articleEnvironmental Science & TechnologyDec 16, 2014Closed access

Soil Contamination in China: Current Status and Mitigation Strategies

Nanjing Agricultural University · Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences · +3 more institutions

PubMed
Indexed incrossrefpubmed

Abstract

China faces great challenges in protecting its soil from contamination caused by rapid industrialization and urbanization over the last three decades. Recent nationwide surveys show that 16% of the soil samples, 19% for the agricultural soils, are contaminated based on China’s soil environmental quality limits, mainly with heavy metals and metalloids. Comparisons with other regions of the world show that the current status of soil contamination, based on the total contaminant concentrations, is not worse in China. However, the concentrations of some heavy metals in Chinese soils appear to be increasing at much greater rates. Exceedance of the contaminant limits in food crops is widespread in some areas,…

Citation impact

2,104
total citations
FWCI
26.56
Percentile
100%
References
95
Citations per year

Authors

5

Topics & keywords

Keywords
  • Environmental science
  • Contamination
  • Agriculture
  • Soil water
  • Soil contamination
  • Soil quality
  • Food chain
  • Fertilizer
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Sustainable cities and communities
No related works found for this paper.

Funding