Dynamic characteristics of heavy metal accumulation in agricultural soils after continuous organic fertilizer application: Field-scale monitoring

Manure has been considered as a source of soil heavy metal (HM) pollution. However, the long-term impact of manure application on soil HM accumulation have not been well studied. This study tracked the long-term cumulative trends of soil copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), and lead (Pb) in three soil-crop systems over 5–8 years' application of commercial manure fertilizer. The contribution of different fertilization treatments (CF, chemical fertilizer; T1-T3, manure with different application dosages) to soil HMs pollution risk were assessed. There are accumulating tendencies for Cu, Zn, and Pb in paddy fields, Cu and As in orchard fields, and Zn, As, and Pb in vegetable fields, while the concentrations of As in paddy fields and Zn in orchard fields decreased over time. Manure application significantly influenced the accumulation of Cu, Zn, and As in soils rather than that of Pb. The modeling prediction subsequently revealed that the time required to reach the risk screening values (Cu: 50 mg kg−1; Zn: 200 mg kg−1) for HM content in paddy soil, according to GB15618-2018, decreased from 18.20 years to 7.20 years due to the introduction of Cu and Zn via manure use. Recommend annual manure application dosage was 7.73 t hm−2 y−1 to ensure a 20-year period of clean production in paddy soils, while it was 26.15 t hm−2 y−1 in the orchard soil and 16.23 t hm−2 y−1 in vegetable soil to ensure a 50-year period of clean production, respectively. Overall, the impacts of HMs input by manure application on soil HMs accumulation varied depending on the type of metal and the soil-crop system. The cumulative trends of HMs in soils play a crucial role in determining whether the input of HMs through manure application can lead to the risk of HM pollution.