Contamination and distribution of heavy metals in urban soil in Zhangzhou City, Fujian, China

The urban environment quality is of vital importance as the majority of people now live in cities. Due to the continuous urbanization and industrialization with rapidly increasing economy in China, metals are continuously emitted into soils, imposing a great threat on human health. Urban soils might be affected by industrial activities, transport, agricultural practice, and waste disposal. An extensive survey was conducted in the highly urbanized Zhangzhou City （Fujian Province, China） using a systematic sampling strategy. Concentrations of Hg, Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, As, Cr and Ni were measured on 108 topsoil samples collected from parks （0-15 cm）, residential areas and suburban agricultural soils. Statistic approach （cluster analysis） was adopted for identification of natural and anthropogenic influence on heavy metal contents. The maps of metal concentrations in surface soils were made based on geographical information system （GIS） data. All of these aim at assessing the distribution of these heavy metals in the urban environment.

Contamination and distribution of heavy metals in urban soil in Zhangzhou City, Fujian, China