title: Assessment of heavy metal contents in surface soil in the Lhasa-Shigatse-Nam Co area of the Tibetan Plateau, China.
abstract: Eight important heavy metals (As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Mn, and Hg) were investigated in surface soil samples collected from the Lhasa-Shigatse-Nam Co region, Tibetan Plateau, China. The mean contents of As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Mn, and Hg in the samples were 39.5, 57.4, 28.5, 48.2, 15.7, 79.2, 637 and 0.0175 mg/kg, respectively. All metals were divided into three clusters by cluster analysis. The results of geoaccumulation index indicated that no samples were polluted by Cr, Pb, Zn, and Mn, and samples were polluted with As, Cu, Ni, and Hg to different degrees. All surface soils had a low ecological risk with potential ecological risk index below 150, indicating a low ecological risk. As, Pb, and Hg were the primary contributors to potential ecological risk.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China.
authors.forename: Huiting
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Ji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Chengzhong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhenyu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Wenbin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004463:Ecology; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical