Rapid assessment of elemental concentrations using pXRF and remote sensing on a dried lakebed

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This study aimed to i) explore the land-use effect (former lakebed, pasture, and agricultural areas) on elemental concentrations, enrichment factors (EFs), and geo-accumulation indices (Igeos), ii) provide X-ray diffractograms of the primary minerals and identify the clay minerals dominant in each land-use scenario, iii) map the spatial distribution of elemental concentration, EFs, and Igeos using Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) approaches. We collected a total of 240 soil samples. Our findings highlight that vermiculite was a common clay-sized mineral, and aragonite, gypsum, and calcite were dominant primary minerals in each land-use. The remote sensing data (Sentinel-2 MSI and Landsat-8 OLI) were used to calculate some environmental covariates useful for digital mapping of elemental concentrations, EFs, and Igeos. The highest concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) was found in the prediction of Hg (CCC = 0.79) using remote sensing data based on Sentinel-2 with the Random forest (RF) model. There is neither threat in terms of Cu, Zn, and Pb nor the impact of anthropogenic activities in their distribution under each land-use scenario. The study area was enriched with Hg, Cd, and Ni (very high, EF = 20–40), followed by Cr (significant, EF = 5.88) and As (moderate, EF = 2.08). A similar trend was also found for Igeos across the study area. We conclude that the distribution of elemental concentration, EFs, and Igeos were significantly affected by the shrinking of the Burdur Lake and the different land-use scenarios in this semi-arid region.