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2023 Vol.56, Issue 2

Original research article

Investigating Heavy Metal Contamination Extent of Soil and Plant from Urban Gardens in Jinju
Myeong Seok Jeong1†
,
Mina Lee2†
,
Chaw Su Lwin1
,
Kwon-Rae Kim3*
1Ph.D. Student, Department of Plant Resource, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52725, Korea
2Research Professor, Agri-Food Bio Convergence Institute, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52725, Korea
3Professor, Agri-Food Bio Convergence Institute, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52725, Korea
*Corresponding Author
†These authors contributed equally to this work.
31 May 2023. pp. 127-138
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Abstract

In Korea, 90% of the population lives in urban areas, so urban agriculture is commonly carried out. However, research on the safety of urban soils for growing food still needs to be done. Thus, this study was conducted to evaluate the suitability of urban soil for crop cultivation by investigating the heavy metal concentration of soil and plant from urban gardens in Jinju. Soils and crop leaves were collected from 23 urban gardens, and the concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn were analyzed. The average concentrations of garden soils in Jinju were As 5.31, Cd 0.59, Cr 30.09, Cu 33.05, Ni 21.14, Pb 23.28, and Zn 121.68 mg kg-1, which did not exceed the Korean guidelines except for Zn in one study site. Geoaccumulation Index, calculated using the background values of heavy metals in Korean soil, showed that contamination of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn was in progress. The inflow of Cu and Zn into the garden soils would be from the atmosphere and direct entry into the soil by adding livestock manure. Differently, the other elements were more predominantly introduced from the atmosphere. Particularly, a significant amount of Pb was introduced into the soils from the atmosphere in a couple of gardens. Overall, the results from this study indicated that continuous monitoring for heavy metals in urban garden soils is required for food safety.

The number of urban gardens at each level of soil contamination by Geoaccumulation Index.
Level of soil contamination As Cd Cu Ni Pb Zn
Practically uncontaminated 19 1 1 12 12 1
Uncontaminated to moderately contaminated 3 12 10 8 8 12
Moderately contaminated 1 10 9 3 2 8
Moderately to heavily contaminated 0 0 3 0 1 2
More than heavily contaminated 0 0 0 0 0 0
Keywords
Anthropogenic activities
Crop safety
Heavy metal contamination
Urban agriculture
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Information
  • Publisher :Korean Society of Soil Science and Fertilizer
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국토양비료학회
  • Journal Title :Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
  • Journal Title(Ko) :한국토양비료학회 학회지
  • Volume : 56
  • No :2
  • Pages :127-138
  • Received Date : 2023-01-30
  • Revised Date : 2023-03-27
  • Accepted Date : 2023-03-30
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7745/KJSSF.2023.56.2.127
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