Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination Using Pollution Index, Geo-Accumulation Index, and Potential Ecological Risk Index in Agricultural Soil – A Case Study in the Coastal Area of Doukkala (Morocco)

Abstract

Studies assessing the environmental risks related to metal pollution in agricultural soils are lacking in the coastal area of Doukkala, with is one of Morocco's most agricultural regions. To overcome the shortcomings of such studies, trace element (As, Cd, Pb, and Zn) analyses were carried out at four sampling points in agricultural surface soils, a total of sixty-six surface soil samples were raised with an auger at a depth of (0-20 cm) from the study area. This study examined the classification and levels of heavy metals in agricultural soil and applied the pollution score and ecological risk index to the Doukkala coastal area (Morocco). This study used pollution indicators, a geoaccumulation index, and potential ecological risk indices to examine the distribution and quantity of heavy metals in agricultural soils in the coastal region of Doukkala (Morocco). This study provides significant information for policymakers and environmental specialists to quantify soil contamination in the coastal area of Doukkala (Morocco).

Sediments as Sentinels of Pollution Episodes in the Middle Estuary of the Tinto River (SW Spain)

“…To determine the heavy metal contamination in a soil or sediment, various indices are often used, such as the enrichment factor (EF) or the geoaccumulation index (I geo ) [12][13][14]. The latter index requires a regional background in order to calculate the degree of contamination, which may be unique for each metal regardless of grain size (e.g., [15][16][17]), or may include a differentiation between sandy and muddy sediments [18].…”

Assessment of Landscape Changes caused by Highway Construction: Case Study of Ruta del Canal Pargua Highway in Chile

“…Landscape ecology, road ecology, engineering, marine biology, and urban design/planning have been raising these same concerns about the strong increase of highway construction around the world in the last decades (Forman et al 2003;Clay and Smidt 2004;Wheeler et al 2005;Coffin 2007;Jaal and Abdullah 2012;Guo et al 2023;Zaakour et al 2023). Since the launch of the classical guidelines from the Bureau of Land Management for Visual Assessment in the USA (1984), these disciplines had been more involved in other aspects of the relationship between landscape and highways, inquiring about visual features and their management/effects on drivers, vegetation maintenance, human-wildlife presence, and scenic qualities.…”