IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i5p1868-d1597260.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Policy Adjustments: Their Dual Impacts and Sustainability Assessment on Heavy Metal Concentration in Topsoil of Nantong City, China

Author

Listed:
  • Yuchen Xu

    (School of Geographic Science, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China)

  • Jianan Zheng

    (State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Yuhan Cao

    (School of Geographic Science, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China)

  • Qingfeng Jiang

    (School of Geographic Science, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China)

Abstract

Soil heavy metal pollution has emerged as a substantial threat to environmental quality and human health. The pollution levels of heavy metals in soil are significantly influenced by human activities, rendering it one of the most crucial topics for the sustainable development of soils. This study analyzed the data of surface soil heavy metal concentration in Nantong from 2008 to 2018 to explore the impact of policy adjustments on concentration levels. The results revealed that over the past decade, the overall content of Pb in the topsoil of Nantong decreased by 32.41%, presumably attributed to the widespread use of unleaded petrol. This suggests that policy adjustments can effectively regulate heavy metal pollution levels. However, the average concentration of Cr increased by 68.03%, and the high-concentration center shifted from the southwestern to the northeastern part of Nantong. The large-scale relocation of factories from riverside to coastal areas in Nantong likely contributed to this phenomenon. Evidently, the changes in heavy metal concentration in surface soils clearly exhibited policy-driven characteristics. Therefore, it is recommended that when formulating or adjusting relevant policies, it is imperative to comprehensively consider their potential impacts on soil heavy metal contamination. This is crucial for ensuring the overall effectiveness of the policies in terms of the sustainability of the soil environment. This article provides valuable insights for understanding heavy metal accumulation in Nantong and offers guidance for promoting future industrial upgrading and strategic planning, which is of great significance in guiding the improvement in soil quality and ensuring its sustainable use.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuchen Xu & Jianan Zheng & Yuhan Cao & Qingfeng Jiang, 2025. "Policy Adjustments: Their Dual Impacts and Sustainability Assessment on Heavy Metal Concentration in Topsoil of Nantong City, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-17, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:5:p:1868-:d:1597260
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/5/1868/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/5/1868/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dejun Yang & Yong Yang & Yipei Hua, 2023. "Source Analysis Based on the Positive Matrix Factorization Models and Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Agricultural Soil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-17, September.
    2. Jiangao Deng & Cheng Liu & Chunmei Mao, 2024. "Carbon Emissions Drivers and Reduction Strategies in Jiangsu Province," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-17, June.
    3. Shaobo Wang & Junfeng Liu & Kunyao Xu & Meicheng Ji & Feifei Yan, 2023. "Cross-Regional Cooperation and Counter-Market-Oriented Spatial Linkage: A Case Study of Collaborative Industrial Parks in the Yangtze River Delta Region," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-18, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sami Asir Al-Robai, 2023. "Ecological Risk Evaluation of Heavy Metals in Soils near a Water Dam in Baljurashi, KSA, and Their Accumulation in Dodonaea viscosa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-17, November.
    2. Jiajun Zhang & Junsheng Peng & Xingyi Chen & Xinyi Shi & Ziwei Feng & Yichen Meng & Wende Chen & Yingping Liu, 2024. "Comparative Study on Different Interpolation Methods and Source Analysis of Soil Toxic Element Pollution in Cangxi County, Guangyuan City, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-23, April.
    3. Yanzhe Cui & Yingnan Niu & Yawen Ren & Shiyi Zhang & Lindan Zhao, 2024. "A Model to Analyze Industrial Clusters to Measure Land Use Efficiency in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-22, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:5:p:1868-:d:1597260. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.