Numerous groundwater studies exist on the heavy metal (HM) pollution in Punjab, however, research is quite limited in the soil system of the region. In the current work, detailed study has been carried out on the distribution of toxic metals in the agricultural and barren soil (AS & BS) samples in the semi-arid region of Punjab. Pollution level of HMs was determined by using various pollution indices like geo-accumulation index (Igeo), enrichment factor (EF), pollution index and pollution load index (PLI), and potential ecological risk assessment (PERI). A total of 11 toxic elements were measured and 2 fold values were observed in the AS samples. Range of HMs in the AS samples were 3.9 – 28.1, 29.2 - 90, 6.7 – 32.8, 4.2 – 65.6, 13019.5 – 43900, 95.7 – 553, 13.1 – 42.1, 16.5 – 25.2, 82 – 267, 25 – 78.6, 25.4 – 131.8 mg/kg for As, Cr, Cu, Co, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, V and Zn respectively. It is seen that there is high variability in the spatial distribution of metals throughout the region indicating the role of anthropogenic activities. Pollution levels reveal the studied region to be moderately contaminated in terms of anthropogenic pollution. Multivariate statistical analysis results also revealed that the majority of HM pollution in the region is due to anthropogenic activities with few elements to be of geogenic origin. Potential health risks assessment is carried out and total hazard index (HI) values were in the acceptable range but the total cancer risks were comparatively higher for children than adults. This study shows the risk of heavy metal contamination in the agricultural regions and the results obtained have global implications.
