{"title":"Insights into the critical processes of methane biogeochemical cycling in inland freshwater ecosystems: a systematic review.","authors":"Shengman Zhang, Yingjie Wang, Yue Xia, Fushun Wang, Xueping Chen, Xiangfeng Huang, Lide Jin, Chunyang Li, Hui Li","doi":"10.1007/s10653-026-03225-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-026-03225-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) is a potent greenhouse gas with a 100-year global warming potential approximately 27.9 times that of carbon dioxide, contributing to approximately 19% of historical global warming. Inland freshwater ecosystems are significant natural sources of CH<sub>4</sub> emissions and constitute the greatest uncertainty in the global methane budget. This review systematically synthesizes recent advances in understanding the biogeochemical cycling processes and environmental drivers of CH<sub>4</sub> in inland freshwater systems. Special emphasis is placed on the \"methane paradox\", which is the phenomenon of CH<sub>4</sub> supersaturation in oxic waters, and highlights oxic methane production as a nonclassical pathway for CH<sub>4</sub> production. Oxic methane production occurs via multiple enzymatic and nonenzymatic mechanisms under oxygen-rich conditions and is driven primarily by methyl- and hydrogen-coupled reactions. This process is synergistically regulated by nutrient status, light conditions, thermal stratification, and functional microbial communities. Furthermore, this review integrates key processes governing CH<sub>4</sub> dynamics from production to emission, including diffusive flux, ebullition, and plant-mediated transport, as well as consumption by both aerobic and anaerobic methane oxidation. These findings underscore how environmental factors and hydrological dynamics collectively regulate microbial metabolic activity and substrate availability, thereby determining net CH<sub>4</sub> emissions. Future research should prioritize multiscale observational efforts, integrate advanced technologies with mechanistic models, and quantify the contribution of oxic methane production and multifactor interactions to refine estimates of the global methane budget and support climate change mitigation strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":11759,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Geochemistry and Health","volume":"48 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147834481","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Correction: Determination of localized risk screening values of 22 elements in jieyang farmland by multifractal method: anchor point verification and pollution zoning.","authors":"Shuo Xiong, Jie Luo, Kaili Xu, Wanyue Chen","doi":"10.1007/s10653-026-03210-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-026-03210-y","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11759,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Geochemistry and Health","volume":"48 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147835233","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Influence of biochar on bioaccumulation and phytotoxicity of pesticides (atrazine and acetochlor) in crops in maize-soybean rotation system.","authors":"Wanting Wang, Jiaxing Yu, Ming Li","doi":"10.1007/s10653-026-03231-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-026-03231-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Biochar (BC) is a carbon-rich porous material, which can increase soil organic matter content. The impacts of BC on soil properties have been widely investigated, however, the impacts of BC on bioaccumulation of pesticides in crops and the toxic effects to crops are less studied. Herein, batch experiments were carried out, the BC (0.02, 0.2, 2%) and atrazine (ATR)/acetochlor (ACE) were applied individually or in combination into soil to separately cultivate soybean/maize in greenhouse. On day 45, soybean and maize were sampled to measure ATR or ACE concentration: ATR concentration in soybean of 2%BC + ATR treatment group reached 24.55 ng/g, which was significantly (p < 0.05) lower than that of ATR-only treatment group (26.04 ng/g); meanwhile, ACE concentration in maize of 2%BC + ACE treatment group reached 4.87 ng/g, which was significantly (p < 0.05) lower than that of ACE-only treatment group (5.27 ng/g). Results showed that BC in soil slightly reduced ATR/ACE entering soybean/maize plants, which was due to that the existence of BC accelerated the degradation of ATR and ACE. In addition, the changes in MDA content, root electrolytic leakage, total chlorophyll, and soluble sugar of soybean in 2%BC + ATR treatment group were 0.93-fold, 0.81-fold, 1.11-fold, and 1.1-fold of ATR-only treatment group; the changes in MDA content, root electrolytic leakage, total chlorophyll, and soluble sugar of maize in 2%BC + ACE treatment group were 0.88-fold, 0.95-fold, 1.16-fold, and 1.1-fold of ACE-only treatment group, indicating that BC mitigated pesticide-induced stress. This study provides novel insight of utilizing BC to deal with organic pollutants in soil.</p>","PeriodicalId":11759,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Geochemistry and Health","volume":"48 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147835216","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Air pollution in Malaysia: current understanding and future directions.","authors":"Amaechi O Azi, Hwee S Lim, Emmanuel Yohanna","doi":"10.1007/s10653-026-03221-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-026-03221-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Air pollution remains a significant environmental and public health issue in Malaysia, with notable effects on the economy and climate. Despite long-standing monitoring systems and regulations, comprehensive assessments that combine multiple data sources with health impact analysis are still lacking. This study reviews peer-reviewed studies, haze events from 1983 to 2024, regulatory documents from the Department of Environment, Malaysia, and data from air quality monitoring stations across regions. and presents an integrated assessment of air quality across strategic and important urban, industrial, coastal, and residential areas. It analyses trends in the Air Pollutant Index and PM<sub>2.5</sub> levels from 2013 to 2024, and uses exposure-response models to estimate related deaths and economic impacts. Satellite data (MODIS and AERONET) help understand spatial variation and cross-border pollution. Average PM<sub>2.5</sub> levels ranged from 8.66-16.77 µg/m<sup>3</sup>, consistently above WHO guidelines from 2021. In 2020, PM<sub>2.5</sub> exposure was linked to 1.419 early deaths in four urban areas, costing about MYR 2.46 billion (USD 524 million). Population-attributable fractions ranged from 2.6-7.1%, with risk rising by 2.7-7.6% per 10 µg/m<sup>3</sup> increase. The study identified 12 major haze events, notably in 1997 and 2015. COVID-19 restrictions temporarily reduced emissions, but levels quickly rebounded afterward. Conclusively, Malaysia's air quality issues are mainly due to transport, industry, dust, and recurring transboundary haze. Solutions include better source tracking, enhanced secondary pollutant monitoring, integrating health data more effectively, adopting advanced technologies, and aligning policies with WHO standards. Pollution effects are more pronounced in metropolitan regions due to proximity to dense sources.</p>","PeriodicalId":11759,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Geochemistry and Health","volume":"48 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147835159","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Combined exposure to microplastics and PFASs on earthworms: size and concentration effects.","authors":"Mengjun Shao, Jie Hu, Lijuan Gu, Ling Ling, Yixing Zhu, Liugen Zheng","doi":"10.1007/s10653-026-03228-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-026-03228-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Microplastics (MPs) can act as carriers for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), exerting both direct and indirect effects on soil organisms. However, few studies have systematically evaluated the combined effects of co‑exposure to MPs and PFASs. In this study, earthworms (Eisenia fetida) were exposed to polystyrene (PS) MPs of different sizes (30 nm and 10 μm) and PFASs for 21 days to investigate the toxicological mechanisms of single and combined exposure. The results showed that earthworm survival rates remained above 80% in all treatment groups throughout the 21‑day exposure period (p > 0.05). However, the earthworm growth rate (K<sub>gr</sub>) was significantly inhibited (p < 0.05), with negative growth observed on days 14 and 21. At the end of the experiment, the K<sub>gr</sub> in the combined exposure groups decreased by 65.53% compared to the control (CK) and by 59.86% compared to the single‑exposure groups. Histological observations revealed more severe damage to the earthworm epidermis and intestine under combined exposure, characterized by large vacuoles beneath the epidermis, varying degrees of atrophy in the circular muscle layer and intestinal epithelium, loosely arranged cells, and damaged villus structures. Regarding oxidative stress indicators, combined exposure significantly aggravated oxidative stress in earthworms. Specifically, compared to single exposure to MPs or PFASs, the combined treatment groups exhibited significantly increased activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD), as well as elevated contents of glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA). Notably, the size and concentration of MPs influenced the combined effects of PFASs and MPs on earthworms, with the strongest effects observed in the treatment with 30 nm MPs at 100 mg kg<sup>-1</sup>. Furthermore, 16S rRNA sequencing results showed that co‑exposure to MPs and PFASs induced gut microbiota dysbiosis in earthworms. At the phylum level, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria increased significantly, while that of Actinobacteriota and Firmicutes decreased. Such alterations in microbial community structure may further affect the physiological functions and health status of earthworms. This study provides data support for the environmental and toxicological risk assessment of MPs and PFASs in soil ecosystems by investigating their effects on earthworms.</p>","PeriodicalId":11759,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Geochemistry and Health","volume":"48 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147835178","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mohamed Ebrahem, Mohamed I Hosni, Adel Abdallah, Alaaeldin Mahmoud
{"title":"Laser-induced hyperspectral fluorescence for spatio-chemical detection of sunscreen contaminants in food-grade sea salt using sparse PCA-SVM analysis.","authors":"Mohamed Ebrahem, Mohamed I Hosni, Adel Abdallah, Alaaeldin Mahmoud","doi":"10.1007/s10653-026-03211-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-026-03211-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sea salt increasingly harbors organic contaminants from personal care products, yet current monitoring methods lack spatial resolution and require destructive sampling. This study introduces an innovative analytical framework integrating Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI) with machine learning for the rapid, non-destructive detection of sunscreen residues on salt crystals. To simulate contamination, seawater from the Mediterranean coast (Alexandria, Egypt) was spiked to achieve a 10 mg/L sunscreen concentration within the seawater matrix prior to crystallization; this formulation contained Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Homosalate, and Ethylhexyl Salicylate. A SOC710 HS camera (128 bands) acquired fluorescence data under 450 nm laser excitation. Raw data underwent preprocessing and dimensionality reduction via Sparse Principal Component Analysis (Sparse PCA, λ = 0.5, k = 4 components, 73.4% sparsity). A Support Vector Machine (SVM) with an RBF kernel was trained on these sparse features. Performance evaluation employed tenfold stratified cross-validation, an 80-20 holdout test on ROI-based spectra, and independent sample validation against manually annotated pixel-wise ground-truth masks. While ROI-based tests yielded near-perfect accuracy under ideal conditions, full-image evaluation achieved ≈96% pixel-wise accuracy (precision ≈ 0.99, recall ≈ 0.95, F1 ≈ 0.97), providing a realistic estimate under heterogeneous conditions. Full-image classification mapped widespread contamination (57.8% of pixels), whereas an independently prepared clean salt sample produced zero false positives. The integrated Sparse PCA-SVM framework transforms fluorescence-imaging data into spatio-chemical maps, simultaneously revealing contaminant presence and spatial distribution on salt surfaces, thereby offering a powerful paradigm for the interpretable monitoring of organic pollutants in food materials.</p>","PeriodicalId":11759,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Geochemistry and Health","volume":"48 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13144177/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147835196","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ananthi Sankararaman, Kirubaveni Savarimuthu, Gulam Nabi Alsath Mohammed
{"title":"Geochemically aware domain adaptation (GADA) for real-time fluoride inference in heterogeneous aquifers of Tamil nadu, India.","authors":"Ananthi Sankararaman, Kirubaveni Savarimuthu, Gulam Nabi Alsath Mohammed","doi":"10.1007/s10653-026-03219-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-026-03219-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Groundwater fluoride contamination in Tamil Nadu's geochemically diverse aquifers necessitates high-fidelity, cost-effective monitoring. This study introduces a Geochemically-Aware Domain Adaptation (GADA) framework to predict fluoride concentrations in data-scarce regions.Query Using 2089 data samples from 32 districts of Tamilnadu collected from Central Ground Water Board, India, different domain adaptation models like Best Source Transfer (BST), Correlation Alignment (CORAL), and Feature-Weighted Data Augmentation (FWDA) strategy utilizing Gradient Boosting as a base estimator is developed. While direct model transfer showed poor performance, the GADA achieved a robust R<sup>2</sup>of 0.91 with a minimal standard deviation of 0.042, an MSE of 0.015, and an MAE of 0.094. Functioning as a Virtual Sensor, the model performs real-time inference using only three low-cost parameters: pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), and Electrical Conductivity (EC). Field validation against Ion-Selective Electrode (ISE) measurements confirmed the system's high predictive fidelity. This stable and accurate solution provides a scalable tool for continuous environmental monitoring and decentralized water governance in heterogeneous hydrogeological domains.</p>","PeriodicalId":11759,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Geochemistry and Health","volume":"48 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147835199","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Integrated source apportionment, ecological risk assessment, and machine learning-based human health risk evaluation of potentially toxic elements in stream sediments of Odisha, eastern India.","authors":"Puja Dey, Subhasish Tripathy, Kamal Lochan Pruseth, Rahul Singh, Gourav Mondal, Pradip Bhattacharyya","doi":"10.1007/s10653-026-03217-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-026-03217-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Stream sediments, as long-term sinks for potentially toxic elements (PTEs), provide valuable insights into both natural and anthropogenic contamination. This study presents a comprehensive assessment of PTE contamination, ecological risk, and human health implications across Odisha, eastern India- a region characterized by complex Precambrian geology, intensive agriculture, mining, and industrialization. Concentrations of ten PTEs (Cr, Cd, As, Ni, Cu, Zn, Co, Mn, V, and W) from 28,111 locations collected under the Geological Survey of India NGCM program indicate moderate to very high contamination across the state, with pronounced hotspots in mineralized and industrial belts. Multivariate analyses, including principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering, reveal dominant lithogenic control over Cr, Mn, Ni, Co, Cu, Zn, and V, while anthropogenic enrichment of As, Cd, and W is linked to mining, industrial emissions, and agricultural activities. Non-negative matrix factorization corroborates these source apportionment results. Pollution indices, including enrichment factor, geo-accumulation index, pollution load index, and potential ecological risk index, indicate moderate to high ecological risk in several regions. Human health risk assessment shows that 69.05% of locations exhibit high non-carcinogenic risk (HI > 1) for children, whereas adults show non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks in < 0.5% and > 65% of locations, respectively, primarily associated with Cr, Cd, and As. Sobol sensitivity analysis demonstrates that concentration variability predominantly governs carcinogenic risk estimates. Additionally, a machine learning-based framework is developed to classify risk and non-risk zones for both adults and children. This integrated approach provides critical insights for public health protection, targeted remediation, and sustainable land-use planning.</p>","PeriodicalId":11759,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Geochemistry and Health","volume":"48 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147835207","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sorption and degradation of α-terpineol in soils with distinct physicochemical properties.","authors":"Huan-Feng Chen, Zi-Jun Yang, Hai-Rong Chen, Hai-Ming Zhao, Yan-Wen Li, Quan-Ying Cai, Ce-Hui Mo, Lei Xiang","doi":"10.1007/s10653-026-03216-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-026-03216-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mining operations release substantial quantities of organic flotation reagents into aquatic environments. These compounds could subsequently enter soil systems through irrigation, runoff, or overflow, posing significant pollution and potential ecological risks. Nevertheless, the environmental fates of these reagents, particularly foaming agent, in soils remains poorly understood. This study investigated the sorption and degradation of α-terpineol (a typical foaming agent) in six soils with distinct physicochemical properties, using batch experiments coupled with solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The sorption kinetics followed a pseudo-first-order model, involving intra-particle and liquid film diffusion, while the sorption isotherms were best described by the Langmuir model, indicating monolayer sorption. The sorption process was governed mainly by hydrophobic interactions associated with soil organic matter (OM) and bridging effects facilitated by clay components. Higher OM content, higher clay content, neutral pH, greater abundance of dissolved OM, and higher cation concentrations promoted α-terpineol sorption. The logarithmic organic carbon partition coefficient of α-terpineol mainly ranged from 1.7 to 3.0, suggesting its weak sorption capacity in soils. The degradation kinetics conformed to a first-order model, with the degradation half-lives varying between 9.4 and 69.1 h cross different soils. This degradation was promoted by lower initial compound concentration, reduced moisture, moderate temperature, and enhanced microbial activity. A distinct lag phase in α-terpineol degradation highlighted its potential environmental persistence. These findings provide critical insights into the environmental fate and potential ecological risks of foaming agents in soil.</p>","PeriodicalId":11759,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Geochemistry and Health","volume":"48 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147812525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Assessing the geochemical impacts of bauxite mining to the neighbouring environment: a quantitative approach through risk assessment, sensitivity analysis and source apportionment of heavy metals.","authors":"Mohammad, Gourav Mondal, Saibal Ghosh, Sumit Kumar, Pradip Bhattacharyya","doi":"10.1007/s10653-026-03218-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-026-03218-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Heavy metal (HM) contamination in agricultural soils adjacent to bauxite mining poses a significant risk to the ecological and human health. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the degree of contamination, the spatial distribution, source apportionment, and probabilistic health risks assessment in bauxite mining-affected agricultural ecosystems in Eastern India. Soil samples (n = 120) were collected from the Rayagada district (Zone 1 = 60) and Koraput district (Zone 2 = 60) regions of Eastern India. Soils in both zones were found to acidic (Zone 1<sub>pH</sub>: 5.65 ± 0.45 and Zone 2<sub>pH</sub>: 5.62 ± 0.64) and low electrical conductivity (EC) values of (Zone 1 = 0.04 ± 0.01 and Zone 2 = 0.03 ± 0.01 mS/cm). In Zone 1, average values of Cr (249.05 ± 74.51 mg/kg), Cd (4.73 ± 0.98 mg/kg) and Fe (53,284.20 ± 12,889.27 mg/kg) were significantly greater than Zone 2. Spatial distribution suggested high levels of HMs were associated close to the mining activities. Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) revealed the four major pollution sources identified in this study, namely industrial, natural/geological, traffic-related, and agricultural inputs. Pollution indices revealed significant pollution (PLI: 1.56 in Zone 1; 1.08 in Zone 2), while ecological risk index values for Cr exceeding 600 in both zones. Although non-carcinogenic risk (HI < 1) was within acceptable limits, carcinogenic risks-primarily attributed to Cr and Pb-were elevated for children (TCR = 1.01E-02). The Sobol sensitivity analysis found chromium, lead, and nickel as important contributors to carcinogenic risk. Overall, the findings emphasize the need for focused management, monitoring and long-term restoration in agricultural land affected by mining.</p>","PeriodicalId":11759,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Geochemistry and Health","volume":"48 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147812598","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}