Phytoavailability and phytovariety codetermine the bioaccumulation risk of heavy metal from soils, focusing on Cd-contaminated vegetable farms around the Pearl River Delta, China

Five random vegetable farms were selected to investigate the bioaccumulation risk of heavy metals (HMs) by different type of vegetables around the Pearl River Delta (PRD), China. The concentration order of four major HMs in the surface soil samples was Cd

► Cd was the primary metal of risk in vegetable farms found around the PRD, China.
► DTPA-extractable Cd negatively and sometimes significantly correlated to soil pH.
► The phytoavailability of Cd was the key factor in influencing vegetable Cd uptake.
► Stem/leaf vegetable bioaccumulated 2.2 times higher Cd than melon/fruit/bean one.
► Low availability/accumulation capability reduces human health risk exposure to Cd.