Soil Selenium Research Articles

Reduction of selenite and tellurite by a highly metal-tolerant marine bacterium.

Selenium (Se) and tellurium (Te) contaminations in soils and water bodies have been widely reported in recent years. Se(IV) and Te(IV) were regarded as their most dangerous forms. Microbial treatments of Se(IV)- and Te(IV)-containing wastes are promising approaches because of their environmentally friendly and sustainable advantages. However, the salt-tolerant microbial resources that can be used for selenium/tellurium pollution control are still limited since industrial wastewaters usually contain a large number of salts. In this study, a marine Shewanella sp. FDA-1 (FDA-1) was reported for efficient Se(IV) and Te(IV) reduction under saline conditions. Process and product analyses were performed to investigate the bioreduction processes of Se(IV) and Te(IV). The results showed that FDA-1 can effectively reduce Se(IV) and Te(IV) to Se0 and Te0 Se(IV)/Te(IV) to Se0/Te0 in 72h, which were further confirmed by XRD and XPS analyses. In addition, enzymatic and RT‒qPCR assays showed that flavin-related proteins, reductases, dehydrogenases, etc., could be involved in the bioreduction of Se(IV)/Te(IV). Overall, our results demonstrate the ability of FDA-1 to reduce high concentrations of Se(IV)/or Te(IV) to Se0/or Te0 under saline conditions and thus provide efficient microbial candidate for controlling Se and Te pollution.

Concentrations, distribution and influencing factors of selenium (Se) in soil of arid and semi-arid climate: A case from Zhangye-Yongchang region, north-western China

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for human health. It is therefore important to investigate Se geochemical characteristics in the environment. However, less attention has been paid to the supergene geochemistry of selenium in alkaline soils. Based on a recently-completed geochemical survey in the Zhangye-Yongchang region of north-western China, this paper first summarizes the concentrations and spatial distribution of Se in the topsoil therein, and then discuss the influencing factors through multivariate statistical analysis, and study the bio-availability of soil Se. Our results showed that the contents of Se in the topsoil of the Zhangye-Yongchang range from 0.07 to 0.88 mg/kg, and the average concentration was 0.255 mg/kg. The Se-rich soil samples were mainly distributed in the Zhangye city and surrounding counties and towns, mainly including Dongyuan town, Shandan County, and Huocheng town of Minle county, and the potential Se-deficiency areas contain northern Dongyuan Town where develops sandy land, and Shigangdun town that covered by Gobi Desert. Relatively high Se background in local strata points out that the soil parent material is the dominant controlling factor of the Se concentrations in the topsoil. Results from factor analysis, cluster analysis and correlation analysis suggest a positive relationship between Se and F, Mo, Sr, U, MgO, CaO, and organic matter, but negative relationship between Se and SiO2 and pH value. Organic matter and certain oxides are likely to be the adsorbent of soil Se. Moreover, a high proportion of water-soluble and ion-exchange state Se (7.66 % of the total contents) and a high Se enrichment rate of crops (>30 %) indicate high bio-availability of soil Se in the Zhangye-Yongchang region, where could probably develop a green industry of Se-rich agricultural products in the future.

CERAD (Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease) Neuropsychology Assessment Battery: 35 Years and Counting.

In 1986, the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) was mandated to develop a brief neuropsychological assessment battery (CERAD-NAB) for AD, for uniform neuropsychological assessment, and information aggregation. Initially used across the National Institutes of Aging-funded Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers, it has become widely adopted wherever information is desired on cognitive status and change therein, particularly in older populations. Our purpose is to provide information on the multiple uses of the CERAD-NAB since its inception, and possible further developments. Since searching on "CERAD neuropsychological assessment battery" or similar terms missed important information, "CERAD" alone was entered into PubMed and SCOPUS, and CERAD-NAB use identified from the resulting studies. Use was sorted into major categories, e.g., psychometric information, norms, dementia/differential dementia diagnosis, epidemiology, intervention evaluation, genetics, etc., also translations, country of use, and alternative data gathering approaches. CERAD-NAB is available in ∼20 languages. In addition to its initial purpose assessing AD severity, CERAD-NAB can identify mild cognitive impairment, facilitate differential dementia diagnosis, determine cognitive effects of naturally occurring and experimental interventions (e.g., air pollution, selenium in soil, exercise), has helped to clarify cognition/brain physiology-neuroanatomy, and assess cognitive status in dementia-risk conditions. Surveys of primary and tertiary care patients, and of population-based samples in multiple countries have provided information on prevalent and incident dementia, and cross-sectional and longitudinal norms for ages 35-100 years. CERAD-NAB has fulfilled its original mandate, while its uses have expanded, keeping up with advances in the area of dementia.

Distribution Pattern and Influencing Factors of Soil Selenium in Northern Hebei Province, China

Distribution Pattern and Influencing Factors of Soil Selenium in Northern Hebei Province, China

Effects of microorganisms on soil selenium and its uptake by pak choi in selenium-enriched lateritic red soil

Data on selenium (Se) transformation, specifically the mineralization or activation of Se bound by microorganisms in natural Se-enriched soil, is limited. Therefore, this study investigates the effects of microorganisms on Se availability of Se-enriched lateritic red soil and Se uptake by pak choi. Following the incubation of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia S1 and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi agent, the available Se content of soils increased from 35 to 66.69–117.04 μg/kg, corresponding to an increase of 90.50–234.40%. The Se bioconcentration and translocation factors in pak choi increased after adding the AM fungi agent and strain S1. The soil acid phosphatase activity, and pak choi root length, surface area, and diameter also increased. Moreover, the soil acid phosphatase activity showed a significant positive correlation with soil available Se and phosphorus content (p < 0.01). Overall, the AM fungi agent and strain S1 increased Se bioavailability by enhancing soil acid phosphatase and promoting root activity, ultimately increasing pak choi’s ability to absorb available Se.

Effect of the Addition of Selenium and some Competing Anions on Selenium Concentration in Maize Growing in some Soils in Central Iraq

The effect of selenium and some competing anions to the soil on selenium concentration in maize growing in AL-Herria (clay )soil and Khan al-Nass (Sandy Loam )soil was studied. four levels ( 0, 20, 40 and 60 )gm Se ha-1 and three levels of Sulfur and (0, 45, 90 )Kg S ha-1 and phosphate in doses of (0, 90, 180) Kg P ha-1 were added to the soil. Maize plant content of selenium increased significantly, with increasing soil applications of selenium in both soils. While the plant content of selenium was decreased from (79.75 to 76.32 and 72.09 μg Se gm-1)and from (47.08 to 44.04 and 41.2 μg Se gm-1)with addition of as and 90 kg S ha -1 to Al-Herria and khan al-Nass soils respectively. Plant selenium content was also decreased from 79.75 to 76.32 and 72.09 and from 46.38 to 44.28 and 41.64 μg Se gm-1 with soil application of 90 and 180 kgP ha-1 to Al-Herria and khan al-Nass soils respectively. Increasing addition of and phosphorus censed decreasing of selenium content of corn plant in both soils.

The Controlling Factors of Soil Selenium Content in a Selenium-Deficient Area in Southwest China

Selenium (Se) is a beneficial microelement for humans, and its varying abundances and shortages have attracted widespread concern. The accumulation process of soil Se is quite complicated, being controlled by multiple factors. However, the influence mechanism of soil properties, climate, and topographic conditions on Se distribution is still unclear in Se-deficient areas. For this study, we collected 2804 samples from cropland soil to assess the levels of Se and the factors that influence those levels in Se-deficient areas of southwestern China. The Se content in this area (0.17 mg/kg) was less than the mean value of China as a whole (0.29 mg/kg). Moran’s I index and a random forest (RF) model showed that higher Se levels were mostly observed in the southern and northern sections of the area we studied. The RF model had excellent performance in predicting soil Se content, with an accuracy of 64%. The use of Shapley additive explanations indicated that soil organic matter (SOM) and mean annual precipitation (MAP) were the critical factors determining Se distribution. The areas with high SOM and MAP showed high Se levels. The information obtained from this work can provide guidance for agricultural planning in Se-deficient areas.

Availability of Se-rich Arable Land in High Geological Background Area and Suggestions for Zoning

In order to promote the results of land quality geochemical surveys to serve the development of characteristic land resources and realize the safe utilization of Se-rich resources in high geological background areas, Wuli Town, Qianjiang District, Chongqing City were taken as the research object to evaluate the Se-rich level and heavy metal content of soil crops and carry out research on Se-rich cultivated area division and the availability method system in the high geological background area, in order to improve the utilization efficiency of Se-rich resources and provide ideas for the safe utilization of Se-rich resources in high geological background areas. The results showed that the soil and crops in the study area were rich in Se and had the potential to develop Se-rich resources, but some samples had the problem of excessive Cd. Soil pH was a key factor affecting the content of Se and Cd in crops, and alkaline conditions were conducive to the safe utilization of Se-rich resources. The areas of Class A-E (A:selenium-enriched arable land, B:crops that were not selenium-enriched but were safe, C:crops that were selenium-enriched but unsafe, D:crops that were not selenium-enriched and unsafe, and E:soil selenium content less than the selenium-enriched threshold and soil heavy metals not exceeding the standard)cultivated land were 0.72, 0.75, 0.28, 0.13, and 0.56 km2, respectively. It is recommended to develop safe and Se-rich resources in the distribution area of Class A cultivated land and to carry out soil acidification conditioning and low-accumulation crops in the distribution area of Class C and D cultivated land; other agronomic measures should be taken to reduce the risk of excessive heavy metals in crops and strengthen the protection of cultivated land in the region to prevent the input of new pollutants.

Influencing Factors on Bioavailability and Spatial Distribution of Soil Selenium in Dry Semi-Arid Area

The chemical transformation of selenium (Se) in the topsoil, especially when regarded as low to sufficient Se (with high bioavailability) in dry arid environments, has great importance in the alkaline soils to yield Se-enriched food regionally. The Se content in the highly alkaline soil of the northwest region of China has inordinate agriculture economic potential, and such soil distribution is likely to produce Se-enriched crops with distinct features. One such large area of Zhongwei was investigated for the distribution of soil Se and its bioavailability, and the influencing chemical factors of soil total Se (T-Se) and bioavailable Se (B-Se) in the agroecosystem. The results suggested that the T-Se in Zhongwei soils (mg/kg) ranged from 0.01 to 0.55 with a mean of 0.2 ± 0.08, which was lower than the average Se distribution of both China (0.29 mg/kg) and the world (0.40 mg/kg). However, the overall B-Se proportion (16%) in T-Se was adequately higher than in other Se-rich soils. Spatial distribution depicted that the T-Se was specified as deficient in 42.6% and sufficient in 55.5% of the studied area, while Zhongning county was prominent with a higher B-Se proportion (22%) in the T-Se of Zhongwei. The influencing factors, such as pH and organic matter (OM), showed significant association with B-Se, as suggested by Pearson’s correlation and multiple linear regression (MLR). Furthermore, the vertical distribution of T-Se and B-Se was higher in agricultural soil (AS) than in natural soil (NS) and can be justified in the context of their association with OM. Based on these results, the Se-fortified crops can be yielded by practices to improve corresponding influencing chemical factors of soil, especially in dry areas.

Distribution and attribute analysis of soil selenium in Hebei Province, China

From 2004 to 2018, c. 73% of the land area in Hebei Province was surveyed by a 1:250 000 land quality geochemical survey of the National Geochemistry Survey of Land Quality. Based on the topsoil (0–20 cm) datasets (50 724 analysis samples) and attribute analysis of the key area with a semivariance function model, geographic detector model and random forest model, the content and spatial distribution of soil selenium (Se) in Hebei Province and the influencing factors of the distribution of Se in the Shijiazhuang–Xingtai–Handan area were obtained. The soil Se content in Hebei Province is low, ranging from 0.02 to 3.23 mg kg –1 , with an average of 0.20 mg kg –1 . The spatial distribution of soil Se was heterogeneous, and the marginal Se (0.125–0.175 mg kg –1 ) area and the sufficient Se (0.175–0.40 mg kg –1 ) area were widely distributed, but the acreage of the Se-rich (0.40–3.0 mg kg –1 ) area was very limited, accounting for only 2.43% of the total survey area. However, the Shijiazhuang–Xingtai–Handan area was a significant Se enrichment area. The spatial distribution of Se in this area was restricted by natural and socioeconomic factors. Soil organic matter was the most influential factor and showed good coordination with Se. Coal burning superimposed on natural factors promotes the spatial differentiation of soil Se to a certain extent.

Selenium supplementation enhanced the expression of selenoproteins in hippocampus and played a neuroprotective role in LPS-induced neuroinflammation

Selenium (Se) is obtained from organic and inorganic selenium food content, which mainly depends on the regional soil selenium content. Selenium deficiency and decreased selenoprotein functions have been shown to associate with the progression of cognitive decline and neurodegenerations including Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and Huntington's disease (HD). Selenoproteins are well recognized for their anti-oxidative activities. Given the high oxygen consumption, mammalian brains preferent@ially supplied with Se.Here, we propose a beneficiary role for dietary supplementation of sodium selenite (300 ng per gram of body weight) in ameliorating neuroinflammation induced by bilateral intracerebroventricular injection of 1 μL LPS (1 μg/μL), evidenced by the significantly reduced oxidative stress, downregulated pro-inflammatory cytokines expression, improved integrity of blood-brain barrier, as well as suppressed glial activation and shifted microglial MI/M2 polarization in Se-sup mouse brain. Se intake also reduced neural cell death and significantly improved the cognition in Se-sup mice following LPS challenge. The neuroprotective role for supplementary Se is likely to be ascribed to the overall elevated expression of selenoproteins, especially Selenoprotein P (SELENOP) and Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), ranking on top of the change in selenoprotein expression hierarchy. The regional hierarchy of Se induced elevation of SELENOP expression was further characterized. The SELENOP expression in the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus, dendric gyrus (DG) and cornu ammonis 3 (CA3) of hippocampus and lateral habenular nucleus was highly sensitive to dietary Se intake.

A synthetic community of siderophore-producing bacteria increases soil selenium bioavailability and plant uptake through regulation of the soil microbiome

Dietary selenium (Se) is an effective strategy to meet Se requirement of human body, and Se biofortification in crops in seleniferous soils with selenobacteria represents an eco-friendly biotechnique. In this study, we tested the effectiveness of siderophore-producing bacterial (SPB) synthetic communities (SynComs) in promoting plant Se uptake in a subtropical seleniferous soil where the fixation of Se by ferric-oxides is severe. The results indicated that SPB SynComs drastically elevated soil bioavailable Se content by up to 68.7 %, and significantly increased plant Se concentration and uptake by up to 83.1 % and 92.2 %, respectively. Seven out of ten SPB isolates in the SynComs were enriched in soils after 120 days of inoculation. Additionally, variation partitioning analysis (VPA) revealed that the contribution of soil bacterial community (up to 42.8 %) to the increased plant Se uptake was much greater than that of soil bioavailable Se (up to 5.1 %), suggesting a direct pathway other than the pathway of mobilizing Se. The relative abundances of some operational taxonomic units (OTUs) showed significantly positive relationship with plant Se status but not with soil Se status, which supports the results of VPA. Network analysis indicates that some inoculated SPB isolates promoted plant Se uptake by regulating the native bacterial taxa. Taken together, this study demonstrates that SPB can be used in Se biofortification in crops, especially in subtropical soils.

Geochemical characteristics of soil selenium and evaluation of selenium-rich land resources in Guiyang area

Selenium concentration in soil is of great importance for the production of selenium-rich crops. In this article, we studied the geochemical characteristics of soil selenium and evaluated selenium-rich land resources in the Guiyang city area using results from a Guizhou multi-purpose regional geochemical survey. The results indicate that 1) the selenium content in topsoil in the Guiyang area ranges from 0.11 to 4.12 mg kg−1, with an average value of 0.70 mg kg−1, which is 2.4 times and 3.5 times the national and world soil background values, respectively, while the selenium content in deep soil ranges from 0.11 to 4.10 mg kg−1, with an average value of 0.42 mg kg−1, which is 1.4 and 2.1 times the national and world soil background values, respectively; in the vertical profile, the selenium content in soil decreases with the increase in soil depth. 2) The main factors affecting the distribution of selenium in soil include soil parent material, soil physical and chemical properties, and other components, such as soil type and land use, among which the soil parent material (rock) plays a decisive role. The selenium in soil mainly comes from the soil parent rock, increasing accordingly with the increase of the selenium background value of the parent rock; the physical and chemical properties of the soil and other components impose certain influences on the selenium content. Selenium presents a significant linear positive correlation with sulfur and organic carbon, while it has a negative correlation with the pH value; there is no significant difference in the selenium content in different soil types, following the distribution order of paddy soil &amp;gt;yellow soil&amp;gt; skeletal soil&amp;gt; lime soil&amp;gt; purple soil; land use has a certain effect on selenium in soil, following the distribution order of garden land &amp;gt; construction land &amp;gt; grassland &amp;gt; farmland &amp;gt; rocky hills &amp;gt; forest land. 3) The area of selenium-enriched soil in the study region is 11,408 km2, with 91.76% of selenium-enriched soil and 8.24% of general soil or extremely little excess-selenium soil. Therefore, the vast majority of soil in Guiyang is selenium-enriched. The city has large and abundant selenium-enriched areas, which are domestically and internationally rare and provides particularly favorable resource conditions for developing selenium-enriched efficient mountain agriculture to expedite rural revitalization.

Characteristics of Soil Selenium Enrichment And Its Effects on the Aboveground Parts Of Abelmoschus Manihot (L.) Medic

Pot experiments were carried out to study characteristics of soil selenium (Se) enrichment and its influence on Chinese medicinal plant Abelmoschus manihot, and selenium contents in aboveground parts of A. manihot under conditions of natural Se-rich, low soils and exogenous Se addition were analyzed. Results indicated that contents of total Se and various Se fractions of natural Se-rich soil were significantly higher than that of Se-low soil (P &lt; 0.05), and Se content in aboveground parts of A. manihot grown in natural Serich soil was significantly higher than that in natural Se-low soil (P &lt; 0.05). The Se content in aboveground parts of A. manihot increased with the increase of soil total Se content, soil pH and contents of various Se fractions, showing significant tolerance to high Se. Moreover, it was initially found that A. manihot could effectively absorb soil Se even in relatively low Se soil conditions (soil Se content of 0.11~0.12 mg/kg) and thus reaching the standard of Se-rich crops. Bangladesh J. Bot. 51(4): 961-970, 2022 (December) Special

Threshold of Se-rich Soil Based on Available-Se and Influencing Factors of Available-Se

Available selenium (Se) in soil was the predominant factor affecting the content of Se in crops. In order to reasonably delineate the Se-rich soil range and propose theoretical guidance for the cultivation of natural Se-rich crops in a region where the surface soils had a high level of available-Se and a low level of total-Se, 8814 samples in surface soil and 195 root-crop matching samples were collected in Shizuishan in northern Ningxia. On the basis of the main line of analysis of available-Se, the following research was conducted: by synthetically studying the total-Se and available-Se in surface soil and root soil, the morphology of Se in surface soil, as well as Se in crops, deep and coordinated analyses of content among total-Se, available-Se, and Se in root-crop matching samples were carried out, and the suitable threshold for Shizuishan was confirmed. A multiple regression model of available-Se was established to determine the main physical and chemical indexes affecting available-Se, which were expected to improve the Se enrichment rate of crops through the enhancement of available-Se. The results demonstrated that ω(Se) and ω(Seavailable)in the surface soil in Shizuishan were 0.26 mg·kg-1 and 12.85 μg·kg-1, respectively, and the characteristics of Se and available-Se in root-crop matching samples could represent those in surface soil. Thus, it was recommended to use 0.24 mg·kg-1 as the suitable threshold of Se-rich soil. The multiple regression model of available-Se showed that the increase in total-Se and soil elements affecting soil fertility could promote the enrichment of available-Se.

Selenium speciation and characteristics of selenium-enriched crops in Guiyang seleniferous soil, southwestern China

Environmental context Elemental selenium plays an important role in maintaining human health and the growth of plants and animals. We studied the availability of selenium in soils and agricultural crops in Guiyang City, China, and found that the soil is selenium-rich and the crops are selenium-enriched. These results can help to understand and improve the development of mountain agriculture and rural revitalisation. Rationale Selenium (Se) is a critical element for both maintaining human health and the growth of plants and animals. The content of Se in crops is primarily determined by its speciation in soil. Therefore, the investigation of soil Se and its speciation has become a key focus of current research. Methodology In this study, taking a typical seleniferous area in Guiyang City as the study area, we investigated selenium speciation in Se-rich soil and its distribution characteristics in both soil and crops using atomic fluorescence spectroscopy (AFS) and a five-step extraction processing methods. Moreover, we further explored the key factors that affect the distribution of Se in soil. Results The findings are summarised as follows: (1) the Se content in all investigated samples met the standards of selenium-rich soil (0.40 mg/kg). The Se content in the soil surrounding crop roots ranged from 0.96 to 4.29 mg/kg, with an average value of 2.18 mg/kg. (2) Soil Se primarily existed in organic, residual, and iron and manganese oxide-binding species. The organic, sulfide-binding, and elemental Se species were the major contributors, accounting for an average of 47.00%, while the content of water-soluble, exchangeable, and carbonate-binding Se species was significantly lower. (3) Almost all crops, regardless of their types, were found Se-enriched, accounting for approximately 89.47% of the total crops in the study area. The average Se content was 0.35, 0.12, and 0.026 mg/kg in tea, rice, and corn, respectively. Discussion Varying soil physical–chemical properties, such as the content of soil organic matter content and pH levels, etc. can impact the distribution of Se in soil differently. These findings can serve as a scientific foundation for the effective utilisation of selenium-rich land resources in Guiyang city. They can also support and facilitate the development of modern specialty and high-efficiency mountain agriculture, ultimately contributing to rural revitalisation and the national implementation of the Big Ecology Strategy.

The Migration Characteristics of Effective Selenium in Soil in Situ

The Migration Characteristics of Effective Selenium in Soil in Situ

Hyperspectral Inversion of Soil Selenium Content Based on Seagull Algorithm Optimized Random Forest

Hyperspectral Inversion of Soil Selenium Content Based on Seagull Algorithm Optimized Random Forest

Effects of Selenium-Enriched Rape Returning Amount on Available Selenium Content in Paddy Soil and Selenium Accumulation in Rice.

Selenium-rich rape "Selenium Ziyuan No.1" was used as green manure to study the effects of different amounts of green manure returned to the field on the release characteristics of available selenium in acidic paddy soil in southern China, and to analyze the absorption and transformation of selenium in rice, so as to provide a theoretical basis for planting natural selenium-rich rice in acidic areas of southern China. Six treatments with different amounts of selenium-enriched rapeseed returning (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 t/hm2) were set up. Two rice varieties (selenium-rich rice variety Meixiangzhan 2 and common rice variety Zhongguangxiang 1) were selected. The results showed that (1) with the increase of selenium-rich rapeseed returning amount, the available selenium in soil showed an increasing trend. Over time, soil available selenium showed a significant increasing trend, and the content of soil available selenium reached the maximum at tillering stage, and then decreased. (2) For selenium-rich varieties, when the amount of selenium-rich rapeseed returned to the field was less than 15 t/hm2, the selenium content in rice grains increased significantly with the increase of the amount of selenium-rich rapeseed returned to the field, then remained basically stable. For conventional varieties, with the increase of the amount of selenium-rich rapeseed returned to the field, the selenium content of rice grains showed an increasing trend, but the overall selenium content was much lower than that of selenium-rich variety. (3) With the increase of the amount of rapeseed returned to the field, the rice yield had an increasing trend, but the maximum rice yields appeared when the amount of selenium-rich rapeseed returned to the field was 15 t/hm2. Therefore, Se-enriched rape returning could promote the release of available selenium in soil and the enrichment of selenium in rice plants, and significantly increase the selenium content in rice. According to the selenium content and yield of rice, it is suggested that the selenium-rich rice variety Meixiangzhan 2 was chosen and the amount of Se-rich rape returning is 15 t/hm2.

Effects of anthropogenic and natural environmental factors on the spatial distribution of trace elements in agricultural soils

The concentrations of trace elements in agricultural soils directly affect the ecological security and quality of agricultural products. A comprehensive study aimed at quantitatively analyze the effects of anthropogenic and natural environmental factors on the spatial distribution of heavy metals (HMs) and selenium (Se) in agricultural soils in a typical grain producing area of China. Factors considered in this study were parent rock, soil physicochemical properties, topography, precipitation, mine activity, and vegetation. Results showed that the median values of Zn, Cd, Cr, and Cu of 111 topsoil samples exceeded the background values of Guangxi province but were lower than the relevant national soil quality standards, and 85% of soil samples were classified as having rich Se levels (0.40 −3.0 mg kg−1). The potential ecological risk index of soil heavy metals as a whole was low, with Cd in 9% of the samples posing moderate ecological risk. The concentrations of heavy metals and Se were relatively high in soils from shale rock. Soil properties, mainly Fe2O3 and Mn played a dominant role on soil HMs and Se concentrations. Based on GeoDetector, we found that the interaction effects of two factors on the spatial differentiation of soil HMs and Se were greater than their sum effect. Among the factors, Mn enhanced the explanatory power of the model the most when interacting with other factors for soil Zn; the greatest interactive effect was between distance from mining area and Mn for Cd (q = 0.70); Fe2O3 significantly promoted the spatial differentiation of soil Cr, Cu and Se when interacting with other factors (q > 0.50). These findings contribute to a better understanding of the factors that drive the distribution of HMs and Se in agricultural soils.