Ecological risk associated with potentially toxic elements in agricultural soils across coastal and highland valleys

• Autores: Pérez Porras, Wendy Elizabeth, Ccopi Trucios, Dennis, Flores Marquez, Ricardo, Carbajal Llosa, Carlos Miguel, Pizarro Carcausto, Samuel Edwin
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2026
• Institución: Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agraria
• Repositorio: INIA-Institucional
• Lenguaje: inglés
• OAI Identifier: oai:repositorio.inia.gob.pe:20.500.12955/3160
• Enlace del recurso: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12955/3160; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envadv.2026.100714
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: Potentially toxic elements; Elementos potencialmente tóxicos; Soil contamination; Contaminación del suelo; Ecological risk assessment; Evaluación de riesgo ecológico; Spatial variability; Variabilidad espacial; Agroecosystems; Agroecosistemas; Andean valleys; Valles andinos; Environmental gradients; Gradientes ambientales; Variance partitioning; Partición de varianza; https://purl.org/pe-repo/ocde/ford#4.01.00; Polución del suelo; Soil pollution; Suelo, Soil; Evaluación de riesgos, Risk assessment; Metal pesado; Heavy metals; Suelos agrícolas; Agricultural soils; Utilización de la tierra; Land use

Soil elemental composition in heterogeneous agroecosystems is shaped by interacting environmental and anthropogenic controls. This study evaluated the spatial variability of potentially toxic elements (PTEs: Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, V, Zn, As, and Cd) across coastal (Chancay and Pativilca) and highland (Mantaro and Tarma) agricultural valleys of Peru. A stratified sampling design was combined with multivariate analyses (PCA, PERMANOVA, PERMDISP, and variance partitioning) and ecological risk assessment using integrated indices (PLI, mCd, SRI, and Nemerow index). The first two principal components explained 50.2% of total variance (PC1 = 36.8%; PC2 = 13.4%), reflecting distinct soil–geochemical and climatic–spatial gradients. The Valley × Zone interaction significantly structured elemental composition (R² = 0.049, p = 0.011), whereas crop type showed no significant effect (p = 0.838). Variance partitioning indicated that soil physicochemical, climatic, and spatial/topographic predictors jointly explained 60% of total variation (adjusted R² = 0.597), with the three-way shared fraction accounting for 28%, highlighting strong coupling among pedogenic, climatic, and topographic drivers. Ecological risk indices revealed clear spatial differentiation between systems. Highland valleys exhibited greater contamination intensity, spatial heterogeneity, and more frequent high-risk categories according to PLI, mCd, and SRI. In contrast, coastal valleys showed more homogeneous and diffuse accumulation patterns associated with long-term agricultural intensification. These findings underscore the need for regionally adapted soil monitoring frameworks that incorporate environmental gradients in the assessment and management of PTE-related ecological risk in agricultural landscapes.