Evaluating heavy metal contamination of riverine sediment cores in different land-use areas

doi:10.1007/s11783-020-1283-4

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2020, Vol. 14

Issue (6) : 104 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-020-1283-4

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Evaluating heavy metal contamination of riverine sediment cores in different land-use areas

Wenzhong Tang^1,²(

), Liu Sun^1,², Limin Shu^1,², Chuang Wang¹

¹. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
². University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

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Abstract

• Metal pollution was studied in riverine sediments from different land-use areas.

• Cd was the most serious heavy metal contaminant in riverine sediment cores.

• Riverine sediment cores from industrial area were most polluted by heavy metals.

• B1 fraction determined metal pollution, risk and toxicity in riverine sediments.

Anthropogenic activities are regarded as the main sources of heavy metal pollution, yet few studies have investigated the effects of land-use setting on heavy metal accumulation in riverine sediments. Based on both total contents and geochemical fractions, heavy metal pollution, risk and toxicity were determined in riverine sediment cores from different land-use areas (mountain area- MA, farm area- FA, city area- CA, and industrial area- IA) of the Yang River Basin in North China. The results showed that FA had higher contents of riverine sedimentary Cu; CA had higher contents of Cd; IA had higher contents of both Cd and Zn. Most riverine sediments from FA and IA were contaminated with the investigated metals, although these concentrations were evaluated to have low potential ecological risk and no toxicity to benthic organisms. However, a high proportion of Cd in the B1 fraction of riverine sediments in IA indicating high risk should receive more attention. The B1 fraction largely determined the contamination, risk and toxicity levels associated with heavy metals in the riverine sediments of the Yang River Basin.

Keywords Heavy metals Riverine sediments Pollution Land-use

Corresponding Author(s): Wenzhong Tang

Issue Date: 19 June 2020

Cite this article:

Wenzhong Tang,Liu Sun,Limin Shu, et al. Evaluating heavy metal contamination of riverine sediment cores in different land-use areas[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2020, 14(6): 104.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-020-1283-4
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2020/V14/I6/104

Fig.1 Location of the sediment sampling sites within different land-use settings (mountain area, MA; farm area, FA; city area, CA; and industrial area, IA) of the Yang River Basin in North China.

Fig.2 Vertical distributions of various heavy metals in riverine sediment cores from different land-use areas (MA, mountain area; FA, farm area; CA, city area; IA, industrial area).

Fig.3 Percentages of various heavy metals in different geochemical fractions of riverine sediment cores from different land-use areas (MA, mountain area; FA, farm area; CA, city area; IA, industrial area).

Fig.4 Proﬁles of the pollution load index (PLI) associated with heavy metals in riverine sediment cores from different land-use areas (MA, mountain area; FA, farm area; CA, city area; IA, industrial area).

Fig.5 Potential ecological risk (RI and Eⁱ_r) associated with heavy metals in riverine sediment cores from different land-use areas (MA- mountain area, FA- farm area, CA- city area, IA- industrial area).

Fig.6 Mean probable effect concentration quotient (Q_m-PEC) values and toxic units (TUs) in riverine sediment cores from different land-use areas (MA, mountain area; FA, farm area; CA, city area; IA, industrial area).

Fig.7 Linear ﬁtting of B1 fraction metals and pollution load index (PLI), comprehensive PER index (RI) and mean probable effect concentration quotient (Q_m-PEC) in riverine sediment cores from different land-use areas.

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