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Spatial methods to analyze the relationship between Spanish soil properties and cadmium content
Mohammad Sakizadeh1, Jose Antonio Rodríguez Martín2
1Environmental Engineering and Management Research Group, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Faculty of Environment and Labour Safety, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Chemosphere
|December 28, 2020
Summary
This study investigated cadmium levels across Spain using novel spatial methods. The Moran eigenvector spatially varying coefficient (MESVC) model demonstrated superior performance in assessing cadmium concentration and its spatial variation.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Geochemistry
- Spatial Statistics
Background:
- Cadmium (Cd) contamination in soils is a global environmental concern.
- Understanding the spatial distribution of cadmium is crucial for risk assessment and management.
- Traditional regression models often struggle with local collinearity in spatial data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the spatial distribution and concentrations of cadmium in Spain.
- To evaluate novel spatial methods, Moran eigenvector spatially varying coefficient (MESVC) and spatially filtered unconditional quantile regression (SF-UQR), for cadmium analysis.
- To assess the influence of soil properties on the spatial variation of cadmium.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 3778 soil samples across Spain.
- Application of MESVC and SF-UQR to model cadmium concentrations.
- Comparison of MESVC and SF-UQR with Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) and ordinary kriging.
- Assessment of soil properties (CaCO3, sand, silt, clay, EC, SOM, pH) influence.
Main Results:
- Overall cadmium levels in Spain are low (0.01-2.00 mgkg⁻¹, median 0.23 mgkg⁻¹).
- MESVC (R²=0.69, RSE=0.16) outperformed SF-UQR (R²=0.39, RSE=0.21).
- MESVC showed superior performance over GWR and ordinary kriging based on Willmott index (d) and RMSRE.
- Electrical conductivity (EC), soil organic matter (SOM), and pH significantly influenced cadmium spatial variation, while CaCO3, sand, silt, and clay had negligible impact.
Conclusions:
- MESVC is a robust method for analyzing spatial variations in soil cadmium concentrations.
- Cadmium contamination in Spain is generally low, but localized variations exist.
- Soil electrical conductivity, organic matter, and pH are key factors influencing cadmium distribution.
