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Geoscience ›› 2025, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (04): 1108-1118.DOI: 10.19657/j.geoscience.1000-8527.2024.023

• Geochemistry • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Evaluation and Development Potential of Selenium-rich Land Resources in Lixiahe Plain, Jiangsu Province

ZHOU Xin1,2,3(), LIU Qiang1,2,3,*(), DING Xiaoqin1,4, YANG Guifang1,2,3, WANG Danling1,5   

  1. 1. Engineering Technology Innovation Center for Ecological Improvement and Sustainable Utilization of Coastal Saline-Alkali Land, Ministry of Natural Resources, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210007, China
    2. Jiangsu Marine Geological Survey Institute, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210007, China
    3. Jiangsu East China Geological Environmental Engineering Co.,Ltd., Nanjing, Jiangsu 210007, China
    4. Hai’an Natural Resources and Planning Bureau, Nantong, Jiangsu 226600, China
    5. Big Data Center of Jiangsu Geological Bureau, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210007, China
  • Online:2025-08-10 Published:2025-08-27
  • Contact: LIU Qiang

Abstract:

The development of natural selenium-rich land resources has attracted growing attention; however, there are still deficiencies in the evaluation criteria for selenium-rich soils in plain areas far from parent rocks, such as insufficient assessment of selenium availability and incomplete consideration of organic matter. Based on the 1∶50,000 land quality survey, this study conducted zoning of selenium-rich land resources and evaluation of their development potential in the Lixiahe Plain of Hai’an City, Jiangsu, aiming to provide a basis for the layout planning and development of local selenium-rich agriculture. The results showed that the soil selenium content in the lagoon facies sedimentary area of the study area was significantly higher than that in the surrounding soils, with the highest selenium content reaching 0.63 mg·kg-1 and the enrichment area covering approximately 66 km2. Soil selenium exhibited extremely significant correlations with parent material, soil texture, topographic conditions, and soil organic matter (SOM), with correlation coefficients of 0.60, 0.36, -0.60, and 0.86, respectively (P<0.01). The selenium-rich soils were formed by supergene enrichment of parent materials from ancient lagoon facies. SOM played a crucial role in adsorbing and fixing selenium during soil formation, serving as a key factor for selenium enrichment in surface soils. Using an improved evaluation method for selenium-rich soils, this study delineated the distribution of high-quality selenium-rich areas, general selenium-rich areas, and potential selenium-rich areas, with areas of 9.87 km2, 23.42 km2, and 32.96 km2, respectively. The selenium enrichment rates of wheat in these areas were 86.7%, 63.3%, and 33.3%, while those of rice were 50%, 25%, and 5%, respectively. The highest selenium content in wheat grains was 0.20 mg·kg-1, indicating that wheat is more likely to absorb selenium than rice. The study area is rich in organic matter, with high comprehensive land quality, and the selenium-rich areas are distributed in contiguous patches, showing potential for developing natural selenium-rich wheat and rice.

Key words: selenium-rich soil, effective selenium, Lixiahe Plain, SOM, Jiangsu Province

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