Distribution characteristics and driving factors of potentially toxic elements in the soil of Hippophae rhamnoides forests in the reclaimed coal - mine areas of ordos
5 affiliations
- 1School of Life Sciences, Yan’an University/Key Laboratory of Applied Ecology of Loess Plateau, Shaanxi Provincial Department of Education
- 2National Seabuckthorn Development and Management Center (Plant Development and Management Center for Soil and Water Conservation, Ministry of Water Resources)
- 3China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research
- 4Yellow River Research Center, Tsinghua University
- 5College of Geographical Science, Inner Mongolia Normal University
Abstract
To investigate the distribution characteristics and driving factors of soil potentially toxic elements after land reclamation in a mining area, this study focused on the soil potentially toxic elements distribution in a Hippophae rhamnoides plantation within the Juxinlong Coal Mine reclamation area in Ordos, Inner Mongolia. Soil sampling gradients were established at distances of 1/8 (0.25 m), 1/4 (0.5 m), and 1/2 (1 m) of the inter-tree distance from the standard tree. Abandoned grassland was used as a control group. The contents and distribution characteristics of potentially toxic elements including Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Chromium (Cr), and Arsenic (As) in the soil were analyzed to assessed their potential ecological risks, and identified the driving factors. The results showed that the contents of Pb, Cu, Cr, Cd, and As in the study area increased as the distance from the tree trunk decreased. The contents of Pb, Cu, Cr, and Cd in the abandoned grassland were generally higher than those in the Hippophae rhamnoides treatment groups, while As showed significant enrichment at the 1/8 plant spacing distance, with its content increasing from 4.03 mg·kg⁻¹ to 9.35 mg·kg⁻¹.The comprehensive potential ecological risk index (RI) increased as the distance decreased, reaching an extremely high-risk level near the standard trees (1/8 plant spacing), with RI values ranging from 434.58 to 581.17, and Cr was identified as the key risk factor. Soil moisture indicators (field water-holding capacity, CWC; saturated water content, SW) were the core driving factors regulating the contents of As, Cd, and Cu, exerting significant negative direct effects (with path coefficients of -0.84, -0.80, and -0.50, respectively). Furthermore, soil moisture indirectly influenced potentially toxic elements distribution by affecting soil pH, available potassium, organic matter, and bacterial community diversity. This study elucidates the distribution pattern of soil potentially toxic elements and their main influencing factors in a coal mine reclamation area, providing a theoretical basis for risk identification and precise management in mining area ecological restoration.
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BibTeX
@article{guo2026distribution,
title = {{Distribution characteristics and driving factors of potentially toxic elements in the soil of Hippophae rhamnoides forests in the reclaimed coal - mine areas of ordos}},
author = {Jiamin Guo and Yan Gao and Guangquan Liu and Hongwu Zhang and Genbatu Ge and Ning Ai and Fangfang Qiang},
journal = {Frontiers in Plant Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpls.2026.1947107},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1947107/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Distribution characteristics and driving factors of potentially toxic elements in the soil of Hippophae rhamnoides forests in the reclaimed coal - mine areas of ordos
AU - Jiamin Guo
AU - Yan Gao
AU - Guangquan Liu
AU - Hongwu Zhang
AU - Genbatu Ge
AU - Ning Ai
AU - Fangfang Qiang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Frontiers in Plant Science
DO - 10.3389/fpls.2026.1947107
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1947107/full
AB - To investigate the distribution characteristics and driving factors of soil potentially toxic elements after land reclamation in a mining area, this study focused on the soil potentially toxic elements distribution in a Hippophae rhamnoides plantation within the Juxinlong Coal Mine reclamation area in Ordos, Inner Mongolia. Soil sampling gradients were established at distances of 1/8 (0.25 m), 1/4 (0.5 m), and 1/2 (1 m) of the inter-tree distance from the standard tree. Abandoned grassland was used as a control group. The contents and distribution characteristics of potentially toxic elements including Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Chromium (Cr), and Arsenic (As) in the soil were analyzed to assessed their potential ecological risks, and identified the driving factors. The results showed that the contents of Pb, Cu, Cr, Cd, and As in the study area increased as the distance from the tree trunk decreased. The contents of Pb, Cu, Cr, and Cd in the abandoned grassland were generally higher than those in the Hippophae rhamnoides treatment groups, while As showed significant enrichment at the 1/8 plant spacing distance, with its content increasing from 4.03 mg·kg⁻¹ to 9.35 mg·kg⁻¹.The comprehensive potential ecological risk index (RI) increased as the distance decreased, reaching an extremely high-risk level near the standard trees (1/8 plant spacing), with RI values ranging from 434.58 to 581.17, and Cr was identified as the key risk factor. Soil moisture indicators (field water-holding capacity, CWC; saturated water content, SW) were the core driving factors regulating the contents of As, Cd, and Cu, exerting significant negative direct effects (with path coefficients of -0.84, -0.80, and -0.50, respectively). Furthermore, soil moisture indirectly influenced potentially toxic elements distribution by affecting soil pH, available potassium, organic matter, and bacterial community diversity. This study elucidates the distribution pattern of soil potentially toxic elements and their main influencing factors in a coal mine reclamation area, providing a theoretical basis for risk identification and precise management in mining area ecological restoration.
SN - 1664-462X
ER -