Environmental Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in the Agricultural Soils of Bayramiç-Çanakkale, NW Türkiye

This study was carried out to identify the total heavy metal concentrations of agricultural soils of Bayramiç district of Çanakkale province and to reveal their potential environmental risks. For this purpose, the total concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the samples collected from the study area were determined. Contamination factor, enrichment factor, geoaccumulation index, and pollution load index were calculated for pollution levels and risk assessment. Spatial distribution maps of heavy metal concentrations and risk indices were generated using geographic information systems technologies. Among the heavy metals, the mean concentrations were observed as follows: Mn > Zn > Cu > Cr > Ni > Pb > Cd. It was observed that the average concentrations of Cd, Cu, and Mn metals were higher than the world soil averages. Among these heavy metals, Cd and Cu have significant pollution risk according to the contamination Factor, moderate pollution risk according to the enrichment factor, and moderate pollution risk according to the geoaccumulation index. In the statistical evaluation, a statistically strong positive relationship was identified between Cr, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn metals and clay content.