Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, Qinghai 810008, People's Republic of China.
Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, Qinghai 810008, People's Republic of China.
Sci Total Environ. 2016 Apr 15;550:628-636. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.136. Epub 2016 Feb 2.
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the highest geographical unit in the world. Thus, it serves an important role in evaluating long-term ecologic conditions and environmental status and changes over time. This study summarizes major and trace element concentrations in biota and in water and soil. It also pays attention to gaseous pollutant and particle concentrations in air around the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The degree of soil heavy metal contamination and the water heavy metal hazard index were respectively evaluated. The contamination degrees of two sampling areas around the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau reached extremely high levels with soil mCd (modified degree of contamination) values exceeding 20. Surprisingly, over 54% of sampling areas showed moderate or more serious soil contamination degree (mCd>1.5). Moreover, the hazard indexes of two important rivers were 1.56 and 7.59, reaching unacceptable level. The potential risk might be beyond our expectation. Therefore, it should be an urgent and top priority to identify and confirm possible pollution sources around the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Then, it is imperative to implement feasible and effective environmental quality control strategies.
青藏高原是世界上海拔最高的地理单元。因此，它在评估长期生态条件和环境状况以及随时间的变化方面起着重要作用。本研究总结了生物体内以及水和土壤中的主要和微量元素浓度。它还关注青藏高原周围空气中的气态污染物和颗粒浓度。评估了土壤重金属污染程度和水重金属危害指数。青藏高原周围两个采样区的土壤重金属污染程度达到极高水平，土壤 mCd（污染程度修正值）值超过 20。令人惊讶的是，超过 54%的采样区显示出中度或更严重的土壤污染程度（mCd>1.5）。此外，两条重要河流的危害指数分别为 1.56 和 7.59，达到不可接受的水平。潜在风险可能超出我们的预期。因此，迫切需要确定和确认青藏高原周围可能的污染源，并实施可行和有效的环境质量控制策略。
