Effects of drip irrigation on migration and distribution of heavy metals in soil profile

Drip irrigation systems have been widely applied in semiarid and arid regions of China. However, little is known about the migration of heavy metals in cultivated soil under drip irrigation. Therefore, the concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in soil were determined. The mean contents of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, and Ni in surface soil subjected to irrigation with low and high amounts of water (W1 and W2) were 0.11, 117.50, 37.51, 13.53, 78.10, and 38.41 mg/kg and 0.20, 94.45, 29.71, 22.48, 63.00, and 36.62 mg/kg, respectively. Metal concentrations in deep soil varied slightly between W1 and W2. Among different distances from the dropper, the metal levels in surface soil varied widely, while they varied slightly in deep soil. The Igeo (geo-accumulation index) values indicated that the soil was usually contaminated by Cr, Cu, and Cd. Under W1, Cd and Cu usually accumulated in surface soil near the dropper, while the other metals leached into subsurface soil. Moreover, the metals generally accumulated in soil away from the dropper. However, significant leaching of metals to the subsurface and deep soil was observed near the dropper under W2. Away from the dropper, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Pb usually accumulated in surface and deep soil. This suggested that heavy metals generally migrated to the soil away from the dropper when subjected to lower amounts of irrigation, while metals usually moved to surface soil and deep soil under high irrigation amounts. These findings indicate that drip irrigation greatly affected the distribution and migration of heavy metals in soil, with irrigation with lower amounts of irrigation water significantly affecting the horizontal migration of heavy metals and higher amounts influencing the vertical movement of heavy metals.