moderately significantP < 0.05
A substantial positive association was observed among the chosen heavy metallic elements (As, Cu, Co, Cr, Cd, Zn, Ba, Pb, and Ni)this similar geochemical behavior is often linked to mining activities (Dube et al., 2024 ; Sabijon et al., 2024 ), and a moderately significant relationship was found with organic matter (OM) (r = 0.273, P < 0.05) represents Mn is retained more in organic-rich soils possibly due to the adsorption or complexation procedures (Sabijon et al., 2024 ; Zhao et al., 2022a , 2022b ).