ABSTRACT: The topsoil around Beijing metropolis, China, is experiencing impacts of rapid urbanization, intensive farming, and extensive industrial emissions. We analyzed the concentrations of Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cr from 87 topsoil samples in the pre-rainy season and 115 samples in the post-rainy season. These samples were attributed to nine land use types: forest, grass, shrub, orchard, wheat, cotton, spring maize, summer maize, and mixed farmland. The pollution index (PI) of heavy metals was calculated from the measured and background concentrations. The ecological risk index (RI) was assessed based on the PI values and toxic-response parameters. The results showed that the mean PI values of Pb, Cr, and Cd were > 1 while those of Cu, Ni, and Zn were < 1. All the samples had low ecological risk
