Ecological Risk Assessment and Spatial Distribution of Heavy Metals of Agricultural Soils in Nganjuk Regency, Indonesia

Abstract

This research measures the lead, cadmium, copper, nickel, chromium, and arsenic in the paddy fields in Nganjuk Regency. Moreover, this research identifies the effect of these metals to the environment and their location. 105 topsoil samples were collected. The AAS was utilized to ascertain the elemental composition of the soil samples. Numerous soil pollution and ecological risk indices, such as Igeo, PI, IPI, PLI, and PERI, were used to analyze the situation. Spline interpolation with ArcGIS 10.2 was used to study metal distribution. The metal content (mg/kg) in Pb, Cd, Co, Ni, Cr, and As was 10.01, 0.77, 9.60, 5.46, 3.61, and 2.79, respectively. These pollutants had pollution index values of between 0.59 and 2.56 and 0.05 and 0.56 on the lower end of the scale. With an average of 1.10⁻⁶, the pollutant load index suggests that all samples are safe. The paddy fields in the research region have an average PERI score of 91.48, indicating a low ecological risk. Most metals researched under agriculturally safe levels will be highly valuable for establishing control and remediation measures in paddy fields.