Distribution, Risk Assessment and Source of Heavy Metals in Mangrove Wetland Sediments of Dongzhai Harbor, South China

Yuan Guo, Xianzhong Ke (), Jingxian Zhang, Xinhui He, Qinghua Li and Yanpeng Zhang
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Yuan Guo: School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430078, China
Xianzhong Ke: Wuhan Center, China Geological Survey (Central South China Innovation Center for Geosciences), Wuhan 430205, China
Jingxian Zhang: School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430078, China
Xinhui He: School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430078, China
Qinghua Li: Wuhan Center, China Geological Survey (Central South China Innovation Center for Geosciences), Wuhan 430205, China
Yanpeng Zhang: Wuhan Center, China Geological Survey (Central South China Innovation Center for Geosciences), Wuhan 430205, China

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 2, 1-17

Abstract: Heavy metals are common environmental contaminants that are toxic, non-biodegradable, and bioaccumulative. They can bioaccumulate through the food chain and present a risk to both public health and ecology. Therefore, this study takes the mangrove wetland of Dongzhai Harbor as an example. The concentrations of heavy metals such as As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the surface sediments of mangrove wetlands were measured to reveal their distribution, the contamination level was assessed, and the sources of contamination were analyzed. The distribution of Cr, Zn, Ni, Pb, Cu, and Cd concentrations are: Yanfeng East River > Sanjiang River > Yanzhou River > Yanfeng West River, while the As concentration in the Yanfeng West River is greater than that in the Yanfeng East River. According to the correlation analysis, the concentrations of Cr, Zn, Ni, Cu, and Cd are significantly and positively correlated with total organic carbon (TOC), total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), and salinity (SAL) and shared a significantly negative correlation with pH. There is moderate contamination risk of As and slight contamination risk of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in most regions within the study area. Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn exhibit the same sources, which are mainly influenced by human sources such as aquaculture, agricultural cultivation, and livestock farming, while the source of As comes from aquaculture.

Keywords: heavy metals; mangrove; distribution; contamination assessment; source (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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