Pollution in the Urban Soils of Lianyungang, China, Evaluated Using a Pollution Index, Mobility of Heavy Metals, and Enzymatic Activities
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Environ Monit Assess (2017) 189:34 DOI 10.1007/s10661-016-5740-2 Pollution in the urban soils of Lianyungang, China, evaluated using a pollution index, mobility of heavy metals, and enzymatic activities Yu LI & Hong-guan LI & Fu-cheng LIU Received: 12 September 2016 /Accepted: 5 December 2016 # Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 Abstract Soil samples from 16 urban sites in Lianyun- Lianyungang soils was Cd > Zn > Pb > Cu > As > Cr. gang, China were collected and analyzed. A pollution Soil urease activity, alkaline phosphatase activity, and index was used to assess the potential ecological risk of invertase activity varied considerably in different pollu- heavy metals and a sequential extraction procedure was tion degree sites. Soil enzyme activities had the lowest used to evaluate the relative distribution of Cu, Zn, Pb, levels in roadside and industrial regions. Across all the Cd, Cr, and As in exchangeable, carbonate, Fe/Mn soil data in the five regions, the total Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr, oxide, organic/sulfide, and residual fractions. The mo- and As level was negatively correlated with urease bility of heavy metals and urease (URE) activity, alka- activity, alkaline phosphatase activity, and invertase ac- line phosphatase (ALP) activity, and invertase (INV) tivity, but the relationship was not significant. In the activity of soils was determined. The results showed industrial region, alkaline phosphatase activity had sig- that the average concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr, nificant negative correlations with total Cu, Pb, Cr, Zn, and As in Lianyungang soils were much higher than Cd, and heavy metal fractions. This showed that alkaline those in the coastal city soil background values of Jiang- phosphatase activity was sensitive to heavy metals in su and China. Among the five studied regions (utilities, heavily contaminated regions, whereas urease and in- commercial, industrial, tourism, and roadside), the in- vertase were less affected. The combination of the var- dustrial region had the highest metal concentrations ious methods may offer a powerful analytical technique demonstrating that land use had a significant impact in the study of heavy metal pollution in street soil. on the accumulation of heavy metals in Lianyungang soils. Compared to the other metals, Cd showed the Keywords Heavy metals . Urban soils . Partitioning and highest ecological risk. According to chemical mobility. Enzymatic activities . Lianyungang partitioning, Cu was associated with the organic/ sulfides and Pb and Zn were mainly in the carbonate and the Fe/Mn oxide phase. The greatest amounts of Cd Introduction were found in exchangeable and carbonate fractions, while Cr and As were mainly in the residual fraction. Environmental quality is of vital importance to the Cd had the highest mobility of all metals, and the order health of humans living in cities (Figueiredo et al. of mobility (highest to lowest) of heavy metals in 2009). Vehicle emissions, industrial discharges, domes- tic heating, and other anthropogenic activities pollute air, water, and soil in urban areas (Mahanta and Y. LI (*) : H.<g. LI : F.<c. LIU School of Geodesy & Geomatics Engineering, Huaihai Institute of Bhattacharyya 2011). Roadside soils in urban areas Technology, Lianyungang 222005, China contain many pollutants and are good indicators of the e-mail: [email protected] status of sustainable development (Lu et al. 2007; 34 Page 2 of 13 Environ Monit Assess (2017) 189:34 Christoforidis and Stamatis 2009). Heavy metal pollut- using sequential extraction procedures; and (3) examine ants (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, Hg, and As) are especially danger- the relationship between enzymatic activity and heavy ous due to their toxicity and environmental persistence metal concentration in soils within different areas of (Sheng et al. 2012). The presence of heavy metals in Lianyungang. urban soils is a serious environmental concern due to their persistence and long half-lives within the human body (Wei and Yang 2010; Mahanta and Bhattacharyya Materials and methods 2011; Crnković et al., 2006). Pollutants introduced into the soil also change the enzymatic activities of microbiota Study location (Baran et al. 2004). Soil enzyme activities reflect the dynamics of microbial metabolic processes associated Lianyungang is located on the coast of the Yellow Sea in with nutrient cycling and are sensitive indicators of envi- northern Jiangsu Province with geographic coordinates of ronmental stresses caused by soil quality degradation 34°~35°07′ N, 118°24′~119°48′ E. The urban area of (Wang et al. 2011). Hao et al. (2009) showed that the Lianyungang has three districts: Xinpu, Haizhou, and total soil N had a significant positive linear relationship Xugou. Most of the central commercial and traditional with urease activity, and organic matter contents affected residential areas are located in the Xinpu district—the main invertase activity in urban soils at Shanghai City. Dar city zone. The industrial activities are concentrated in the (1996) and Moreno et al. (2001) reported that the Cd Haizhou district—an old city zone. Due to the develop- toxicity decreased alkaline phosphatase and urease activ- ment of a marine-based economy, rapid urbanization has ity in different soils. Heavy metal inhibition of enzymatic occurredintheXugoudistrict—a harbor zone, which reactions occurs by binding to the substrate, combining consists of residential, industrial, and commercial sites. with the protein-active groups of the enzymes, or reacting with enzyme-substrate complexes (Papa et al. 2010). Many studies have documented heavy metal pollution Sample collection and chemical analysis in urban soils of locations such as Korea, Nigeria, Bir- mingham (UK), Hermosillo (Mexico), Amman (Jordan), A total of 16 roadside soils from three urban districts of Guwahati (India), and many (>20) cities in China Lianyungang were collected in May 2014. Description of (Charlesworth et al. 2003; Han et al. 2006; Meza- the sampling sites is shown in Table 1. There were five Figueroa et al., 2007; Duong and Lee 2009; Wei and Yang type abbreviations of sampling locations, including public 2010; Mahanta and Bhattacharyya 2011;Akanetal. utilities (park, school, train station, and hospital), commer- 2013). The different city characteristics related to econom- cial, industrial, tourism-related, and roadsides. These are ic progress, population size, industrial activities, traffic showninFig.1. About 10 g of the top 10-cm layer of soil conditions, etc., have resulted in significant differences in was collected approximately 3 m from the paved edge of pollution. Total analysis of heavy metals in soils is a useful the road using a stainless steel shovel. A total of 4–5soil parameter concerning possible contamination, but the samples were taken and then mixed thoroughly to obtain chemical form of the metals determines their mobility one bulk sample for each sampling site (Shi et al. 2008). and bioavailability. Heavy metal chemistry provides The soil samples were maintained in self-sealing plastic criteria for estimating their potential environmental and bags. One half of the soil samples were air-dried prior to biological effects in urban soils (Harrison et al. 1981;Lu determination of enzymatic activities. The other samples et al. 2007). were oven-dried at 40°C for 48 h, and then stones and There has been little research on the urban soils of interfering materials were removed by passing the soil Lianyungang City, China. Lianyungang is a coastal city through a 63-μm mesh nylon sieve. This smaller particle in the northern Jiangsu Province, and no data are available fraction has often been studied because it is a good metal about heavy metals and enzyme characteristics in soils adsorption carrier and it represents a relatively greater there. Our study objectives were to (1) determine the total human health hazard (Duggan and Inskip 1985; Whicker content and distribution of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr, and As in et al. 1997; Christoforidis and Stamatis 2009). To reduce soils from different areas of Lianyungang and assess the potential contamination, all procedures—including the heavy metal contamination in soils related to the pollution treatment of sample collection and analyses—were care- index; (2) evaluate the mobility of heavy metals in soils fully undertaken. Environ Monit Assess (2017) 189:34 Page 3 of 13 34 Table 1 Name and type of location of sample collection site of Lianyungang city, China Sample no. DMS (N–E) Sample code Location Location type 134°35′59.8″–119 °11′24.5″ S1 Cangwu park Utilities 234°35′51.9″–119 °10″38.6″ S2 Jiefangroad primary school Utilities 334°36′04.8″–119 °10′27.3″ S3 Buxing street Commercial 434°36′31.1″–119 °09′34.7″ S4 Train station Utilities 534°34′56.7″–119 °09′24.8″ S5 Qingnian park Utilities 634°34′57.7″–119 °08′42.0″ S6 Debang chemical plant Industrial 734°34″49.6′–119 °07′50.3″ S7 Xinhai power plant Industrial 834°34′18.1″–119 °08′02.7″ S8 Haizhou Drum-tower Commercial 934°33′59.2″–119 °10′23.3″ S9 Kongwang mountain Touristic 10 34°44′05.2″–119 °20′00.0′ S10 Soda plant Industrial 11 34°45′49.8″–119 °22′32.3″ S11 West Breakwater Roadside 12 34°45′00.3″–119 °21′57.2″ S12 149 Hospital Utilities 13 34°44′32.2″–119 °24′27.9″ S13 Lianyungang harbor Industrial 14 34°39′14.5″–119 °14′36.7″ S14 Huaguoshan village Roadside 15 34°38′35.3″–119 °14′28.5″ S15 Huaguoshan mountain Touristic 16 34°36′16.9″–119 °13′38.9″ S16 Huaguoshan road Roadside DMS (N–E)degreeminutesecond(North–East) of geographic coordinates of the sampling sites, S soil Samples for heavy metal analyses were completely Teflon systems, and then concentrations of the metals digested with a mixture of HF-HNO3-HClO4 in closed Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr, and As were determined using an Fig. 1 Map of sample sites in Lianyungang city, with a vicinity map showing the location within China 34 Page 4 of 13 Environ Monit Assess (2017) 189:34 Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spec- Results trometer (ICP-AES).