Abstract
Water and sediment samples were collected from a tributary (Ruxi River) of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) to analyze the concentrations of seven heavy metals (HMs) and their fractions for better understanding the migration, bioavailability and potential environmental risk of HMs. The results indicated that the concentrations of HMs in water were lower than the Environmental Quality Standards for Surface Water Class I standards, except for Ni. Cd in sediment was found to be more sensitive to environmental changes, as the acid-soluble fraction of Cd accounted for about 40% of total Cd, and the sediment–water partition coefficient of Cd was the smallest among all the HMs. Meanwhile, multiple risk assessment methods of HMs indicated that sediment Cd in most sampling sites, significantly influenced by human activities, exhibited heavy pollution, suggesting that the Cd pollution should be attached great importance in the Ruxi River.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Deng M, Yang X, Dai X, Zhang Q, Sadeghpour A (2020) Heavy metal pollution risk assessments and their transportation in sediment and overlay water for the typical Chinese reservoirs. Ecol Indicat 112:106166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106166
Fang T, Yang K, Lu W, Cui K, Li H (2019) An overview of heavy metal pollution in Chaohu Lake, China: enrichment, distribution, speciation, and associated risk under natural and anthropogenic changes. Environ Sci Pollut Res. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06210-x
Fang Z et al (2018) Distribution characteristics and risk assessment of heavy metals in the sediments of the estuary of the tributaries in the three gorges reservoir, SW China. Environ Sci 39:105–112. https://doi.org/10.13227/j.hjkx.201711066(In chinese)
Fang Z, Wang Y, Wang X, Xie D, Wang D (2020) Spatial Distribution and Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Sediments of the Ruxi Tributary of the Three Gorges Reservoir. Environ Sci 41:1338–1345. https://doi.org/10.13227/j.hjkx.201909208(In chinese)
Gao L, Gao B, Xu D, Peng W, Gao J (2017) Assessing remobilization characteristics of arsenic (As) in tributary sediment cores in the largest reservoir, China. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 140:48–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2017.01.050
Gao Q, Li Y, Cheng Q, Yu M, Yu Z (2016) Analysis and assessment of the nutrients, biochemical indexes and heavy metals in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China, from 2008 to 2013. Water Res 92:262–274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2015.12.055
Haijian B, Yanhong W, Jun Z, Hongyang S, Xiaoxiao W (2018) Spatial variation of heavy metal contamination in the riparian sediments after two-year flow regulation in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China. Sci Total Environ 649:1004–1016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.401
Hwang D-W, Kim P-J, Kim S-G, Sun C-I, Kim T-H (2019) Spatial distribution and pollution assessment of metals in intertidal sediments, Korea. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26:19379–19338. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05177-z
Kucuksezgin F, Uluturhan E, Batki H (2008) Distribution of heavy metals in water, particulate matter and sediments of Gediz River (Eastern Aegean). Environ Monit Assess 141:213–225. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-007-9889-6
Lars H (1980) An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control.a sediment logical approach. Water Res 14:255–266. https://doi.org/10.1016/0043-1354(80)90143-8
Lin L, Li C, Yang W, Zhao L, Liu M, Li Q, Crittenden JC (2020) Spatial variations and periodic changes in heavy metals in surface water and sediments of the Three Gorges Reservoir China. Chemosphere 240:124837. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.124837
Liu J, Xu Y, Cheng Y, Zhao Y, Dai Y (2016) Occurrence and risk assessment of heavy metals in sediments of the Xiangjiang River, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 24:2711. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-8044-8
Liu WX, Li XD, Shen ZG, Wang DC, Wai OWH, Li YS (2003) Multivariate statistical study of heavy metal enrichment in sediments of the Pearl River Estuary. Environ Pollut 121:377–388
Loska K, Cebula J, Pelczar J, Wiechula D, Kwapuliński J (1997) Use of enrichment, and contamination factors together with geoaccumulation indexes to evaluate the content of Cd, Cu, and Ni in the Rybnik water reservoir in Poland Water. Air Soil Pollut 93:347–365. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02404766
Nemati K, Bakar NKA, Abas MR, Sobhanzadeh E (2011) Speciation of heavy metals by modified BCR sequential extraction procedure in different depths of sediments from Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia. J Hazardous Mater 192:402–410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2011.05.039
Niu A, Song LY, Xiong YH, Lu CJ, Junaid M, Pei DS (2019) Impact of water quality on the microbial diversity in the surface water along the Three Gorge Reservoir (TGR), China. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 20:412–418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.06.023
Rong X, Qiao-yu L, Yi Y, Hong-bo Z, Cong-cong D, Jun-qiong S, Zhong-xing W (2017) Functional group characteristics of planktonic diatoms and their relationship with environmental factors in the Ruxi River. Environ Sci 38:3290–3300. https://doi.org/10.13227/j.hjkx.201701111(In chinese)
Schropp SJ, Lewis FG, Windom HL, Ryan JD, Calder FD, Burney LC (1990) Interpretation of Metal concentrations in estuarine sediments of florida using aluminum as a reference. Element Estuaries 13:227–235. https://doi.org/10.2307/1351913
Shi C et al (2017) Distribution characteristics of heavy metals in overlying water-pore water-sediment in the Yongding River. Environ Chem 36:48–61 (In chinese)
Tomlinson DL, Wilson JG, Harris CR, Jeffrey DW (1980) Problems in the assessment of heavy-metal levels in estuaries and the formation of a pollution index. Helgoländer Meeresunters 33:566–575. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02414780
Wang L, Luo Y, Dai Z, Xu T, Li X, Huang Y (2017) Characteristics and ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in sediments of the Xiangxi River. J Agro-Environ Sci 36:1610–1617 (In chinese)
Wang Y, Wen A, Shi Z, Yan D, Zhu B (2016) Characteristics of deposited sedim ent and assessment of heavy metals in typical tributaries Bay Riparian Zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir. Environ Sci 37:935–941. https://doi.org/10.13227/j.hjkx.2016.03.018
Yang T, Chen J, Li X, Wu T, Hu Z, Wang S (2019) Ecological risk by heavy metal contents in sediments within the Wei River Basin China. Environ Earth Sci 78:101. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8080-z
Zhang S, Jiang Y, Li Z (2016) Dynamic monitoring and analysis on the changes of soil and water loss of Ruxi river based on 3S technology Journal of Yangtze River. Sci Res Inst 33:21–27. https://doi.org/10.11988/ckyyb.20160810(In chinese)
Zhang T, Li L, Xu F, Chen X, Du L, Wang X, Li Y (2020) Assessing the remobilization and fraction of cadmium and lead in sediment of the Jialing River by sequential extraction and diffusive gradients in films (DGT) technique. Chemosphere. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127181
Zhao Y, Xu M, Liu Q, Wang Z, Zhao L, Chen Y (2018) Study of heavy metal pollution, ecological risk and source apportionment in the surface water and sediments of the Jiangsu coastal region, China: a case study of the Sheyang Estuary. Marine Pollut Bull 137:601–609. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.10.044
Zhuang Y, Shi X (2002) Adsorption Characteristics of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd in Dianshan Lake Sediments. J Shanghai Univ (Nat Sci Edn) 8:526–529. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-002-0041-9(In chinese)
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41877384) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (No. XDJK2017B035).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fang, Z., Wang, Y., Xie, D. et al. Potential Ecological Risk of Heavy Metals in a Typical Tributary of the Three Gorges Reservoir. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 106, 18–23 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-03014-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-03014-5