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Comparative Study
. 2014 Sep 23;9(9):e108572.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0108572. eCollection 2014.

Transfer of cadmium from soil to vegetable in the Pearl River Delta area, South China

Huihua Zhang  1 , Junjian Chen  1 , Li Zhu  2 , Guoyi Yang  1 , Dingqiang Li  1
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Transfer of cadmium from soil to vegetable in the Pearl River Delta area, South China

Huihua Zhang et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the regional Cadmium (Cd) concentration levels in soils and in leaf vegetables across the Pearl River Delta (PRD) area; and reveal the transfer characteristics of Cadmium (Cd) from soils to leaf vegetable species on a regional scale. 170 paired vegetables and corresponding surface soil samples in the study area were collected for calculating the transfer factors of Cadmium (Cd) from soils to vegetables. This investigation revealed that in the study area Cd concentration in soils was lower (mean value 0.158 mg kg(-1)) compared with other countries or regions. The Cd-contaminated areas are mainly located in west areas of the Pearl River Delta. Cd concentrations in all vegetables were lower than the national standard of Safe vegetables (0.2 mg kg(-1)). 88% of vegetable samples met the standard of No-Polluted vegetables (0.05 mg kg(-1)). The Cd concentration in vegetables was mainly influenced by the interactions of total Cd concentration in soils, soil pH and vegetable species. The fit lines of soil-to-plant transfer factors and total Cd concentration in soils for various vegetable species were best described by the exponential equation (y = ax(b)), and these fit lines can be divided into two parts, including the sharply decrease part with a large error range, and the slowly decrease part with a low error range, according to the gradual increasing of total Cd concentrations in soils.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Locations of soil and vegetable samples in the Pearl River Delta area, Guangdong, China.
(The yellow and blue areas are the dry lands and the paddy fields, respectively; the red line is the boundary of the city).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Lognormal probability plot for total Cd concentration in vegetable soils in the Pearl River Delta area, Guangdong, China (mg kg−1, DW).
Figure 3
Figure 3. Spatial pattern of total Cd concentration in the soils in the PRD area (mg kg−1, DW).
Figure 4
Figure 4. Relationship between exchangeable Cd concentration and total Cd concentration in vegetable soils (mg kg−1, DW).
Figure 5
Figure 5. Spatial pattern of Cd concentrations in the vegetables in the PRD area (mg kg−1, FW).
Figure 6
Figure 6. Relationships between soil total Cd concentrations (mg kg−1, DW) and vegetable Cd concentrations (mg kg−1, FW) for five species of main vegetables (soil pH: 3.79–7.72) (hollow diamonds represented samples with lower pH (3.79−5.00) removed for the regression analysis; the solid line is the sample regression line; dotted lines indicated the 95% confidence interval).
Figure 7
Figure 7. Lognormal probability plot for vegetable Cd concentrations in the Pearl River Delta area, Guangdong, China (mg kg−1, FW).
Figure 8
Figure 8. Spatial pattern of soil–to–vegetable transfer factor of Cd in the PRD area.
Figure 9
Figure 9. Relationships between soil-to-vegetable transfer factors of Cd and total Cd concentrations in soils for five species of main vegetables (the solid line is the sample regression curve; dotted lines indicated the 95% confidence interval).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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