Contents and spatial distribution patterns of heavy metals in the hinterland of the Tengger Desert, China

Abstract

The desert in northern China is one of important sources of loess and one significant source of material for sandstorms in Asia. The sand/dust that is transported from desert when sandstorms occur can destroy the growth of crops, cause serious losses and great harm to the economic construction and life safety, and cause natural environment pollution. Hence, it is very important to deepen the research into heavy metals in surface deposits at vulnerable ecological region of arid land of northern China to guide local industrial and agricultural development and improve environmental protection. In this research, 10 heavy metal elements (Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, and Th) were tested and analyzed in 33 soil sample sites collected from the hinterland of the Tengger Desert, northern China. The results showed that the average abundance of Th exceeded its background soil value of China by more than 5.2 times, which suggests that the Tengger Desert is polluted by Th. In addition, based on principal component analysis, spatial differentiation, and correlation analysis, we identified the source of element with a coefficient of variation in abundance of greater than 0.5 or exceeding the background soil value of China. Principal component analysis and correlation analysis showed that the sources of heavy metals of Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Cd were similar, while those of Th and Zn were different. Moreover, based on the contents and spatial distribution characteristics of those heavy metal elements, we found that the formation of heavy metal elements enrichment areas is caused by industrial pollution, development of irrigated agricultural, geological, and geomorphic conditions, and the sedimentary environment in the study area. Our result can provide information on the environmental background values of soils in the hinterland of the Tengger Desert.

Grain size and heavy metal assessment in barchan dunes surrounding the Talatan PV power generation area, Qinghai Province

“…Notably, when benchmarked against international standards like those of Northern Europe, Australia, and Finland, the concentrations of some of these metals, particularly Cr, Ni, and As, are observed to be higher than the referenced background values for these regions [35,36]. Furthermore, when contrasted with surface deposits from the Tengger Desert's interior, our study's average concentrations of Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb are higher [37].…”

Water Quality Classification and Machine Learning Model for Predicting Water Quality Status—A Study on Loa River Located in an Extremely Arid Environment: Atacama Desert

“…Recently, variations in total concentrations of elements, such as metals in rivers, are studied in the contexts of mining activity, urbanization, and agricultural activity [15][16][17]. Large amounts of pollutants in water bodies, such as rivers, can lead to WQ degradation [18,19].…”

Metagenomic and genomic analysis of heavy metal-tolerant and -resistant bacteria in resource islands in a semi-arid zone of the Colombian Caribbean

“…These RIs play a vital role in enhancing soil moisture, nutrient availability, vegetation productivity, and soil microorganism diversity. While microorganisms in these regions are exposed to extreme conditions, their exposure to heavy metals (HMs) is relatively limited, except in areas affected by anthropogenic sources (Shi et al 2023 ) as noted by Wang et al ( 2022 ). However, it is important to acknowledge that the diversity and activity of microorganisms in arid zones can be influenced by the presence of HMs (Zeng et al 2020 ).…”