Predicting the risk of arsenic accumulation in soil-rice system in Asian monsoon region

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 952; p. 175896
• Main Authors: Ban, Ruxin, Yang, Linsheng, Yu, Jiangping, Wei, Binggan, Yin, Shuhui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 20.11.2024
• Subjects: Arsenic; Asian monsoon region; Bioaccumulation factor; Machine learning; Rice; Bioaccumulation factor; Asian monsoon region; Arsenic; Machine learning; Rice
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175896

Rice is a staple food for a significant portion of the global population. Arsenic (As) accumulated in rice grains influences rice quality which threatens human health. In this study, we used three machine learning models to predict arsenic accumulation in rice based on over 300 surveys. The prediction results of soil arsenic indicate that high-arsenic soil areas are mainly distributed in South and Southeast Asia such as India, China, and Thailand. In addition, higher bioaccumulation factors (BAF), associated with higher temperature, are predominantly observed in eastern India and southern Myanmar. However, arsenic content in soil is relatively lower in these areas. About 5.5 billion population may be threatened by the consumption of high-arsenic rice. It can be concluded that temperatures may influence the BAF except for soil arsenic, and soil physicochemical properties. Further research on the relationship between climate parameters and BAF should be conducted to address and adapt to future climate change. Additionally, understanding the mechanism of arsenic accumulation under different climatic conditions is crucial for developing agricultural technologies to reduce arsenic accumulation in rice. [Display omitted] •Climatic factors could influence arsenic accumulation in rice grain.•Higher temperatures could drive higher arsenic accumulation in rice grain.•Arsenic accumulation in rice is serious in Bangladesh, India, Thailand, and Myanmar.•Areas with serious arsenic accumulation in rice account for 9.1 % of the total area.