Features Accumulation of Heavy Metals in the Bottom Sediments of Small Rivers

Abstract

The article considers one of the aspects of anthropogenic impact on river ecosystems – the accumulation of pollutants in bottom sediments. The authors analyze the state of small rivers, the study of which is not given enough attention, while their importance for maintaining the ecological well-being of local territories and the formation of their biological diversity can hardly be overestimated. The bottom sediments of two rivers (according to V.L. Rokhmistrov’s classification - the smallest and small) are being investigated for the content of heavy metal ions; the granulometric composition of sediments and the content of organic matter in them are also determined. The results of the study indicate the presence of some regularities in the distribution of certain metals in bottom sediments of the river core, heavy pollution of sediments with mobile forms of heavy metals and their possible impact on the ecological state of its own drainage basin and the state of the large river fed by them.