Spatial-temporal variation, ecological risk, and source identification of nutrients and heavy metals in sediments in the peri-urban riverine system

Xuantian Li, Puxia Wu, Claudio O. Delang, Qilin He, Fengbao Zhang*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    10 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    A great deal of attention has been directed to the toxicity, enrichment, and accumulation of urban river sediment pollution. To understand the spatial-temporal variation, ecological risk and source of nutrients, and heavy metals in sediments from the Weihe River, the concentrations of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), organic matter (OM), and 10 heavy metals (Cd, Sb, As, Co, Cu, Pb, Ni, Cr, Zn, and Mn) in sediments at 14 sampling sites along the river were investigated. The results showed that nutrients and heavy metals had an interannual decreasing trend, and that the high-value regions were concentrated in urban locations within the study area. Ecological risk assessment results showed that TN was between the security level (no toxic effect) and the lowest level (tolerable for organisms), TP was at the lowest level, and OM was within the security level, all mainly from external sources. The geoaccumulation index (Igeo) and enrichment factor (EF) of 10 heavy metals were all within the unpolluted level, while the pollution load index (PLI) of 12 sampling sites had reached the moderate pollution level. The results of Pearson correlation, principal component analysis, and cluster analysis showed that heavy metals originated mainly from industrial and domestic sources, geochemical environments, and agricultural activities, indicating that heavy metals in the Weihe River sediments were influenced significantly by anthropogenic activities. The results are expected to provide a scientific basis for the development and utilization of the Weihe River water resources. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)64739-64756
    Number of pages18
    JournalEnvironmental Science and Pollution Research
    Volume28
    DOIs
    Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 27 Jul 2021

    Scopus Subject Areas

    • Environmental Chemistry
    • Pollution
    • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

    User-Defined Keywords

    • Ecological risk
    • Heavy metals
    • Nutrients
    • Sediments
    • Source identification

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