Heavy metal concentrations of agricultural soils and vegetables from Dongguan, Guangdong

A total of 118 of agricultural soil and 43 of vegetable samples were collected from Dongguan City, Guangdong, China. The spatial distribution, sources, accumulation characteristics and potential risk of heavy metals in the agricultural soils and vegetables were depicted in details by three different approaches, including total contents of eight metal elements in soils and vegetables, GIS maps and multivariate analysis of heavy metals in soils in the study. The results show that there are higher accumulation of heavy metals such as Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb, Cd and Hg in agricultural soils, and the contents of Pb （65.38 mg kg^-1） and Hg （0.24 mg kg^-1） are 1.82 and 2.82 times of the background contents of the corresponding heavy metals in soils of Guangdong Province, respectively. There are about 3.4% of Cu, 5.9% of Ni, 1.7% of Cd and 28% of Hg in all collected soil samples from all investigated sites which have overran the contents for heavy metals of the China Environmental Quality Standard for Soils （GB15618-1995, Grade Ⅱ）. The pollution characteristics of multi-metals in soils are mainly reflected by Hg. There are different sources to eight metal elements in soils, Cu, Zn, Ni Cr and As are predominantly derived from parent materials, and Pb, Hg and Cd are affected by anthropogenic activities. The spatial distribution shows that the Cu, Zn, Ni, Cr, Pb, As and Hg contents of agricultural soils are high in the west and low in the east, and Cd contents are high in the northwest, southeast and low in the southwest in Dongguan. The ratios of vegetable samples which Ni, Pb and As concentrations higher than the Maximum Levels of Contaminants in Foods （GB2762-2005） are 4.7%, 16.3% and 48.8%, respectively. The order of bio-concentration factors （BCF） of heavy metals in vegetables is Cd 〉 Zn 〉 Cu 〉 As 〉 Ni 〉 Hg 〉 Cr 〉 Pb. It is necessary to focus on potential risk of heavy metals for food safety and human＇s health from agricultural soils and vegetables in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province.

Using Multivariate Statistical and Geostatistical Methods to Identify Spatial Variability of Trace Elements in Agricultural Soils in Dongguan City,Guangdong,China

Dongguan （东莞） City, located in the Pearl River Delta, South China, is famous for its rapid industrialization in the past 30 years. A total of 90 topsoil samples have been collected from agricultural fields, including vegetable and orchard soils in the city, and eight heavy metals （As, Cu, Cd, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn） and other items （pH values and organic matter） have been analyzed, to evaluate the influence of anthropic activities on the environmental quality of agricultural soils and to identify the spatial distribution of trace elements and possible sources of trace elements. The elements Hg, Pb, and Cd have accumulated remarkably here, incomparison with the soil background content of elements in Guangdong （广东） Province. Pollution is more serious in the western plain and the central region, which are heavily distributed with industries and rivers. Multivariate and geostatistical methods have been applied to differentiate the influences of natural processes and human activities on the pollution of heavy metals in topsoils in the study area. The results of cluster analysis （CA） and factor analysis （FA） show that Ni, Cr, Cu, Zn, and As are grouped in factor F1, Pb in F2, and Cd and Hg in F3, respectively. The spatial pattern of the three factors may be well demonstrated by geostatistical analysis. It is shown that the first factor could be considered as a natural source controlled by parent rocks. The second factor could be referred to as ＂industrial and traffic pollution sources＂. The source of the third factor is mainly controlled by long-term anthropic activities, as a consequence of agricultural activities, fossil fuel consumption, and atmospheric deposition.

Zoning Approach of Key Construction Areas of High Standard Capital Farmland in Guangdong Province

On the basis of actual situations of Guangdong Province, using Factor Analysis Approach and Quantitative Analysis Method, we built index system by four factors, namely, extent of farmland connectivity, local financial support, grain production capacity and farmland consolidation potential. Finally, we obtained that the areas with total scores of evaluation higher than 50 points are key construction areas of high-standard capital farmland in Guangdong Province. In total, there are 40 key construction areas, including 16 in plain areas of the Pearl River Delta, 9 in coastal regions of east of Guangdong, 10 in coastal regions of west of Guangdong, and 5 in northwest mountainous regions of Guangdong. Besides, we put forward construction direction of these 4 capital farmland areas.

Study on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contents and sources in the surface soil of Huizhou City, South China, based on multivariate statistics analysis

Studies of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the surface soil were conducted in Huizhou City, which is located in the Pearl River Delta, South China. Sixteen PAHs in 42 soil samples were detected. The results showed that 4 components of PAHs were detectable in all soil samples, and other 12 components were also detect- able to some extent. The total PAHs contents range from 35.40 to 534.5 μg/kg with the mean value of 123.09 μg/kg. Soil in Huizhou was slightly polluted by PAHs according to Maliszewska-Kordybach’s study. It can be confirmed that the increase of PAHs contents in the surface soil of Huizhou City is closely connected to human activities. Mul- tivariate analysis was also made in this study. Principal component analysis was used to constrain their origins, and 3 principal components (PCs) were extracted. The results showed that coal combustion and oil spilling made the major contributions to PAHs. Cluster analysis was made and 16 priority PAHs were classified as 4 sorts, and the result revealed the differences in environmental behavior, chemical properties and sources of PAHs.

Soil pollution by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: A comparison of two Chinese cities

Soil samples from Huizhou and Zhanjiang,China were analyzed for 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs） with harmonized sampling,sample extraction and analysis quantification methods.The concentrations and sources of PAHs in soil samples of the two cities were compared.Almost all of the PAH components were detectable in 103 soil samples.The concentrations of ∑ PAHs ranged from 35.40 to 534.5 μg/kg in soil samples from Huizhou,and ranged from 9.50 to 6618.00 μg/kg in samples from Zhanjiang.Evident differences of concentrations,compositions and sources of PAHs in soils were observed between the two cities.The average concentrations of individual component and the sum of a group of PAHs in soil samples from Zhanjiang were significantly higher than those in Huizhou （P 0.05）.Phe,Flu,Pyr,Bbf and Baa were the dominant PAH components both in soil samples from Huizhou and Zhanjiang.Except for these five components,Bap,I1p,Daa and Bgp were also the dominant PAH components in soil samples from Zhanjiang.Coal combustion and liquid fossil fuel combustion were the same sources of PAHs in the two cities with different contributions,and petroleum played a key role in PAHs release in Zhanjiang.