Effects of Land Use on Heavy Metal Accumulation in Soils and Sources Analysis

Abstract

Heavy metal accumulation and its influential factors were studied in the different land use soils, which would provide a theoretical basis for controlling the content of heavy metals in soils. To identify the effects of land use on the accumulation of heavy metals in soils, 148 soil samples were collected from four land use patterns including greenhouse field, uncovered vegetable field, maize field, and forest field in Siping area of Jilin Province, China, and Cr, Ni, Cu, As, Cd, Pb, and Zn contents of those samples were determined with ICP and ICP-Mass. The result showed that there was a rather large difference in effects of the accumulation of Cr, Ni, Cu, As, Cd, and Zn in soils under different land use patterns, except Pb. Based on the assessment which compared with background concentrations in soil, the higher accumulation of heavy metals was found in greenhouse and uncovered vegetable field, much less in maize field and forest field. The mean contents of heavy metals in soils from high to low were arranged in order of greenhouse field, uncovered vegetable field, maize field, and forest field. Cd and Cu had relatively serious accumulation in soils compared to Cr, Ni, As, and Zn. The mean content of Cd in greenhouse field was 0.467 mg kg −1, which exceeded the grade II of the Chinese Soil Quality Criterion GB15618-1995 (6.5 < pH < 7.5) for Cd standard of 0.3 mg kg −1, while it was 5.2 times of Cd standard in the forest fields. The mean contents of Cr, Ni, Cu, As, Pb, and Zn in soils under four land use patterns were lower than the grade II of the Chinese Soil Quality Criterion. Compared with the soil cultivated years, the agricultural chemical compounds and manures application, especially the quality and quantity of applied fertilizer was one of the main reasons for leading to different accumulation of heavy metals in soils under the studied land use patterns. The accumulation of heavy metals, such as Cr, Ni, Cu, As, Cd, and Zn in soils was significantly affected by land use patterns, among them the accumulation of heavy metals in greenhouse soils was higher than others. It is suggested that the application of chemical fertilizer, organic fertilizer, and pesticides with high contents of heavy metals should be avoided to prevent the accumulation of heavy metal and keep high quality soils for sustainable use.