Source Identification of Cd and Pb in Typical Farmland Topsoil in the Southwest of China: A Case Study

Cd and Pb in farmland topsoil are controlled by many factors. To identify the source of potential toxic metals in the farmland topsoil around Mianyuan River, the chemical analysis and multivariate statistical analysis are performed in this study. The results indicate the following: (1) The concentration of Cd and Pb in soil exceed the background value of Chinese soil elements. (2) Cd is significantly enriched in the whole region and Pb is locally enriched, both of them are more or less influenced by human activities. (3) The contents of Cd and Pb increase significantly following the flow direction of river. (4) Pb isotope analysis indicates that the main source of Pb in the soil include the air dust, coal and phosphate plant, and the contribution of them decreases successively. (5) Linear correlation analysis and principal component analysis show that the main sources of Cd in the soil are mining phosphate rock, air dust, phosphate plant and coal mining.

Automated summary

The study found that Cd and Pb concentrations in the farmland topsoil exceed the background value of Chinese soil elements, and are influenced by human activities, increasing following the flow direction of the river. Lead isotope analysis indicates that the main sources of Pb in the soil include air dust, coal, and phosphate plant.