Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Heavy metal accumulation and source analysis in greenhouse soils of Wuwei District, Gansu Province, China

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Greenhouse soils and arable (wheat field) soil samples were collected to identify the effects of greenhouse cultivation on the accumulation of six heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, and Ni) and to evaluate the likely sources responsible for heavy metal accumulation in the irrigated desert soils of Wuwei District, China. The results indicated that the mean concentrations of Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, and Ni were 0.421, 33.85, 85.31, 20.76, 53.12, and 28.59 mg kg−1, respectively. The concentrations of Cd, Cu, and Zn in greenhouse soils were 60, 23, and 14 % higher than those in arable soils and 263, 40, and 25 % higher than background concentrations of natural soils in the study area, respectively. These results indicated that Cd, Cu, and Zn accumulation occurred in the greenhouse soils, and Cd was the most problematically accumulated heavy metal, followed by Cu and Zn. There was a significant positive correlation between the concentrations of Cd, Cu, and Zn in greenhouse soils and the number of years under cultivation (P < 0.05). Greenhouse cultivation had little impact on the accumulation of Cr, Ni, or Pb. Correlation analysis and principal component analysis suggested that the accumulation of Cd, Cu, and Zn in greenhouse soils resulted mainly from fertilizer applications. Our results indicated that the excessive and long-term use of fertilizers and livestock manures with high heavy metal levels leads to the accumulation of heavy metals in soils. Therefore, rational fertilization programs and reductions in the concentrations of heavy metals in both fertilizers and manure must be recommended to maintain a safe concentration of heavy metals in greenhouse soils.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahmad JU, Goni MA (2010) Heavy metal contamination in water, soil, and vegetables of the industrial areas in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Environ Monit Assess 166:347–357

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Arvas Ö, Keskin B, Yilmaz İH (2013) Effect of sewage sludge on metal content of grassland soil and herbage in semiarid lands. Turk J Agric For 37:179–187

    Google Scholar 

  • Atafar Z, Mesdaghinia A, Nouri J, Homaee M, Yunesian M, Ahmadimoghaddam M, Mahvi AH (2010) Effect of fertilizer application on soil heavy metal concentration. Environ Monit Assess 160:83–89

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bai LY, Zeng XB, Li LF, Pen C, Li SH (2010) Effects of land use on heavy metal accumulation in soils and sources analysis. Agric Sci China 9:1650–1658

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bao SD (2007) Agro-chemical analytical methods of soil. Chinese Agriculture Press, Beijing (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolan N, Adriano D, Mahimairaja S (2004) Distribution and bioavailability of trace elements in livestock and poultry manure by-products. Crit Rev Env Sci Technol 34:291–338

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bolan NS, Khan MA, Donaldson J, Adriano DC, Matthew C (2003) Distribution and bioavailability of copper in farm effluent. Sci Total Environ 309:225–236

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brūmelis G, Lapiņa L, Nikodemus O, Tabors G (2002) Use of the O horizon of forest soils in monitoring metal deposition in Latvia. Water Air Soil Pollut 135:291–309

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cang L, Wang YJ, Zhou DM, Dong YH (2004) Heavy metals pollution in poultry and livestock feeds and manures under intensive farming in Jiangsu Province, China. J Environ Sci 16:371–374

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • China National Environmental Monitoring Centre (1990) Element background values of soils in China. China Environmental Science Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Dragović S, Mihailović N, Gajić B (2008) Heavy metals in soils: distribution, relationship with soil characteristics and radionuclides and multivariate assessment of contamination sources. Chemosphere 72:491–495

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eneji AE, Honna T, Yamamoto S (2001) Manuring effect on rice grain yield and extractable trace elements in soils. J Plant Nutr 24:967–977

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • EPA (1994) Acid digestion of sediments and soils. EPA 3050B. Http://www.epagov/sw−846/pdfs/3050b.pdf, p.1–12

  • Facchinelli A, Sacchi E, Mallen L (2001) Multivariate statistical and GIS based approach to identify heavy metal sources in soils. Environ Pollut 114:313–324

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fan J, Ding W, Ziadi N (2013) Thirty-year manuring and fertilization effects on heavy metals in black soil and soil aggregates in Northeastern China. Commun Soil Sci Plan 44:1224–1241

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fekri M, Kaveh S (2013) Heavy metal accumulation in soil after application of organic wastes. Arab J Geosci 6:463–467

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fergusson JE (1990) The heavy elements: chemistry, environmental impact and health effects. Pergamon Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Gao YF, Duan ZQ, Xun HF (2007) Investigation and evaluation of heavy metal contamination of greenhouse soils in Taihu region. Soils 39:910–914 (in Chinese)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gansu Provincial Soil Survey Staff (1992) Records of Gansu soils. Gansu Scio-technological Publishing 331 House, Lanzhou

    Google Scholar 

  • Gil C, Boluda R, Ramos J (2004) Determination and evaluation of cadmium lead and nickel in greenhouse soils of Almería (Spain). Chemosphere 55:1027–1034

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gjoka F, Felix-Henningsen P, Wegener HR, Salillari I, Beqiraj A (2011) Heavy metals in soils from Tirana (Albania). Environ Monit Assess 172:517–527

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang ZP, Xu B, Zhang KQ, Yang XC (2007) Accumulation of heavy metals in the four years’ continual swine manure-applied greenhouse soils. Trans Chinese Soc Agricultural Eng 23:239–244 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelepertzis E (2014) Accumulation of heavy metals in agricultural soils of Mediterranean: insights from Argolida Basin, Peloponnese, Greece. Geoderma 221–222:82–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kongshaug G, Bockman OC, Kaarstad O, Morka H (1992) Inputs of trace elements to soils and plants. In Chemical climatology and Geomedical problems. The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Oslo, Norway

  • Li XG, Li YK, Li FM, Ma QF, Zhang PL, Yin P (2009) Changes in soil organic carbon, nutrients and aggregation after conversion of native desert soil into irrigated arable land. Soil Till Res 104:263–269

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li JY, Hou YL, Hua QX, Dong XZ (2005) Variation of soil nutrient and heavy metal concentrations in greenhouse soils. Soils 37:626–629 (in Chinese)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li WQ, Zhang M, Van DZ (2001) Salt contents in soils under plastic greenhouse gardening in China. Pedosphere 11:359–367

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindén A, Andersson K, Oskarsson A (2001) Cadmium in organic and conventional pig production. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 40:425–431

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu FZ (2001) Agricultural environmental monitoring manual. Standards press of China, Beijing (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu P, Yang L, Yu SF, Liu ZH, Wei JL, Wang XJ, Wang YQ (2008) Evaluation on environmental quality of heavy metal contents in soils of vegetable greenhouses in Shouguang City. Res Environ Sci 6:66–71 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Loska K, Wiechuła D (2003) Application of principal component analysis for the estimation of source of heavy metal contamination in surface sediments from the Rybnik Reservoir. Chemosphere 51:723–733

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lu A, Wang J, Qin X, Wang K, Han P, Zhang S (2012) Multivariate and geostatistical analyses of the spatial distribution and origin of heavy metals in the agricultural soils in Shunyi, Beijing, China. Sci Total Environ 425:66–74

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Luo L, Ma YB, Zhang SZ, Wei DP, Zhu YG (2009) An inventory of trace element inputs to agricultural soils in China. J Environ Manage 90:2524–2530

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Martínez J, Llamas JF, De Miguel E, Rey J, Hidalgo MC (2008) Soil contamination from urban and industrial activity: example of the mining district of Linares (southern Spain). Environ Geol 54:669–677

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLaughlin MJ, Singh BR (1999) Cadmium in soils and plants. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Moreno-Caselles J, Moral R, Perez-Murcia MD, Perez-Espinosa A, Paredes C, Agulló E (2005) Fe, Cu, Mn, and Zn input and availability in calcareous soils amended with the solid phase of pig slurry. Commun Soil Sci Plan 36:525–534

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nicholson FA, Chambers BJ, Williams JR, Unwin RJ (1999) Heavy metal contents of livestock feeds and animal manures in England and Wales. Bioresour Technol 70:23–31

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nicholson FA, Smith SR, Alloway BJ, Carlton-Smith C, Chambers BJ (2003) An inventory of heavy metals inputs to agricultural soils in England and Wales. Sci Total Environ 311:205–219

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nanos N, Rodríguez Martín JA (2012) Multiscale analysis of heavy metal contents in soils: spatial variability in the Duero river basin (Spain). Geoderma 189–190:554–562

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peris M, Recatalá L, Micó C, Sánchez R, Sánchez J (2008) Increasing the knowledge of heavy metal contents and sources in agricultural soils of the European Mediterranean region. Water Air Soil Pollut 192:25–37

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Qin LJ, Zhang BY, Wang WX (2013) Specificity and potential ecological risk of heavy metals pollution in greenhouse vegetables soils—a case study of Lanzhou City. J Guangdong Agricultural Sci 2013:175–178

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramos-Miras JJ, Roca-Perez L, Guzmán-Palomino M, Boluda R, Gil C (2011) Background levels and baseline values of available heavy metals in Mediterranean greenhouse soils (Spain). J Geochem Explor 110:186–192

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rodríguez Martín JA, Arias ML, Grau Corbí JM (2006) Heavy metals contents in agricultural top soils in the Ebro basin (Spain). Application of the multivariate geostatistical methods to study spatial variations. Environ Pollut 144:1001–1012

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodríguez Martín JA, Ramos-Miras JJ, Boluda R, Gil C (2013) Spatial relations of heavy metals in arable and greenhouse soils of a Mediterranean environment region (Spain). Geoderma 200–201:180–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Romic M, Romic D (2003) Heavy metals distribution in agricultural topsoils in urban area. Environ Geol 43:795–805

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Serra G, Tognoni F, Leoni S (1994) ISHS Acta Horticulturae 361: International Symposium on New Cultivation Systems in Greenhouse, Cagliari, Italy. ISBN 978-90-66051-66-9, ISSN 0567–7572

  • Shi J, Zhang NM (2010) The distributing character of heavy metals and its pollution estimate in greenhouse soils of Yunnan Province. J Yunnan Agricultural Univ (in Chinese) 6:863–866

    Google Scholar 

  • Soil Survey Staff (1998) Keys to soil taxonomy, eighthth edn. Pocahontas Press, Blacks-burg

    Google Scholar 

  • Spurgeon DJ, Rowland P, Ainsworth G, Rothery P, Long S, Black HI (2008) Geographical and pedological drivers of distribution and risks to soil fauna of seven metals (Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, V and Zn) in British soils. Environ Pollut 153:273–283

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor MD (1997) Accumulation of cadmium derived from fertilisers in New Zealand soils. Sci Total Environ 208:123–126

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wu LH, Tan CY, Liu L, Zhu P, Peng C, Luo YM, Christie P (2012) Cadmium bioavailability in surface soils receiving long-term applications of inorganic fertilizers and pig manure. Geoderma 173:224–230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang LQ, Huang B, Hu WY, Chen Y, Mao MC, Yao LP (2014) The impact of greenhouse vegetable farming duration and soil types on phytoavailability of heavy metals and their health risk in eastern China. Chemosphere 103:121–130

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yao HY, Jiao XD, Wu FZ (2006) Effect of continuous cucumber cropping and alternative rotations under protected cultivation on soil microbial community diversity. Plant Soil 284:195–203

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yu HY, Li TX, Zhang XZ (2010) Nutrient budget and soil nutrient status in greenhouse system. J Integr Agr 9(6):871–879

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang JJ, Duan ZQ (2011) Preliminary study on classification & grading standards and causes & hazards of secondary salinization of facility vegetable soils. Soils 43:361–366 (in Chinese)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang HZ, Li H, Wang Z, Zhou LD (2011) Accumulation characteristics of copper and cadmium in greenhouse vegetable soils in Tongzhou District of Beijing. Procedia Environmental Sciences 10:289–294

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou L, Yang B, Xue N, Li F, Seip HM, Cong X, Yan Y, Liu B, Han B, Li H (2014) Ecological risks and potential sources of heavy metals in agricultural soils from Huanghuai Plain, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21:1360–1369

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research is supported by the Key Science and Technology Research and Development Program of China for the 12th 5-year Plan (2012BAD15B01).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Agro-Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture of China, Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, No. 12 Zhongguncun South Street, Beijing, 100081, People’s Republic of China

    L. Y. Bai, X. B. Zeng, S. M. Su, R. Duan, Y. N. Wang & X. Gao

Authors
  1. L. Y. Bai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. X. B. Zeng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S. M. Su
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. R. Duan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Y. N. Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. X. Gao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to X. B. Zeng.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Céline Guéguen

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bai, L.Y., Zeng, X.B., Su, S.M. et al. Heavy metal accumulation and source analysis in greenhouse soils of Wuwei District, Gansu Province, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 5359–5369 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3763-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3763-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation