Pollution assessment of heavy metals in soils of India and ecological risk assessment: A state-of-the-art

Soil is substantive component of biosphere, which is exposed to plethora of pollutants including heavy metals. These are added by natural as well as anthropogenic activities. Upsurge in heavy metal content affects all organisms by biomagnification. So, it becomes vital to create a database of heavy metals concentration in soil. This is relevant in countries where unsustainable intensive agriculture, industrial and urban development is in progress. The present review of the scientific literature from 1991 to 2018 on heavy metals in soils in India shows that Zn and Pb exceeded their limits for Indian natural soil guidelines (Zn 22.1 and Pb 13.1 μg/g), Canada (Zn 200 μg/g), Swedish (80 μg/g) a…