Ecological risk assessment of metals in roadside agricultural soils: A modified approach |
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Authors: | Sandip Singh Bhatti Sartaj Ahmad Bhat Vaneet Kumar Mandeep Kaur Minakshi Vasudha Sambyal |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India;2. Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, Ludhiana, Punjab, India;3. Department of Human Genetics, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India |
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Abstract: | The threat of metal contamination of roadside agricultural soils poses severe ecological risks throughout the globe due to dual contamination by intensive agriculture and traffic-related activities. Therefore, the present study was conducted to assess ecological risks posed by metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn) in intensively cultivated roadside agricultural soils of Punjab, India. The results of the contamination assessment factors i.e. Contamination Factor (CF) and Enrichment Factor (EF) indicated that the studied soils were moderately to highly contaminated with metals. It was observed that the Modified Risk Index (MRI), which is based upon EF, indicated the ecological risks of metals more efficiently than the traditional Ecological Risk Index (RI), which is based upon CF in the present study. The MRI values indicated that the metals posed considerable to high risk in 67.86% samples as compared to only 7.14% samples based upon RI values. Thus, MRI can be considered as a more efficient risk indicator in comparison to RI. Spatial distribution maps of MRI indicated to higher metal contamination in inner urban parts of study area due to higher traffic and industrial activities. |
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Keywords: | agricultural soil contamination assessment metals risk assessment roadside |
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