Environmental, ecological and health risks of boron in agricultural soils of Amik Plain under Mediterranean conditions

• Published in: Stochastic environmental research and risk assessment Vol. 37; no. 6; pp. 2069 - 2081
• Main Authors: Aytop, Halil, Ateş, Özgür, Dengiz, Orhan, Yılmaz, Cafer Hakan, Demir, Ömer Faruk
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-06-2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adults; Agricultural land; Agricultural practices; Aquatic Pollution; Boron; Chemistry and Earth Sciences; Children; Computational Intelligence; Computer Science; Contamination; Continental crust; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Ecological effects; Ecological risk assessment; Enrichment; Environment; Fertilization; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Ingestion; Inhalation; Intensive farming; Math. Appl. in Environmental Science; Original Paper; Pesticides; Physics; Probability Theory and Stochastic Processes; Respiration; Risk factors; Soil contamination; Soils; Spatial distribution; Statistics for Engineering; Toxicity; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Risk assesment; Interpolation models; Amik plain; Soil contamination
• ISSN: 1436-3240; 1436-3259
• DOI: 10.1007/s00477-023-02380-w

An abundance of boron (B) content in soils can threaten both plant and human health. The range that identifies B insufficiency or toxicity in the soil is quite small, making it a difficult issue to overcome. Therefore, intensive activities (irrigation, fertilization, pesticides, etc.) caused by humans in agricultural lands can rapidly increase B concentration. On the other hand, there have been few studies to analyze the ecological and human health implications posed by B concentrations in agricultural soil. In the present study, environmental, ecological, and human health risks caused by B in the intensively cultivated Amik Plain (Türkiye) were evaluated. A total of 137 soil samples were collected and analyzed from the study area which has been used under intensive agriculture practice. The average concentration of B in the soils (29.40 mg kg
−1
) exceeded the contents of B in the upper continental crust (17 mg kg
−1
). It was determined that the mean enrichment factor (2.56), geoaccumulation index (0.17), and contamination factor values (1.73) of B show that the study area was moderately enriched and contaminated. B had a mean potential ecological risk factor value below 40, indicating a low potential ecological risk. Spatial distribution maps showed that boron enrichment was more in the western part of the plain. Children were more vulnerable to noncarcinogenic health effects of B in soils than adults. In addition, for both children and adults, the hazard index values did not surpass one, showing that B in the soil through dermal contact, inhalation pathways, and ingestion had no dangers noncarcinogenic risks.