Distribution Characteristics, Ecological Risks, and Source Identification of Heavy Metals in Cultivated Land in Xingyang City

The quality of arable land is closely related to people’s livelihoods, and heavy metals are one of the significant factors affecting arable land quality. The spatial distribution characteristics and sources of eight heavy metal pollutants in the cultivated land of Xingyang City were investigated by multivariate statistical analysis and absolute principal component score-multiple linear regression (APCS-MLR) receptor model, and soil pollution assessment was carried out by enrichment factor and land accumulation index. The results show that the heavy metal content in cultivated soil was higher as a whole, and the accumulation effect of Cd was more obvious. The heavy metals in the study area were mainly distributed around Xingyang City. Industrial, natural, and the mixed sources of agricultural fertilizer and coal-burning are the main sources of heavy metals. The accumulative index shows that the heavy metals in the study area are mainly unpolluted, and the Cd exceeding standard rate is the highest. Therefore, it indicates that human activities have affected the cultivated land in the study area, and measures should be taken to avoid further aggravation. The BRIEF REPORT is available for this paper at http://www.ykcs.ac.cn/en/article/doi/10.15898/j.ykcs.202306300084.