Concentration, distribution and association of heavy metals in Multi-matrix samples of Himalayan foothill along elevatio
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Concentration, distribution and association of heavy metals in Multi‑matrix samples of Himalayan foothill along elevation gradients Zeinab Salim1 · Muhammad Usman Khan2,3 · Riffat Naseem Malik1 Received: 9 December 2019 / Accepted: 13 September 2020 / Published online: 9 October 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract The current research plan was designed to investigate occurrence, source origin and association of heavy metals (HMs) in multi-matrix (road dust, soil and vegetation) samples along elevation gradients of Himalayan foothill, Pakistan. Therefore for this purpose, road dust (n = 28), soil (n = 42) and vegetation (n = 125) samples along different elevation gradients were collected and analyzed for HMs concentrations on flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Higher ∑HM concentrations were recorded in soil, dust and vegetation samples at the high elevation zones [Temperate (zone-3) and moist-temperate (zone-4)]. A clear elevation trends for cadmium (Cd), and manganese concentration in soil and Cd concentration in vegetation samples at zones were depicted but on site basis there was no clear elevation trends for the targeted metals. Stable Carbon isotopic method in soil reported that air-borne sources and geological rock outcropping are the main contributors and have shown strong positive relation with elevation, temperature, precipitation, sand, silt, and total organic carbon. Principal component analysis/multiple linear regression predicted multiple HMs pollution sources (long range atmospheric transport (LRAT), wet deposition, parent rock materials, vehicular emissions and to some extent air-borne sources) as contributor in soil, dust and vegetation samples. The geo-accumulation index (Igeo) in soil predicted that all four zones were confirmed as moderately to strongly polluted for Cd; unpolluted to moderately polluted for lead and designated as unpolluted zones for all other HMs. Further, the future in-depth studies regarding LRAT phenomenon is needed to study the fates, behaviors’ and deposition patterns of HMs in soil and vegetation. Keyword Heavy metals · Murree road · Road dust · Atmospheric transport · Source apportionment · Stable isotope
Introduction
Zeinab Salim and Muhammad Usman Khan are considered as first authors because both have equal contribution. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-020-09218-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Muhammad Usman Khan [email protected] * Riffat Naseem Malik [email protected] 1
Environmental Biology and Ecotoxicology Laboratory, Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan
In the current scenario developing countries are facing extreme challenges due to the lack of proper preventive and management options, and thereby permitting the release of heavy metals (HMs) into environment from different operati
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