{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T17:52:24Z","timestamp":1792000344446,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791936000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"\n To address the lack of a unified quantitative index for the ecological risk assessment of selenium (Se) in soils, the toxicity coefficient of Se was first determined based on H\u00e5kanson\u2019s principles, and the spatial distribution and potential ecological risk of Se in surface soils across China were systematically evaluated. The results showed that the toxicity coefficient of Se was determined as 2. Based on the corrected background reference value, approximately 69.9% of the sampling sites were classified as low to moderate ecological risk, 24.4% as considerable risk, and 5.7% as high or very high risk. The elevated risk sites were predominantly confined to localized areas underlain by Se-rich strata, such as Enshi in Hubei Province and Ziyang in Shaanxi Province. A substantial consistency was observed between the potential ecological risk factor (\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n E<\/mml:mi>\n <\/mml:mrow>\n <\/mml:mrow>\n \n \n \n r<\/mml:mi>\n <\/mml:mrow>\n <\/mml:mrow>\n <\/mml:mrow>\n \n \n \n i<\/mml:mi>\n <\/mml:mrow>\n <\/mml:mrow>\n <\/mml:mrow>\n <\/mml:msubsup>\n <\/mml:mrow>\n <\/mml:math>\n <\/jats:alternatives>\n <\/jats:inline-formula>\n ) and the geoaccumulation index (\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n I<\/mml:mi>\n <\/mml:mrow>\n <\/mml:mrow>\n \n \n \n g<\/mml:mi>\n <\/mml:mrow>\n \n e<\/mml:mi>\n <\/mml:mrow>\n \n o<\/mml:mi>\n <\/mml:mrow>\n <\/mml:mrow>\n <\/mml:mrow>\n <\/mml:msub>\n <\/mml:mrow>\n <\/mml:math>\n <\/jats:alternatives>\n <\/jats:inline-formula>\n ), with a quadratic weighted Kappa coefficient (\n \u03ba<\/jats:italic>\n \n w<\/jats:italic>\n <\/jats:sub>\n ) of 0.729, indicating that the two classification systems yield comparable results in terms of risk ranking. This study provides a preliminary screening benchmark for identifying areas that warrant further site-specific investigation.\n <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0359642","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T17:26:08Z","timestamp":1791998768000},"page":"e0359642","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Calculation and application of the selenium toxicity coefficient for potential ecological risk assessment"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-0357-0289","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Xintian","family":"Wen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Jiangxi Normal University","place":["Jiangxi, P.R. China"],"department":["School of Geography and Environment"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yanjin","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pingxiang University","place":["Jiangxi, P.R. China"],"department":["School of Materials and Chemical Engineering"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]]},"reference":[{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0359642.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"553","DOI":"10.1016\/j.etp.2010.04.007","article-title":"Protective effects of selenium on methimazole nephrotoxicity in adult rats and their offspring","volume":"63","author":"I Ben Amara","year":"2011","journal-title":"Exp Toxicol Pathol"},{"issue":"20","key":"pone.0359642.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4480","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2011.04.058","article-title":"Contribution of ozone to airborne aldehyde formation in Paris homes","volume":"409","author":"F Ranci\u00e8re","year":"2011","journal-title":"Sci Total Environ"},{"key":"pone.0359642.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111289","DOI":"10.1016\/j.exger.2021.111289","article-title":"Prophylactic 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assessing the potential impacts of selenium in freshwater ecosystems","volume":"21","author":"V Palace","year":"2025","journal-title":"Integr Environ Assess Manag"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0359642.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"50","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules30010050","article-title":"Effects and impact of selenium on human health, a review","volume":"30","author":"S Bai","year":"2025","journal-title":"Molecules"},{"key":"pone.0359642.ref008","author":"JY Shi","year":"2025"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0359642.ref009","first-page":"490","article-title":"Characteristics and influencing factors of selenium content in soils and crops in typical high-selenium-content regions of western Hubei Province, China","volume":"49","author":"H Qin","year":"2025","journal-title":"Geophys Geochemical Exploration"},{"issue":"8","key":"pone.0359642.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"975","DOI":"10.1016\/0043-1354(80)90143-8","article-title":"An ecological risk index for 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Horticulture"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0359642.ref025","first-page":"12","article-title":"Characteristics of soil selenium content and crop absorption of selenium in selenium rich red soil regions of Fujian province","volume":"51","author":"Q Zhang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Fertilizer and Health"}],"container-title":["PLOS One"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0359642","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T17:26:12Z","timestamp":1791998772000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0359642"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Zhongchuang","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Chongqing Electric Power 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