Insights into Distribution of Soil Available Heavy Metals in Karst Area and Its Influencing Factors in Guilin, Southwest China
Open Access
- 12 May 2021
- Vol. 12 (5), 609
- https://doi.org/10.3390/f12050609
Abstract
The bioavailable contents of heavy metals in karstic soils are a subject of increasing concern since the uptake of heavy metals by plants can pose a severe threat to food safety and public health. However, the bioavailable contents of heavy metals and their effective factors are poorly understood in karst regions. Calcareous soil and red soil developed from carbonate and clastic rocks, respectively, were chosen from a typical karst region (Guilin) of southwestern China, and the total (CT) and available (CA) contents of 11 heavy metals, as well as their influencing factors in soil profiles, were investigated. The results showed that calcareous soil has greater soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, available nitrogen, available potassium, and calcium (Ca) contents than red soil, but lower available phosphorus and C:N. Acid-soluble Ca (Aca) was the dominant fraction in both types of soil. Heavy metals were highly accumulated in calcareous soil, mainly controlled by secondary enrichment in the processing of carbonate rock weathering. For the majority of metals, calcareous soil had higher CT and lower CA than red soil. According to a redundancy analysis (RDA) and Pearson correlation coefficient, the high pH and Ca content in calcareous soils were primary factors influencing both the CT and CA of the metals, especially residual Ca to CT and Aca to CA. Additionally, higher soil cation exchange capacity and clay minerals also probably improved the immobility of heavy metals.Keywords
This publication has 31 references indexed in Scilit:
- Geochemical Atlas of Croatia: Environmental implications and geodynamical threadJournal of Geochemical Exploration, 2012
- Cadmium Sorption and Desorption in Soils: A ReviewCritical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 2012
- Trace elements in ferromanganese concretions, gibbsite spots, and the surrounding terra rossa overlying dolomite: Their mobilization, redistribution and fractionationJournal of Geochemical Exploration, 2011
- Soil and vegetables enrichment with heavy metals from geological sources in Gilgit, northern PakistanEcotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 2010
- Effect of Microbial Weathering on Carbonate RocksEarth Science Frontiers, 2008
- Association of calcium with colloidal particles and speciation of calcium in the Kalix and Amazon riversGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2004
- Geochemistry of red residua underlying dolomites in karst terrains of Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau: I. The formation of the Pingba profileChemical Geology, 2004
- Geochemistry of red residua underlying dolomites in karst terrains of Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau: II. The mobility of rare earth elements during weatheringChemical Geology, 2004
- Surface complexation modeling of cadmium adsorption on gibbsiteColloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 2002
- Multivariate relationships and spatial distribution of geochemical features of soils in JamaicaChemical Speciation and Bioavailability, 2002