Nip in the Bud: A spatiotemporal pattern of soil heavy metals in Chinese herbal medicine planting region and its prevention strategy

Soil heavy metal (HM) pollution and climate change collectively impair the cultivation viability of Chinese herbal medicines (CHM). However, the spatiotemporal pattern of soil HMs in CHM planting (CHMP) region remains uncertain. Here, we extracted concentrations of five HMs (Pb, Cd, Hg, As, and Cu)...

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Main Authors: Jiale Wang, Qi Yan, Haiyi Mi, Hua Luo, Xinke Zhang, Bashir Ahmad, Baozhong Duan, Jun Zhu, Lin Fang Huang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Ecological Indicators
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25006569
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author Jiale Wang
Qi Yan
Haiyi Mi
Hua Luo
Xinke Zhang
Bashir Ahmad
Baozhong Duan
Jun Zhu
Lin Fang Huang
author_facet Jiale Wang
Qi Yan
Haiyi Mi
Hua Luo
Xinke Zhang
Bashir Ahmad
Baozhong Duan
Jun Zhu
Lin Fang Huang
author_sort Jiale Wang
collection DOAJ
description Soil heavy metal (HM) pollution and climate change collectively impair the cultivation viability of Chinese herbal medicines (CHM). However, the spatiotemporal pattern of soil HMs in CHM planting (CHMP) region remains uncertain. Here, we extracted concentrations of five HMs (Pb, Cd, Hg, As, and Cu) in CHMP soils, and assessed the national pattern of spatiotemporal distribution of CHMP soils HMs between 2007 and 2024 using the standard deviation ellipse method. The spatial analysis revealed a trend of the gravity center of HMs pollution migrating inland towards the northwest. Furthermore, Cd and Hg exhibit higher ecological risks. The spatial migration of pollution centers differs by metal. The temporal dynamics of five HMs in CHMP regions showed heterogeneity on either side of the HTL. Notably, Cd pollution exhibited a steadily increasing trend during three time periods in the northwest region of the HTL. Moreover, we take Dioscorea opposita Thunb. as an example to evaluate the risks associated with migration under future climate scenarios. The findings showed that climate change is expected to drive the suitable habitats of D. opposita northwestward. Under the SSP245 scenario, the CoM of suitable habitats intersects with the Cd-polluted areas during 2081–2100, posing significant challenges to sustainable cultivation. Given these results, taking a prevention strategy to replan D. opposita planting is necessary. Our study innovatively combines the spatiotemporal variation of soil HMs and MaxEnt modeling to provide a methodological framework that can be utilized by future research endeavors examining the replanment and management of medicinal plants.
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spelling doaj-art-b2491a5c8bd54c9f92f2bbc0feef89652025-08-20T03:21:38ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2025-07-0117611372610.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113726Nip in the Bud: A spatiotemporal pattern of soil heavy metals in Chinese herbal medicine planting region and its prevention strategyJiale Wang0Qi Yan1Haiyi Mi2Hua Luo3Xinke Zhang4Bashir Ahmad5Baozhong Duan6Jun Zhu7Lin Fang Huang8Key Lab of Chinese Medicine Resources Conservation, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of China, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, ChinaKey Lab of Chinese Medicine Resources Conservation, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of China, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, ChinaKey Lab of Chinese Medicine Resources Conservation, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of China, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, ChinaKey Lab of Chinese Medicine Resources Conservation, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of China, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, ChinaKey Lab of Chinese Medicine Resources Conservation, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of China, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, ChinaBacha Khan University, Charsadda 24420, PakistanCollege of Pharmaceutical Science, Dali University Dali 671000, ChinaXinjiang Institute of Chinese and Ethnic Medicine, Urumqi 832217, ChinaKey Lab of Chinese Medicine Resources Conservation, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of China, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China; Corresponding author.Soil heavy metal (HM) pollution and climate change collectively impair the cultivation viability of Chinese herbal medicines (CHM). However, the spatiotemporal pattern of soil HMs in CHM planting (CHMP) region remains uncertain. Here, we extracted concentrations of five HMs (Pb, Cd, Hg, As, and Cu) in CHMP soils, and assessed the national pattern of spatiotemporal distribution of CHMP soils HMs between 2007 and 2024 using the standard deviation ellipse method. The spatial analysis revealed a trend of the gravity center of HMs pollution migrating inland towards the northwest. Furthermore, Cd and Hg exhibit higher ecological risks. The spatial migration of pollution centers differs by metal. The temporal dynamics of five HMs in CHMP regions showed heterogeneity on either side of the HTL. Notably, Cd pollution exhibited a steadily increasing trend during three time periods in the northwest region of the HTL. Moreover, we take Dioscorea opposita Thunb. as an example to evaluate the risks associated with migration under future climate scenarios. The findings showed that climate change is expected to drive the suitable habitats of D. opposita northwestward. Under the SSP245 scenario, the CoM of suitable habitats intersects with the Cd-polluted areas during 2081–2100, posing significant challenges to sustainable cultivation. Given these results, taking a prevention strategy to replan D. opposita planting is necessary. Our study innovatively combines the spatiotemporal variation of soil HMs and MaxEnt modeling to provide a methodological framework that can be utilized by future research endeavors examining the replanment and management of medicinal plants.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25006569Soil heavy metalSpatiotemporal patternChinese herbal medicineClimate changeRisk assessment
spellingShingle Jiale Wang
Qi Yan
Haiyi Mi
Hua Luo
Xinke Zhang
Bashir Ahmad
Baozhong Duan
Jun Zhu
Lin Fang Huang
Nip in the Bud: A spatiotemporal pattern of soil heavy metals in Chinese herbal medicine planting region and its prevention strategy
Ecological Indicators
Soil heavy metal
Spatiotemporal pattern
Chinese herbal medicine
Climate change
Risk assessment
title Nip in the Bud: A spatiotemporal pattern of soil heavy metals in Chinese herbal medicine planting region and its prevention strategy
title_full Nip in the Bud: A spatiotemporal pattern of soil heavy metals in Chinese herbal medicine planting region and its prevention strategy
title_fullStr Nip in the Bud: A spatiotemporal pattern of soil heavy metals in Chinese herbal medicine planting region and its prevention strategy
title_full_unstemmed Nip in the Bud: A spatiotemporal pattern of soil heavy metals in Chinese herbal medicine planting region and its prevention strategy
title_short Nip in the Bud: A spatiotemporal pattern of soil heavy metals in Chinese herbal medicine planting region and its prevention strategy
title_sort nip in the bud a spatiotemporal pattern of soil heavy metals in chinese herbal medicine planting region and its prevention strategy
topic Soil heavy metal
Spatiotemporal pattern
Chinese herbal medicine
Climate change
Risk assessment
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25006569
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