Soil heavy metal contamination has become a global environmental issue, posing long‐term risks to ecosystems, human health, and agricultural sustainability. In regions like Fujian Province, China, soil pollution is exacerbated by both agricultural and industrial activities, with tobacco‐growing areas facing heightened risks due to heavy metal accumulation. This study aimed to assess the contamination levels, ecological risks, and sources of seven key heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Hg, Cr, As, Cu, and Zn) in the tobacco‐growing soils of Liancheng County, Fujian Province. We employed a combination of pollution indices (Pi and Pn), ecological risk indices (RI and Igeo), and multivariate statistical methods (principal component analysis PCA/positive matrix factorization PMF) to evaluate the pollution levels, ecological risks, and trace pollution sources. The findings indicate that while the overall pollution level is relatively low, localized ecological risks, particularly from Cd and Hg, pose significant concerns. This study demonstrates that while the overall pollution level in the tobacco‐growing soils of Liancheng County remains relatively low, localized ecological risks—particularly from cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg)—are significant. By integrating pollution indices and multivariate models (PCA/PMF), we quantitatively apportioned the heavy metal sources into four categories: emissions from nonferrous metal smelting and chemical industries (32%), agricultural inputs (30%), natural sources (23%), and traffic emissions (15%). Our findings underscore that anthropogenic activities, especially industrial processes and agricultural practices, are the dominant drivers of soil contamination in this region, providing a critical scientific basis for targeted pollution control and environmental management in similar agroecosystems. The results provide a valuable framework for future pollution control strategies and offer critical insights for environmental management in similar regions worldwide.
Xi et al. (Thu,) studied this question.