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Ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in farmland soils in Beijing by three improved risk assessment methods

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Abstract

Beijing, as the capital of China, still has soil pollution problems that cannot be ignored. However, there are few studies on the overall ecological risks of heavy metals in farmland soils in Beijing. This study selected 432 soils and crops heavy metal content data of eight districts in Beijing from academic papers and academic journal papers. In this study, the improved Hakanson method, improved analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and integrated quality impact index (IICQ) comprehensively were used to evaluate the impact of Pb, As, and Cd pollution on the farmland soil environment, and the applicable conditions of these methods were discussed. The results by improved Hakanson method showed that both Pb and As were at the normal ecological risk level, while Cd was the largest contributor to potential ecological risk which accounted for 72.54% of the total risk and is mainly at a moderate ecological risk level. The analysis by improved AHP showed that the average comprehensive index of soil heavy metal pollution in the study area was 0.2317, which was at a light pollution level. The IICQ of soil and agricultural products were between 0 and 1 demonstrating that the soil was clean. In summary, the pollution of heavy metals Pb, As, and Cd in the study area is at a relatively low level, and there is no significant risk to the surrounding environment and human health. IICQ method is suitable for the evaluation of soil heavy metal composition and individual impact and can be more accurately used for the overall ecological evaluation of soil-crop-human health system.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Project (2018YFC0706000), The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2019JBM094). The research funding of this article is provided by the above projects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, China

    Rui Chen, Xuying Cai, Guoyu Ding, Fumin Ren, Qi Wang, Nuo Cheng, Jiaxing Liu & Lanxin Li

  2. Beijing Key Laboratory of Aqueous Typical Pollutants Control and Water Quality Safeguard, Beijing, 100044, China

    Rui Chen, Guoyu Ding & Fumin Ren

  3. Agro-Environmental Protection Institute Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, 300091, China

    Rongguang Shi

Authors
  1. Rui Chen
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  2. Xuying Cai
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  3. Guoyu Ding
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  4. Fumin Ren
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  5. Qi Wang
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  6. Nuo Cheng
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  7. Jiaxing Liu
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  8. Lanxin Li
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  9. Rongguang Shi
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Contributions

Rui Chen designed paper framework and wrote manuscript. Xuying Cai organized data and wrote manuscript. Fumin Ren and Guoyu Ding performed statistical analysis. Rongguang Shi made a research plan and Qi Wang performed data analysis. Nuo Cheng, Jiaxing Liu, and Lanxin Li provided technical and editorial assistance.

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Correspondence to Rui Chen.

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Chen, R., Cai, X., Ding, G. et al. Ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in farmland soils in Beijing by three improved risk assessment methods. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 57970–57982 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14695-8

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