ecological risk of heavy metals in soil. Principal component analysis was used to investigate the source of heavy metal pollution. RESULTS The results show that the average concentrations of Cd, As, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn in the upper reaches of the Wushui River were 1.28, 72.44, 54.62, 0.27, 68.32, 72.29 and 158.42mg/kg, respectively, which higher than the soil background values. The contents of the heavy metals, except mercury in mining land, were higher than those in other types of soils. The single factor pollution index of heavy metals in the mean state show that Cd and As were heavy pollution elements with factors of 5.07 and 3.25, respectively. In mining land, the Cd single factor pollution index reached 13.59. Heavy metal pollution in mining land was the most serious, followed by industrial land. Forest was in a safe state. Potential ecological hazard index evaluation results showed that Cd reached a very strong ecological hazard and As was a strong ecological hazard in mining land. Mining land and industrial land reached a strong ecological hazard, industrial land reached a moderate ecological hazard, and other types of soils were slightly ecologically harmful. The results showed that As, Cd, Cu and Zn came from industrial and mining activities, Ni and Hg mainly came from parent materials, and Pb came from transportation. CONCLUSIONS Heavy metal pollution of soil is relatively serious in the upstream area of the Wushui River Basin. Cd and As are the main risk factors in the area, mainly deriving from mining and industrial activities.http://www.ykcs.ac.cn/en/article/doi/10.15898/j.cnki.11-2131/td.201806040069wushui river basindifferent utilization typessoil heavy metalcontaminant assessmentsources
spellingShingle LUO Fei
BA Jun-jie
SU Chun-tian
PAN Xiao-dong
YANG Yang
Contaminant Assessment and Sources Analysis of Heavy Metals in Soils from the Upper Reaches of the Wushui River
Yankuang ceshi
wushui river basin
different utilization types
soil heavy metal
contaminant assessment
sources
title Contaminant Assessment and Sources Analysis of Heavy Metals in Soils from the Upper Reaches of the Wushui River
title_full Contaminant Assessment and Sources Analysis of Heavy Metals in Soils from the Upper Reaches of the Wushui River
title_fullStr Contaminant Assessment and Sources Analysis of Heavy Metals in Soils from the Upper Reaches of the Wushui River
title_full_unstemmed Contaminant Assessment and Sources Analysis of Heavy Metals in Soils from the Upper Reaches of the Wushui River
title_short Contaminant Assessment and Sources Analysis of Heavy Metals in Soils from the Upper Reaches of the Wushui River
title_sort contaminant assessment and sources analysis of heavy metals in soils from the upper reaches of the wushui river
topic wushui river basin
different utilization types
soil heavy metal
contaminant assessment
sources
url http://www.ykcs.ac.cn/en/article/doi/10.15898/j.cnki.11-2131/td.201806040069
work_keys_str_mv AT luofei contaminantassessmentandsourcesanalysisofheavymetalsinsoilsfromtheupperreachesofthewushuiriver
AT bajunjie contaminantassessmentandsourcesanalysisofheavymetalsinsoilsfromtheupperreachesofthewushuiriver
AT suchuntian contaminantassessmentandsourcesanalysisofheavymetalsinsoilsfromtheupperreachesofthewushuiriver
AT panxiaodong contaminantassessmentandsourcesanalysisofheavymetalsinsoilsfromtheupperreachesofthewushuiriver
AT yangyang contaminantassessmentandsourcesanalysisofheavymetalsinsoilsfromtheupperreachesofthewushuiriver