Geochemical behavior and potential health risk of heavy metals in basalt-derived agricultural soil and crops: A case study from Xuyi County, eastern China

Basalt-derived agricultural soil is widely distributed around the world and is extensively used as a medium to plant many kinds of crops. Weathering of basalt can release heavy metals into the soils and may cause health risks via the food chain. However, the geochemical behavior and the potential human health risks of heavy metals remain poorly understood in these agro-systems. In this study, basalt bedrock, paired topsoil and crops (wheat and...