Monitoring of heavy metals and essential trace elements in aquatic plant Ranunculus sphaerospermus Boiss. & Blanche (Ranunculaceae), sediments, and water of volcanic Haydarlar Lake, Türkiye

Abstract

Aquatic ecosystems contain communities of organisms that are dependent on each other and on their environment. Monitoring of trace element and heavy metal concentrations is important to understand the possible environmental risks in natural aquatic environments. In the present study, concentrations of some heavy metals and trace elements in aquatic plant Ranunculus sphaerospermus, sediments, and water samples of volcanic Haydarlar Lake were analyzed by using ICP-OES. The concentrations were found in the following ranges: 82.11 – 97.38, 9174.50 – 9942.29, and 0.63 – 0.89 for Al; 10.29 – 17.43, 30.60 – 55.60, and 0.81 – 0.98 for B; 1038.44 – 1682.30, 4017.26 – 4503.54, and 1276.61 – 1541.41 for Ca; 120.69 – 178.41, 6894.50 – 8103.47, and 0.51 – 0.69 for Fe; 2503.51 – 2983.38, 1118.50 – 1693.38, and 69.43 – 93.82 for K; 563.38 – 783.22, 885.32 – 1122.47, and 108.55 – 143.36 for Mg in the plant (mg kg−1), sediment (mg kg−1), and water (mg L−1) samples, respectively. The concentrations of Ca, Fe, and K elements in sediments and the content of Ca and K in lake water samples were found as higher than the acceptable limit, while concentrations of all elements in R. sphaerospermus were determined to be within acceptable limits. Transfer factors (TF) of the heavy metal and essential elements from sediment to the plant samples were evaluated. The trends of TF for all samples studied were in the following order; K>Mg>B>Ca>Fe>Al. Consequently, the approach used in this study could contribute to pollution monitoring in the future.