Abstract:
Objective The aim was to understand the pollution characteristics of soil heavy metal in the riparian zone of Meixi River and clarify the main influencing factors, in order to provide a scientific basis for the prevention and control of soli heavy metal pollution, ecological environment protection and sustainable land-use management in the Three Gorges Reservoir area.
Method Taking the reservoir bank as the control, the pollution characteristics and influencing factors of ten heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn, Cu, Mn, Fe) were systematically studied by the method of in-situ survey and monitoring, with using the geo-accumulation index (Igeo).
Result Soil heavy metals in the riparian zone and the reservoir bank of Meixi River of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area were basically at a slight pollution level (0 < Igeo ≤ 1), among which As and Cd were the main heavy metal pollutants in the soil. Compared with the reservoir bank, geo-accumulation index of soil heavy metals which were generally higher in the riparian zone varied from 0.038 to 0.422. Most of soil heavy metals were most significantly enriched in the riparian zone of 160 ~ 170 m. Land use types significantly affected the pollution degree of soil heavy metal in the riparian zone (P < 0.05), and the order of Igeo was naturally restored grassland (0.184) > farmland (0.179) > artificially constructed forest land (0.178). In 2019, Igeo values of As, Cu, Hg and Ni in the riparian zone were 0.357, 0.121, 0.148 and 0.097, respectively, which were all significantly lower than those in 2018 (P < 0.05), while the changes of other soil heavy metals were no significant (P > 0.05). The elevation gradient was the predominant factor affecting heavy metal pollution in all soil layers and showed a synergistic effect with land use type.
Conclusion Soil heavy metal pollutions in the riparian zone of Meixi River of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area are generally slight and influenced by a combination of factors such as periodic water-level fluctuations, land use type, soil depth and time.