Heavy Metal Pollution and Assessment of the Bioaccumulation Potential of Earthworms from the Soil of Punjab, Pakistan

Earthworms are widely used as biological indicators of soil contamination and are often referred to as the ‘intestine of the soil’; however, their effectiveness can vary across regions and environmental conditions. The performance of earthworms as indicators of soil pollution may vary among regions, and there is a need to assess their reliability under specific environmental conditions. So, in this study, soil and earthworm samples were collected from 19 locations across Punjab, Pakistan, to assess heavy metal pollution and bioaccumulation using geoaccumulation indices (Igeo) and bioaccumulation factors (BAF). Soil and earthworm tissues were digested and analyzed for heavy metals such as Sr, Zn, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mn, Co, Cr, Pb, Cd and Ni using ICP-MS. According to Igeo, cadmium frequently classified soils as strongly to extremely polluted, with values up to 4.5 in Bahawalnagar, whereas most other metals fell within the unpolluted to moderately polluted classes. Earthworms showed clear bioaccumulation (BAF > 1) for several essential or poorly regulated elements, particularly Ca, Mn, Cu and Sr; the maximum BAF for Ca reached 8.18 in Faisalabad. In contrast, group-1 carcinogenic metals (Pb, Cd and Cr) generally did not exhibit strong bioaccumulation. Relationships between BAF and soil metal concentrations or abiotic properties (moisture, pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved and suspended solids) were generally weak (R2 typically ≤ 0.32), indicating that these factors explain only a modest fraction of the variation in metal uptake. Overall, the results highlight cadmium as the primary soil contamination risk in the surveyed areas. Because bioaccumulation showed weak relationships with soil metal concentrations and physicochemical parameters, earthworms in this study demonstrated limited effectiveness as bioindicators of toxic heavy metal accumulation. The limited internal accumulation of highly toxic metals suggests possible physiological regulation or tolerance, although the long-term ecological implications require further investigation. Further controlled studies are necessary to better evaluate their ecological role and potential applications in soil remediation, waste management, and vermicompost production.