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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Toxicology, Pollution and the Environment
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1496826
This article is part of the Research Topic Advances in Soil Pollution Research: Risk Assessment and Ecosystems Management View all articles

Spatial heterogeneity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons pollution in surface soil of China and its response to regional energy consumption

Provisionally accepted
Kun Chen Kun Chen He Shen He Shen Shuying Zang Shuying Zang Li Sun Li Sun *
  • Harbin Normal University, Harbin, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The regional variation of energy structure in China is a significant contributor to the geographic distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils, posing a substantial risk to food safety and human health. However, the precise mechanisms and extent to which energy consumption influences the spatial variability of PAHs remain largely unknown. To address this knowledge research gap, we screened PAHs data in surface soils across China screened using data from 161 155 literature sources between 2003 and 2022, coupled with anthropogenic indicators were used to investigate the concentrations, sources, and spatial heterogeneity of the effects of energy consumption on PAHs, utilizing anthropogenic indicators. Σ16Total PAH concentrations exhibited a range of ~ fivefour orders of magnitude from 1.05 to 100305 6778.1 μg•kg -1 , indicating weak to heavymoderate contamination and exhibiting strong spatial variability influenced by human factors. Furthermore, 3-4-ring PAHs were dominant, accounting for an average of 23.72%25.07% and 37.60%38.55%, respectively, reflecting the significant role of coal in China energy consumption and the associated coal-smoke pollution as a primary factor in ecological environment destruction. The spatial distributions of mean Σ16total PAH concentrations descended in the order of Northeast China > North China > Northwest China > Central China > East China > Northwest China > Southwest China > South China, with different PAH composition profiles among regions affected by energy consumption. The geographical weighted regression (GWR) model was utilized used to analyze explore the spatial heterogeneity of the influence of energy factors affecting on PAH concentrationss. Natural gas, oil, and coal were identified as energy sources with a significant positive correlation to PAH pollution. This indicated that combustion and traffic sources were the primary contributors to PAHs in surface soil in China, with coal, natural gas combustion, and oil consumption identified as the principal energy factors influencing PAH concentrations. The results of this study provide a foundation for future efforts to prevent and control soil pollution.

    Keywords: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Surface soil, spatial distribution, SOURCE APPORTIONMENT, Geographically weighted regression

    Received: 15 Sep 2024; Accepted: 02 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chen, Shen, Zang and Sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Li Sun, Harbin Normal University, Harbin, China

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