Sources and Risk Characteristics of Heavy Metals in Plateau Soils Predicted by Geo-Detectors

The ecological environment of the remote plateaus has been a challenge plaguing many countries due to global warming, increased human activities, and frequent occurrence of various heavy metal (HM) pollutants. This paper analyzes the primary factors and potential susceptible regions’ characteristics...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Remote sensing (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2023-03, Vol.15 (6), p.1588
Main Authors: Wen, Qiqian, Yang, Linsheng, Yu, Jiangping, Wei, Binggan, Yin, Shuhui
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural production
Cadmium
Chromium
Climate change
Composition
Contamination
Control
Detectors
Environmental aspects
Geo-detector
Geology
Global warming
Heavy metals
High altitude
Human influences
Influence
influencing factors
Land use
Measurement
Measuring instruments
Methods
Ordovician
Plateaus
Precipitation
Remote sensing
Rivers
Sensors
Soil contamination
soil heavy metal
Soil pollution
Soils
source apportionment
Statistical analysis
Tibet Plateau
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Summary:The ecological environment of the remote plateaus has been a challenge plaguing many countries due to global warming, increased human activities, and frequent occurrence of various heavy metal (HM) pollutants. This paper analyzes the primary factors and potential susceptible regions’ characteristics related to soil HMs (As, Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, and Zn) in the southern Tibet Plateau (TP) using Geo-detectors and a set of multi-source data from remote sensing and geographic and geological information. The geoaccumulation index showed that the As pollution was the most serious. The precipitation, pH, geological age (GA), and rock type (RT) were the most critical factors affecting HMs. Additionally, soil HMs were relatively unaffected by land use and clay. Based on the risk detector, the most key impact types (range) of the predominant factors of HM’s sources were identified. For example, precipitation (100–200 mm), pH (7–7.5), DEM (>5500 m), RT (ophiolite), and GA (Ordovician) had the highest average concentration of As in each type (ranges) of the predominant factors. This work provides new data on the extent of soil HM contamination in the southern TP and predicts vulnerable areas of HM contamination, providing an important scientific basis for monitoring and managing HM in remote areas at high altitudes.
ISSN:2072-4292
2072-4292
DOI:10.3390/rs15061588