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Contribution of chemical inputs on the trace elements concentrations of surface soils in urban allotment gardens

  • Soils, Sec 3 • Remediation and Management of Contaminated or Degraded Lands • Research Article
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Abstract

Purpose

Urban soil contamination by heavy metals is one of the foremost challenges for urban soil quality, especially in the urban agriculture context. Urban gardening is a common practice in many industrialized and developing countries. How sources of soil contamination relate to inputs and influence the heavy metal content in soils, however, is not established yet.

Materials and methods

This study aims to assess the potential of pesticide applications (such as Bordeaux mixture) on soil quality. A set of 104 allotment gardens was selected in three cities in France, and topsoil was sampled and analyzed.

Results and discussion

The four most abundant metals in urban vegetable garden topsoils were Zn, Pb, Cu, and Cr. The past and/or present industrial and urban activities are not the only cause of the metal contamination in urban vegetable garden soils. Gardens, where pesticides such as the Bordeaux mixture are being used showed significantly higher total Cu values in soils (78 mg kg−1 compared with 49 mg kg−1 for untreated gardens).

Conclusions

Even though the risk of metal contamination through vegetable consumption is usually considered low, we clearly identified indicators of anthropogenic Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn pollution due to pesticides inputs. This link was particularly strong between the use of Bordeaux mixture and increases Cu levels.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the technical staff of the LSE and especially Alain Rakoto, the gardeners and all the partners involved in the JASSUR program, especially Béatrice Béchet, Liliane Jean-Soro, Thierry Lebeau, and Cécile Le Guern, for their substantial help.

Funding

This work was supported by the French National Agency of Research (ANR) (JASSUR research project; ANR-12-VBDU-0011).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UMR ECOSYS, INRAE, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, F-78850, Thiverval-Grignon, France

    Sophie Joimel & Claire-Sophie Haudin

  2. UMR CEFE 5175, Université de Montpellier, EPHE, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, F-34199, Montpellier cedex, France

    Jérôme Cortet

  3. Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, UMR 7303 TELEMME, Aix-en-Provence, France

    Jean Noël Consalès

  4. Cerema, Equipe TEAM, Direction territoriale Ile de France, F-78190, Trappes, France

    Philippe Branchu

  5. Université de Lorraine, INRAE, LSE, F-54000, Nancy, France

    Jean Louis Morel & Christophe Schwartz

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  1. Sophie Joimel
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  2. Jérôme Cortet
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  3. Jean Noël Consalès
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Correspondence to Sophie Joimel.

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Joimel, S., Cortet, J., Consalès, J.N. et al. Contribution of chemical inputs on the trace elements concentrations of surface soils in urban allotment gardens. J Soils Sediments 21, 328–337 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02784-z

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