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Trace metal levels, sources, and ecological risk assessment in a densely agricultural area from Saudi Arabia

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Abstract

The present study was conducted in one of the most densely cultivated area of Al-Qassim region in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to (i) monitor trace metal (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) contents in surface and subsurface soils, (ii) assess the pollution and potential ecological risk levels of trace metals, and (iii) identify trace metal sources using enrichment factor (EF), correlation matrix, and principal component analysis (PCA). The pollution levels of the analyzed trace metals calculated by the geoaccumulation index (I geo) and contamination factor (C f) suggested that the soils were highly contaminated with Cd and moderately contaminated with Pb. Based on the average values of EF, soil samples were found to present extremely high enrichment for Cd, significant enrichment for Pb, moderate enrichment for Zn, and deficient to minimal enrichment for other trace metals. Among the analyzed trace metals, a very high ecological risk was observed only in the case of Cd at some sampling sites. Meanwhile, other investigated trace metals had a low ecological risk. The results of PCA combined with correlation matrix suggested that Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cr Ni, Cu, and Co represent natural abundance in soil, but Cd, Pb, and Cu are of anthropogenic inputs, mainly due to agrochemical and fertilizer applications. It could be generally concluded that the obtained results can be useful for assessing and conducting a future program for trace metal monitoring in agricultural areas of Saudi Arabia.

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Acknowledgements

The investigators of research project no. ALC012 thank the Promising Research Center in Biological Control and Agricultural Information, Al-Qassim University, Buraydah, KSA, for providing funding and unlimited support and help. The authors are also grateful to the Department of Soil Science, College of Food, and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, for providing research facilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Soil Sciences Department, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Mohammad I. Al-Wabel, Abd El-Azeem S. Sallam, Adel R.A. Usman, Mahtab Ahmad, Ahmed Hamdy El-Naggar, Mohammed Hamza El-Saeid & Khaled El-Enazi

  2. Soils and Water Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University, Assiut, 71526, Egypt

    Adel R.A. Usman

  3. Soil Sciences Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, P. O. Box, Cairo, 11241, Egypt

    Ahmed Hamdy El-Naggar

  4. Agriculture Engineering Department, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Abdulelah Al-Faraj

  5. Promising Researches Center in Biological Control and Agricultural Information, Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia

    Fahad A. Al-Romian

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  1. Mohammad I. Al-Wabel
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  2. Abd El-Azeem S. Sallam
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  3. Adel R.A. Usman
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  4. Mahtab Ahmad
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  5. Ahmed Hamdy El-Naggar
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  6. Mohammed Hamza El-Saeid
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  8. Khaled El-Enazi
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  9. Fahad A. Al-Romian
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Correspondence to Mohammad I. Al-Wabel.

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Al-Wabel, M.I., Sallam, A.EA.S., Usman, A. et al. Trace metal levels, sources, and ecological risk assessment in a densely agricultural area from Saudi Arabia. Environ Monit Assess 189, 252 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-5919-1

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