Distribution characteristics and environmental risk assessment following metal(loid)s pollution incidents at Southwest China mining site

Limited information is available on long-term effects of metal(loid)s pollution incidents. Here, we analyze the distribution characteristics and quantification of elements in the Southwest China Keda mining site, which is one of the most populated sites and enables human health and ecological risk assessments of elemental pollution. The results on modified degree of contamination indicated that the soil and sediment were highly contaminated near Dahu Lake.The health risk of children was almost 2.5 times that of adults in surface water, and 7.1 times in soil, respectively.Moreover, Tl and As were the main health risk contributors in surface water and soil, respectively, and As posed the highest ecological risk both in soil and sediment. These results indicated the potential impact of toxic metal(loid)s on the health of residents and environment. Hence, more scientific attention and proper management need to be paid to this environmental challenge in the future.

Effects of a controlled-release fertilizer on yield, nutrient uptake, and fertilizer usage efficiency in early ripening rapeseed(Brassica napus L.)

Background： Nitrogen（N）, phosphorous（P）, and potassium（K） are critical nutrient elements necessary for crop plant growth and development. However, excessive inputs will lead to inefficient usage and cause excessive nutrient losses in the field environment, and also adversely affect the soil, water and air quality, human health, and biodiversity. Methods： Field experiments were conducted to study the effects of controlled-release fertilizer（CRF） on seed yield, plant growth, nutrient uptake, and fertilizer usage efficiency for early ripening rapeseed（Xiangzayou 1613） in the red-yellow soil of southern China during 2011–2013. It was grown using a soluble fertilizer（SF） and the same amounts of CRF, such as SF1/CRF1（3750 kg/hm^2）, SF2/CRF2（3000 kg/hm^2）, SF3/CRF3（2250 kg/hm^2）, SF4/CRF4（1500 kg/hm^2）, SF5/CRF5（750 kg/hm^2）, and also using no fertilizer（CK）. Results： CRF gave higher seed yields than SF in both seasons by 14.51%. CRF4 and SF3 in each group achieved maximum seed yield（2066.97 and 1844.50 kg/hm^2, respectively）, followed by CRF3（1929.97 kg/hm^2） and SF4（1839.40 kg/hm^2）. There were no significant differences in seed yield among CK, SF1, and CRF1（P0.05）. CRF4 had the highest profit（7126.4 CNY/hm2） and showed an increase of 12.37% in seed yield, and it decreased by 11.01% in unit fertilizer rate compared with SF4. The branch number, pod number, and dry matter weight compared with SF increased significantly under the fertilization of CRF（P0.05）. The pod number per plant was the major contributor to seed yield. On the other hand, the N, P, and K uptakes increased at first and then decreased with increasing the fertilizer rate at maturity, and the N, P, and K usage efficiency decreased with increasing the fertilizer rate. The N, P, and K uptakes and usage efficiencies of the CRF were significantly higher than those of SF（P0.05）. The N accumulation and N usage efficiency of CRF increased by an average of 13.66% and 9.74 percentage points, respectively, compared to SF. In conclusion, CRF significantly promoted the growth of rapeseed with using total N as the base fertilizer, by providing sufficient N in the later growth stages, and last by reducing the residual N in the soil and increasing the N accumulation and N usage efficiency.