Geospatial Distribution and Potential Risk Assessment of Cadmium and Nickel Contamination in Al Fayoum Soils, Egypt

El-Hassanin, Adel S.; Moustafa, Ahmed Taher; Hamza, Akila Saleh; Samak, Magdy Rizk; Kamel, Mohamed Ibrahim; Ahme, Abd Al Rahman Sayed

doi:10.21608/agro.2025.380617.1680

Geospatial Distribution and Potential Risk Assessment of Cadmium and Nickel Contamination in Al Fayoum Soils, Egypt

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

¹ Professor of Soil Science, Natural Resources Department, Faculty of African Postgraduate Studies, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.

² Professor of soil science, Soils, Water and Environment Research Institute, Agriculture Research Centre, Giza, Egypt.

³ Professor of Nutrition, Regional Center for Food and Feed,Agriculture Research Center, Giza, Egypt.

⁴ Assistant Researcher, Regional Center for Food and Feed, Agriculture Research Center, Giza, Egypt.

⁵ d Assistant Professor of Soil Science Natural Resources Department, Faculty of African Postgraduate Studies, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.

10.21608/agro.2025.380617.1680

Abstract

This study presents a comprehensive risk assessment of cadmium (Cd) and nickel (Ni) contamination in agricultural soils of Al Fayoum Governorate, Egypt, through an integrated approach that combines geochemical analysis with GIS technique.
125 soil and 25 plant samples were collected from the top 30 cm layer and analyzed for Cd, Ni, and soil properties. Results revealed significant spatial variability, with Cd exceeding the FAO criteria limit in 44.6% of soils and Ni surpassing thresholds in 64.9% of samples. Spatial analysis identified distinct contamination hotspots in Al Fayoum and Itsa districts, which were strongly correlated with the uses of illegal water from some drainage canals and excessive phosphate fertilizer application.
The study employed multiple contamination indices (Igeo, CF, TF, BF) and advanced geostatistical techniques, including Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation, to develop a composite Soil Quality Index (SQI) based on four main quality indices: chemical, physical, productivity and pollution indices. Notably, the geoaccumulation index (Igeo) showed extreme Ni pollution (Class 6) and moderate-to-strong Cd contamination (Class 4-5), while contamination factors reached 14.7 for Cd and 8.3 for Ni, in wheat crops, demonstrated effective metal exclusion mechanisms (TF<1, BF<0.9), suggesting limited food chain transfer despite soil contamination. Risk mapping classified 90% of the area as low to medium risk, with clear north-south quality gradients. These findings offer a replicable framework for monitoring heavy metal pollution in arid agricultural regions globally, emphasizing the urgent need for policy interventions to control pollution sources and protect food safety.

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