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Heavy metal distribution, fractionation, and biotoxicity in sediments around villages in Baiyangdian Lake in North China

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Abstract

The effects of human activities on heavy metal distributions and fractionation in sediments from villages around Baiyangdian Lake (BYDL), North China, were assessed. The concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in sediments from five villages were determined, and the potential ecological risk index, risk assessment code, and Chironomus sp. larvae toxicity assay were used to assess the bioavailabilities and toxicities of the metals. The contribution of Cd to the potential ecological risk was 45.13–89.53%, the highest among the heavy metals investigated. The contributions of Cd, Pb, and Zn in the non-residual fractions to the total concentrations were 66.23–90.57%, 18.31–96.28%, and 8.89–76.84%, respectively, which indicated that these metals had important anthropogenic sources and were very bioavailable. The mean risk assessment codes decreased in the order of Cd (49.82%) > Zn (20.95%) > Cu (9.35%) > Pb (6.88%) > Ni (4.85%) > Cr (0.30%), and the toxicity of Cd and Zn to biota around BYDL is of concern. The mean survival rate of Chironomus sp. larvae in sediments from Dizhuang village was 44.02%, which indicated that there was a high degree of heavy metal toxicity, particularly in waterways around the village. Carboxylesterase and superoxide dismutase analysis results indicated that heavy metals could markedly increase or decrease enzyme activities in Chironomus sp. larvae. Overall, the results indicated that heavy metal pollution in villages around BYDL should be taken into consideration for its ecological management.

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Data, associated metadata, and calculation tools are available from the corresponding author (chaozhang@rcees.ac.cn).

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Acknowledgements

We thank Gareth Thomas, PhD, and Gabrielle David, PhD, from Liwen Bianji (Edanz) (https://www.liwenbianji.cn), for editing the language of a draft of this manuscript.

Funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 41907267) and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (Wenzhong Tang, grant no. 2017059). We also acknowledge support received through a special fund from the State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (grant no. 20L03ESPC).

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China

    Chao Zhang, Yang Zhang & Baoqing Shan

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, 100049, China

    Baoqing Shan

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Correspondence to Chao Zhang.

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Highlights

•  Heavy metals were very bioavailable and moderately toxic.

•  The Cd and Zn distributions were mainly influenced by anthropogenic activities.

•  Cd may negatively affect Chironomus sp. larvae.

•  Sequential extraction indicated that Cd, Pb, and Zn have high potential bioavailabilities.

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Zhang, C., Zhang, Y. & Shan, B. Heavy metal distribution, fractionation, and biotoxicity in sediments around villages in Baiyangdian Lake in North China. Environ Monit Assess 195, 86 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-022-10689-2

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