Contents and spatial distribution patterns of heavy metals in farmland soils of Fuxin City.
阜新市农田土壤重金属含量及其分布特征

A total of 180 farmland soil samples were collected from the suburbs of Fuxin City, Liaoning Province, to investigate the contents and spatial distribution patterns of Cu, Zn, As and Ni, with the effects of mining on their accumulation and spatial distribution in test farmland soils discussed. The results indicated that in study area, farmland soils had an accumulation of Cu, Zn and Ni, with the geometric mean concentrations higher than the background values. Among the soils planted with different crops, vegetable soil had significantly higher contents of Cu, Zn and As than grain crop soil. The spatial distribution of four test metals showed the same pattern of urban>suburban, and the regions with high concentrations of heavy metals were well overlapped with mining areas, suggesting that mining activities might be one of the most important source of heavy metals in the farmland soils. The rapid increase of animal manure also contributed to the import of pollutants to farmland soils to some degree. The potential risks of soil heavy metals pollution should be considered in the arrangement of local agricultural and animal husbandry productions.