Human-Induced Enrichment of Potentially Toxic Elements in a Sediment Core of Lake Balkhash, the Largest Lake in Central Asia

Kun Huang, Long Ma, Jilili Abuduwaili, Wen Liu, Gulnura Issanova, Galymzhan Saparov and Lin Lin
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Kun Huang: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Long Ma: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Jilili Abuduwaili: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Wen Liu: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Gulnura Issanova: Research Center for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Galymzhan Saparov: Research Center for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Lin Lin: Water Research Institute of Shandong Province, Jinan 250014, Shandong, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 11, 1-13

Abstract: Over the past century, the impacts of human activities on the natural environment have continued to increase. Historic evolution of the environment under anthropogenic influences is an important reference for sustainable social development. Based on the geochemical analyses of a short sediment core of 49 cm from Lake Balkhash, the largest lake in Central Asia, potential factors historically influencing geochemical variation were revealed, and influences of human activity on regional environmental change were reconstructed over the past 150 years. The results showed that the dominant factor inducing changes in potentially toxic elements (V, Cr, Co, Ni, Zn, Cu, Cd, and Pb) is the physical weathering of the terrestrial materials. The variation in Ca content was influenced by the formation of authigenic carbonate. Since 1930, potentially toxic elements (Cr, Co, Ni, Zn, Cu, Cd, and Pb) in the lake sediments have obviously been affected by human activities, but the impact of human activities has not exceeded that of natural terrestrial weathering. In particular, the enrichment factors (EFs) for Cd and Pb reached 1.5. The average ecological risks of Cd were higher than the criterion of 30, suggesting a moderate risk to the local ecosystem in recent years. Total risk indices indicated moderate potential ecological risk for the lake ecology. The results will provide support for the environmental protection and better management practices of the Lake Balkhash watershed.

Keywords: human activity; enrichment factors; potentially toxic elements; Lake Balkhash; Central Asia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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