Spatial distribution and changes of heavy metals of agricultural lands in typical pregrading coast in Dongtai City, Jiangsu Province, China

According to the historical changes of coastal lines, seven soil sampling districts, from land to sea, were arranged in Dongtai City, Jiangsu Province to sample soils from surface and profile. Concentrations of seven major heavy metals (HMs), granularity, pH, organic matters and C/N of the soil samples were analyzed. Results show that concentrations of heavy metals in agricultural land present a certain spatial variance, decreasing from land to sea. Pollution assessment indicates that the agricultural soils were not polluted by HMs, but the potential pollution of Cu and Hg needs to be alerted. Different HMs accumulate in the surface and sub-surface of the soil profiles, and concentrations of Hg and Pb decrease significantly with the increment of soil depth. Concentrations of HMs exhibit a significantly negative correlation to pH, but have no significant relation with organic matters in soil. Principle component analysis show that the concentrations of HMs relate to the land use history. Concentrations of Hg, Ni and Cr in soil are closely related with land use history, and concentrations of Pb, Cu and Cr are affected by land use history as well as other factors. However, there is no significant relation between concentration of As and land use history.