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An innovative risk evaluation method on soil pathogens in urban-rural ecosystem
Min Li1, Liding Chen1, Fangkai Zhao2
1State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environment Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Journal of Hazardous Materials
|August 18, 2023
Summary
Urbanization alters soil pathogens, increasing risks, especially in peri-urban areas. Children are more vulnerable to soil pathogen exposure, highlighting the need for risk assessment in urban-rural ecosystems.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Microbiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Soil pathogens pose risks to soil security and human health in urban-rural ecosystems.
- Rapid urbanization alters land use and soil ecosystems, but pathogen risks remain unclear.
- Assessing soil pathogen risk is crucial for public health and environmental safety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a quantitative risk evaluation method for soil pathogens in urban-rural ecosystems.
- To assess the potential risk of soil pathogens to children and adults.
- To identify high-risk areas and vulnerable populations.
Main Methods:
- Developed a risk evaluation system using analytic hierarchy process and entropy methods.
- Incorporated 12 indicators: pathogen abundance/species, microbial network structure, and human exposure factors.
- Analyzed soil samples from urban, peri-urban, and rural areas.
Main Results:
- Detected 19 pathogenic bacteria; pathogen abundance and microbial networks varied significantly across areas.
- Urban soils had lower pathogen abundance but unstable microbial networks; rural soils had higher abundance and stable networks.
- Peri-urban areas exhibited high pathogen abundance and unstable networks, posing the greatest risk, particularly to children.
Conclusions:
- Peri-urban areas present the highest soil pathogen risk, with children being more susceptible.
- The established risk evaluation system offers an innovative approach for regional soil pathogen risk assessment.
- Findings provide a reference for preventing contamination and enhancing soil health in human-impacted areas.
