The Role of Mangroves in the Retention of Heavy Metal (Chromium): A Simulation Study in the Thi Vai River Catchment, Vietnam

Anh Nguyen, Bao V.Q Le and Otto Richter
Additional contact information
Anh Nguyen: Institute for Environment and Resources, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, 142 To Hien Thanh, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City 72506, Vietnam
Bao V.Q Le: Institute for Environment and Resources, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, 142 To Hien Thanh, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City 72506, Vietnam
Otto Richter: Institute of Geoecology, Technical University of Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 16, 1-22

Abstract: In this study, chromium (Cr) retention by the mangroves in the Thi Vai catchment located in the south of Vietnam was simulated using a coupled model of the hydrodynamic model Delft3D with Cr transport and a model for the uptake of Cr by mangroves. This coupled model was calibrated and validated using data from four hydrodynamic stations and data from phytoremediation studies. To analyze the effect of mangroves on reducing Cr pollution, three scenarios were run by the model. Scenario 1 (SC1) is based on the actual situation concerning discharges and the distribution of mangroves. Scenario 2 (SC2) simulates the deterioration of the actual situation by deforestation on the west bank and the establishment of more industrial zones on the east bank. Scenario 3 (SC3) simulates an eco-friendly development comprising the channeling of wastewater through constructed wetlands with mangroves prior to the discharge into the river. Simulation results showed that the total Cr uptake by mangroves in SC3 was higher than in the other two scenarios. In total, 33 kg Cr in water were absorbed by the constructed wetlands in SC3 within one month. The simulation results helped in overcoming the difficulties and challenges in assessing the capacity of mangrove forests on the retention of chromium at catchment scale.

Keywords: mangrove trees; heavy metal pollution; mathematical model; phytoremediation; Rhizophora apiculata (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/16/5823/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/16/5823/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:16:p:5823-:d:397697

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().