1. Institute of Geophysical & Geochemical Exploration, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Langfang 065000, China
2. Research Center of Geochemical Survey and Assessment on Land Quality, China Geological Survey, Langfang 065000, China
3. Key Laboratory of Geochemical Cycling of Carbon and Mercury in the Earth’s Critical Zone, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Langfang 065000, China
4. Harbin Center of Natural Resources Integrated Survey, China Geological Survey, Harbin 150086, China
5. Inner Mongolia Institute of Geological Survey, Hohhot 010020, China
The Geochemical Survey of Land Quality conducted by the China Geological Survey from 1999 to 2021 collected 670321 composite surface soil samples (0-20 cm) and 167746 composite deep soil samples (150-180 cm) across approximately 2.665 million km2, covering most densely populated areas and farmland in China. Each composite sample underwent analysis for 54 chemical indicators using a standardized method (Ag, As, Au, B, Ba, Be, Bi, Br, Cd, Ce, Cl, Co, Cr, Cu, F, Ga, Ge, Hg, I, La, Li, Mn, Mo, N, Nb, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, S, Sb, Sc, Se, Sn, Sr, Th, Ti, Tl, U, V, W, Y, Zn, Zr, SiO2, Al2O3, TFe2O3, MgO, CaO, Na2O, K2O, pH, total carbon and organic carbon). This study examines the methodologies and fundamental characteristics of establishing geochemical background values, baseline values, and their upper and lower threshold limits for the 54 soil indicators in China. Additionally, it compares various thresholds of the background of cultivated soil with existing environmental and nutrient-related standards. The findings reveal that, on a national scale, most surface soil indicators exhibit content and distribution patterns inherited from deep soil, with notable changes observed only in the background values of specific indicators such as organic carbon, total carbon, N, S, Se, Hg, Br, Cd, and P. Spearman correlation coefficients for each indicator in both surface and deep soil consistently exceeded 0.50. Across the entire cultivated land in the country, only the upper limit of Cd background exceeds the risk screening value for soil contamination of agricultural land, while the upper limits of Hg, As, Pb, and Cr backgrounds were all lower than their respective risk screening values. Due to significant spatial distribution differences in many indicators, a simplistic national-scale background delineation is insufficient for refined soil resource management. Hence, the establishment of geochemical background/baseline at different scales based on national data is crucial to inform government regulations and standards for soil environmental quality management.
HAWKESH E, WEBBJ S. Geochemistry in mineral exploration[M]. New York: Harper and Row, 1962.
[4]
REIMANNC, FILZMOSERP, GARRETTR G. Background and threshold: critical comparison of methods of determination[J]. Science of the Total Environment, 2005, 346(1/2/3): 1-16.
[5]
LEVINSONA A. Introduction to exploration geochemistry[M]. 2nd Edition. Calgary: Applied Publishing Ltd., 1980.
[6]
REIMANNC, FILZMOSERP. Normal and lognormal data distribution in geochemistry: death of a myth. Consequences for the statistical treatment of geochemical and environmental data[J]. Environmental Geology, 2000, 39(9): 1001-1014.
[7]
REIMANNC, GARRETTR G. Geochemical background: concept and reality[J]. Science of the Total Environment, 2005, 350(1/2/3): 12-27.
[8]
REIMANNC, DE CARITATP. Establishing geochemical background variation and threshold values for 59 elements in Australian surface soil[J]. Science of the Total Environment, 2017, 578: 633-648.
[9]
ISO. Soil quality-Guidance on the determination of background values: ISO 19258: 2018[S]. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization, 2018.
JARVAJ, TARVAINENT, REINIKAINENJ, et al. TAPIR-Finnish national geochemical baseline database[J]. Science of the Total Environment, 2010, 408(20): 4385-4395.
[24]
ANDERE L, JOHNSONC C, CAVEM R, et al. Methodology for the determination of normal background concentrations of contaminants in English soil[J]. Science of the Total Environment, 2013, 454: 604-618.
[25]
GALINAY, MONIKAP, MARIANAH, et al. Establishment of geochemical background and threshold values for 8 potential toxic elements in the Bulgarian soil quality monitoring network[J]. Science of the Total Environment, 2018, 643: 1297-1303.
[26]
ROTHWELLK A, COOKEM P. A comparison of methods used to calculate normal background concentrations of potentially toxic elements for urban soil[J]. Science of the Total Environment, 2015, 532: 625-634.
[27]
MALIM, DELL’ANNAM M, MASTRORILLIP, et al. Are conventional statistical techniques exhaustive for defining metal background concentrations in harbour sediments? A case study: the coastal area of Bari (Southeast Italy)[J]. Chemosphere, 2015, 138: 708-717.
[28]
AHRENSL H. A fundamental law of geochemistry[J]. Nature, 1953, 172(4390): 1148.
SINCLAIRA J. A fundamental approach to threshold estimation in exploration geochemistry: probability plots revisited[J]. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 1991, 41(1/2): 1-22.
[32]
REIMANNC, FABIANK, BIRKEM, et al. GEMAS: establishing geochemical background and threshold for 53 chemical elements in European agricultural soil[J]. Applied Geochemistry, 2018, 88: 302-318.
FUGER, JOHNSONC C. The geochemistry of iodine: a review[J]. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 1986, 8(2): 31-54.
[38]
MURAMATSUY, YOSHIDAS, FEHNU, et al. Studies with natural and anthropogenic iodine isotopes: iodine distribution and cycling in the global environment[J]. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 2004, 74(1/2/3): 221-232.
TIANH Z, WANGY, XUEZ G, et al. Trend and characteristics of atmospheric emissions of Hg, As, and Se from coal combustion in China, 1980-2007[J]. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2010, 10(23): 11905-11919.
LUOL, MAY B, ZHANGS Z, et al. An inventory of trace element inputs to agricultural soils in China[J]. Journal of Environmental Management, 2009, 90(8): 2524-2530.
WENY B, LIW, YANGZ F, et al. Enrichment and source identification of Cd and other heavy metals in soils with high geochemical background in the Karst Region, Southwestern China[J]. Chemosphere, 2020, 245: 125620.