Abstract
Research on potentially toxic metal(loid)s (PTMs) in farmland soil is essential for safeguarding food security and protecting ecological health. Compared with research on central and eastern farmland, research on the PTMs of farmland soil in typical mountainous areas of western China is quite limited. ArcGIS spatial analysis, statistical analysis and the PMF model were used to study the spatial distribution and sources of PTMs in farmland soil. The results indicate that Cd, As, Hg, Cu, Zn, and Ni exceeded their corresponding background values in 100.00%, 55.77%, 21.15%, 9.62%, 7.69%, and 1.92% of the samples, respectively. Cd (114.25%), Hg (96.79%), and As (52.22%) were highly variable; Cu (20.62%), Zn (18.41%), and Pb (14.55%) were moderately variable. The 8 PTMs exhibited different spatial distributions and local spatial agglomeration patterns. Agricultural activities resulted in high contents of As, Zn, and Cu; Cd and Pb originated from mixed sources of transportation and agriculture; Hg was derived primarily from coal combustion sources; and Cr and Ni were chiefly from natural sources. Agricultural sources, mixed sources, coal combustion sources, and natural sources contributed 24.37%, 24.91%, 25.70%, and 25.02% of the total PTM concentrations, respectively. In our study, the mixed source was the priority anthropogenic source, and Cd were the priority element for pollution control in farmland soil in Jiange County.
Subjects
- Ecology
- Environmental sciences
Acknowledgements
All the experiments were conducted in the Environmental Engineering Center Laboratory of Guilin University of Technology. We thank Liangliang Huang for his help with the experiments.
Funding
This work was supported by the project “Spatiotemporal Changes of Water Resources and Assessment of Ecosystem Service Functions” through the Open Fund of the Tibet Autonomous Region Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for Natural Resources in the Middle Reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River (Grant No. 2024YJZKF005).
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Huang, X., Dai, X. Spatial heterogeneity and source apportionment of potentially toxic metal(loid)s in farmland soil in Jiange, Southwest China.
Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-64725-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-64725-z
Keywords
- Potentially toxic metal(loid)s
- Spatial heterogeneity
- Source apportionment
- Contamination assessment
- Farmland soil
Source: Ecology - nature.com
