Analysis and Evaluation on Characteristics of Heavy Metal Pollution in the Coastal Farmland Soil along the Wuma River

Abstract

The thesis is aimed to provide a reference for the sustainable utilization of farmland soils along the Wuma River, an upstream tributary of the Chishui River in Guizhou Province. Geo accumulation index method, Nemero comprehensive pollution index method, and potential ecological hazard index method were used based on the experimental data for analyzing and evaluating the heavy metal pollution status of farmland soil along Wuma River. The results showed that: (1) The contents of heavy metals Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb and Hg in farmland soil exceeded the soil background values of 9.82%, 47.80%, 13.72% and 76.06% in Guizhou Province, respectively, but did not exceed the standard limit class II based on the environmental quality. (2). The pollutants of Pb and Zn in the research area mainly come from mineral exploitation, waste residue accumulation, and transportation. The enrichment of Cr and Cu may originate from the domestic garbage dumping and incinerated waste by residents along the coast and irrational agricultural activities. The main contents of Cd, As and Hg come from soil geochemistry. (3) The ranking of accumulations of eight heavy metals was IPb>IHg>ICu>INi>IZn>ICr>IAs>ICd, among which Pb was non-moderately polluted and the remaining heavy metals were at the clean level; Nemero comprehensive pollution index showed that As, Cr, Zn, and Ni were mildly polluted, while Pb, Hg, and Cu were moderately polluted. The ranking of potential ecological risk levels for the eight heavy metals was Hg, Pb, Cu, Ni, As, Cd, Cr, Zn. The overall ecological risk level is mild.

Keywords

• wuma river, coastal farmland, soil, heavy metal