Abstract
Aquatic ecosystems in eastern China are suffering threats from heavy metal pollution because of rapid economic development and urbanization. Heavy metals in surface sediments were determined in five different aquatic ecosystems (river, reservoir, estuary, lake, and wetland ecosystems). The average Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn concentrations were 0.716, 118, 37.3, 32.7, 56.6, and 204 mg/kg, respectively, and the higher concentrations were mainly found in sediment samples from river ecosystems. Cd was the most anthropogenically enriched pollutant, followed by Zn and Pb, indicated by enrichment factors >1.5. According to consensus-based sediment quality guidelines, potential ecological risk indices, and risk assessment codes, all five types of aquatic ecosystems were found to be polluted with heavy metals, and the most polluted ecosystems were mainly rivers. Cd was the most serious pollutant in all five aquatic ecosystems, and it was mainly found in the exchangeable fraction (about 30% of the total Cd concentration, on average). The results indicate that heavy metal contamination, especially of Cd, in aquatic ecosystems in eastern China should be taken into account in the development of management strategies for protecting the aquatic environment.
Highlights
Heavy metal contamination has been a worldwide environmental problem for many years [1,2,3,4]
The highest total heavy metal concentrations in surface sediments were mainly found in samples from river ecosystems (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2), especially samples from the HR1 and Zhujiang River (ZR) sites, which contained total heavy metal concentrations of 911 and 918 mg/kg, respectively
We studied heavy metal pollutants in surface sediments from different aquatic ecosystems in eastern China
Summary
Heavy metal contamination has been a worldwide environmental problem for many years [1,2,3,4]. Persistent, and potentially toxic in aquatic ecosystems [5,6,7]. After being transported into aquatic ecosystems, heavy metals can be absorbed by suspended solids and accumulated in sediments. The accumulation of heavy metals in sediment is a cause of growing interest and concern. Environmental problems caused by heavy metal pollution in aquatic ecosystems have recently been extensively studied so that procedures for effectively managing these ecosystems can be developed [10,11,12]
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