Distribution and ecological assessment of heavy metals in irrigation channel sediments in a typical rural area of south China

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• 作者：Chiming Gu^a ; ^b ; ^{chiminggu@gmail.com" class="auth_mail" title="E-mail the corresponding author} ; Yi Liu^a ; ^{lyle3521@126.com" class="auth_mail" title="E-mail the corresponding author} ; Dongbi Liu^c ; Zhiguo Li^a ; Ibrahim Mohamed^a ; ^e ; Ronghua Zhang^d ; Margot Brooks^g ; Fang Chen^a ; ^f ; ^{fchen@ipni.ac.cn" class="auth_mail" title="E-mail the corresponding author}
• 关键词：Contamination evaluation ; Heavy metal ; Pollution load index ; Potential ecological risk index
• 刊名：Ecological Engineering
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：May 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：90
• 期：Complete
• 页码：466-472
• 全文大小：1062 K

文摘

Elevated levels of heavy metals in sediments of irrigation channels can pose risks for crops and livestock, as well as for human health. In this study sediment samples were collected from the irrigation channel in a typical rural area of south China, and digested, in order to analyze their contents for the presence of heavy metals Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Cd, and Ni, as well as the non-metal As, to assess total concentrations and pollution levels. The pollution load index and potential ecological risk index of these elements were utilized to assess contamination levels and ecotoxicity. Our results showed that the concentrations of the 7 elements were in the order of Zn > Ni > Cr > Cu > As > Pb > Cd. With the exception of Cr and Pb, concentrations of elements were higher than their background in soil, especially for Cd (1.79 mg kg⁻¹), As (99.61 mg kg⁻¹) and Ni (142.62 mg kg⁻¹), which were 18.49, 8.89 and 5.30 times their background concentrations, respectively. The whole sampled zone was characterized by medium pollution and had a very high potential ecological risk. The area of arable land presented a medium pollution risk, while areas near to the path or road showed high risk of pollution. The predominant contributors to elevated ecological risk for the whole zone were Cd and As.