Distribution and mobility of heavy elements in floodplain agricultural soils along the Ibar River (Southern Serbia and Northern Kosovo). Chemometric investigation of pollutant sources and ecological risk assessment

This work investigates the influence of a high-magnitude flood event on heavy elements (HEs) pollution and mobility in the agricultural soils along Ibar River in Southern Serbia and Northern Kosovo. The study area was one of the most important Pb/Zn industrial regions in Europe. Soil samples (n = 50) collected before and after the floods in May 2014 were subjected to the sequential extraction procedure proposed by the Community Bureau of Reference (BCR). The results indicated that the floods significantly increased not only the pseudo total concentrations of HEs in the soil but also their mobile and potentially bioavailable amounts. Moreover, higher concentrations (both pseudo total and potentially bioavailable) were found in the agricultural soils closer to the industrial hotspots. Principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis successfully grouped the analyzed elements according to their anthropogenic or natural origin. The floods significantly increased the potential ecological risk of HEs associated with Pb/Zn industrial activities in the study area. The potential ecological risk of Cd after the floods was highest and should be of special concern.

[1]  R. Šajn,et al.  Heavy metal contamination of topsoil around a lead and zinc smelter in Kosovska Mitrovica/Mitrovicë, Kosovo/Kosovë , 2013 .

[2]  M. Biasioli,et al.  Lability of potentially toxic elements in soils affected by smelting activities. , 2013, Chemosphere.

[3]  Caiting Li,et al.  Source identification and potential ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in PM2.5 from Changsha. , 2014, The Science of the total environment.

[4]  P Quevauviller,et al.  Improvement of the BCR three step sequential extraction procedure prior to the certification of new sediment and soil reference materials. , 1999, Journal of environmental monitoring : JEM.

[5]  Xiaobo Min,et al.  Environmental availability and ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in zinc leaching residue , 2013 .

[6]  J. Guo,et al.  Source identification of eight heavy metals in grassland soils by multivariate analysis from the Baicheng-Songyuan area, Jilin Province, Northeast China. , 2015, Chemosphere.

[7]  Mei He,et al.  Multivariate and geostatistical analyses of the spatial distribution and source of arsenic and heavy metals in the agricultural soils in Shunde, Southeast China , 2015 .

[8]  G. Zeng,et al.  Speciation and environmental risk assessment of heavy metal in bio-oil from liquefaction/pyrolysis of sewage sludge. , 2015, Chemosphere.

[9]  M. Kerolli-Mustafa.  Assessment of metal risks from different depths of jarosite tailing waste of Trepça Zinc Industry, Kosovo based on BCR procedure , 2015 .

[10]  Chunye Lin,et al.  Contamination and health risks of soil heavy metals around a lead/zinc smelter in southwestern China. , 2015, Ecotoxicology and environmental safety.

[11]  G. Protano,et al.  Fractionation and geochemical mobility of heavy elements in soils of a mining area in northern Kosovo , 2011 .

[12]  I. Yusoff,et al.  Immobilization of Pb, Cd, and Zn in a contaminated soil using eggshell and banana stem amendments: metal leachability and a sequential extraction study , 2014, Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

[13]  E. Bontempi,et al.  Metal fractionation in soils and assessment of environmental contamination in Vallecamonica, Italy , 2013, Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

[14]  G. Protano,et al.  The high contents of lead in soils of northern Kosovo , 2009 .

[15]  A. Facchinelli,et al.  Multivariate statistical and GIS-based approach to identify heavy metal sources in soils. , 2001, Environmental pollution.

[16]  H. Shim,et al.  Use of the BCR sequential extraction procedure for the study of metal availability to plants. , 2010, Journal of environmental monitoring : JEM.

[17]  C. García,et al.  Mobility and ecological risk assessment of trace metals in polluted estuarine sediments using a sequential extraction scheme , 2013, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.

[18]  Bo Wang,et al.  Heavy metal pollution status in surface sediments of Swan Lake lagoon and Rongcheng Bay in the northern Yellow Sea. , 2013, Chemosphere.

[19]  L. Håkanson.  An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control.a sedimentological approach , 1980 .

[20]  M Anju,et al.  Multivariate statistical analysis of heavy metals in soils of a Pb–Zn mining area, India , 2012, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.

[21]  A. Probst,et al.  Influence of anthropogenic inputs and a high-magnitude flood event on metal contamination pattern in surface bottom sediments from the Deba River urban catchment. , 2015, The Science of the total environment.

[22]  Z. Bukumirić,et al.  Arsenic in Agricultural Soils of a Historically Mined and Industrial Region of Southern Serbia and Northern Kosovo: Bioavailability and Uptake by Plants Species Zea mays L. and Solanum tuberosum L. , 2015 .

[23]  M. Soylak,et al.  Determination of heavy metals in sediments of the Ergene River by BCR sequential extraction method , 2014, Environmental Earth Sciences.

[24]  J. Rincón,et al.  Heavy metal distribution and chemical speciation in tailings and soils around a Pb-Zn mine in Spain. , 2009, Journal of environmental management.

[25]  T. Rennert,et al.  Arsenic strongly associates with ferrihydrite colloids formed in a soil effluent. , 2011, Environmental pollution.

[26]  Chuxia Lin,et al.  Mobilization of heavy metals from urban contaminated soils under water inundation conditions. , 2015, Journal of hazardous materials.

[27]  Ruiping Li,et al.  Heavy metal speciation and pollution of agricultural soils along Jishui River in non-ferrous metal mine area in Jiangxi Province, China , 2013 .

[28]  Kai Lei,et al.  Multivariate statistical analysis of heavy metals in street dust of Baoji, NW China. , 2010, Journal of hazardous materials.

[29]  A. C. S. Costa,et al.  Assessment of trace metals contamination in estuarine sediments using a sequential extraction technique and principal component analysis , 2010 .

[30]  P. Beckett.  The Use of Extractants in Studies on Trace Metals in Soils, Sewage Sludges, and Sludge-Treated Soils , 1989 .

[31]  A. Tessier,et al.  Sequential extraction procedure for the speciation of particulate trace metals , 1979 .

[32]  L. M. Shuman,et al.  Selective Chemical Extraction of Soil Components and Bound Metal Species , 1981 .