Soil heavy metal dynamics and risk assessment under long-term land use and cultivation conversion

Long-term agricultural development and cultivation conversions affect soil heavy metal balance and the regional environmental safety. In this study, heavy metal parameters were used to identify changes in soil properties in response to land use and cultivation conversions. The integrated soil quality index, which involves seven heavy metal indices, was proposed to assess the environmental risk of long-term human activities in Northeast China. We used the remote sensing and geographical data for the four-term land use distribution from 1979 to 2009 to identify the spatial patterns of regional land use conversions. Then, 41 samples from the top 20 cm of the soil at sites corresponding to these seven types of conversions were collected (permanent dry land, dry land converted from wetland, dry land converted from forest, permanent wetland, permanent forest, paddy land converted from dry land, and paddy land converted from wetland). Based on the local soil properties and tillage practices, the following seven heavy metal parameters were employed: Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), Lead (Pb), and Zinc (Zn). The conversion of farmland from wetland resulted in an increase in the concentration of Pb and Cr in the soil. In contrast, the concentrations of Zn, Cu, Ni, and Cd decreased when wetland was converted into farmland because the tillage practices washed these heavy metals away. During the conversion of dry land and paddy land to wetland, the levels of Pb increased by approximately 28.6% and 24.7%, respectively. Under the same conditions, the concentration of As increased by 32.5% and 14.1%, respectively. The integrated index also demonstrated that the farmlands were not contaminated by the heavy metals during long-term agricultural development.