Investigating Heavy Metal Contamination Extent of Soil and Plant from Urban Gardens in Jinju

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 toevaluate the suitability of urban soil for crop cultivation by investigating the heavy metal concentration of soiland plant from urban gardens in Jinju. Soils and crop leaves were collected from 23 urban gardens, and theconcentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn were analyzed. The average concentrations of garden soils inJinju 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 notexceed the Korean guidelines except for Zn in one study site. Geoaccumulation Index, calculated using thebackground values of heavy metals in Korean soil, showed that contamination of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn was inprogress. The inflow of Cu and Zn into the garden soils would be from the atmosphere and direct entry into thesoil by adding livestock manure. Differently, the other elements were more predominantly introduced fromthe atmosphere. Particularly, a significant amount of Pb was introduced into the soils from the atmosphere ina couple of gardens. Overall, the results from this study indicated that continuous monitoring for heavy metalsin urban garden soils is required for food safety.