Spatial distribution of metals in urban soil of Novi Sad, Serbia: GIS based approach

• Concentrations of eight metals in urban topsoil for 121 samples were measured.
• Obtained geochemical maps showed the hot-spots of metal contamination.
• Pollution sources were identified using multivariate statistical methods.
• Multivariate statistics results supported a natural origin of As, Co, Cr, Mn, and Ni.
• The results indicated anthropogenic origin of Cu, Pb, and Zn.

Metal concentrations in urban soils of Novi Sad, Serbia were measured and the pollution sources were identified using multivariate statistical methods. During July and August 2010, a total of 121 surface soil samples were collected across the central part of the city covering a surface area of 20 km2 (4 km × 5 km). Concentrations of As, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn were determined using the ICP-OES device. Pb concentration varied from 8.9 mg kg− 1 to 999.1 mg kg− 1 at the examined locations. A hierarchical cluster analysis was performed on the available data sets in order to identify associations among metals. GIS mapping technique was applied to produce geochemical maps showing the hot-spots of metal contamination. The elemental relationship in correlation matrix and the results of multivariate statistics supported a natural origin of As, Co, Cr, Mn, and Ni, while Cu, Pb, and Zn originated from anthropogenic inputs. Distribution patterns obtained using GIS mapping technique implied that traffic was the most important source of pollution.