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Heavy metal contamination in surface sediments of representative reservoirs in the hilly area of southern China

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Abstract

A study on the characteristics of heavy metals in surface sediments of typical reservoirs in the hilly area of southern China was carried out. The results showed that contents of heavy metals had great temporal and spatial heterogeneity among studied reservoirs. Zn, Pb, and As presented significant enrichment ratio in reservoirs of Dou Shui (DS) and Feng Tang (FT), as well as Ti in reservoirs of DZ and GT. The content of Cd in reservoir of FT reservoirs was characterized with high health risk with the significantly highest value of 52.43 mg/kg. Furthermore, Pb was identified with high health risk in reservoirs of SFM, Ouyang Hai (OYH), FT, and DS, and As was in OYH and ZX. Multivariate statistical analysis suggested high consistency in the variations of Cr, Ni, and Cu; moreover, Cd, Zn, and Pb were characterized with great homogeneity in their sources. In addition, agricultural activities might exert less effect on variations of heavy metals in studied reservoirs, considered that there was a weak relationship between heavy metals and nutrients. These results could improve our understanding of the spatial variations of heavy metals and their potential sources in reservoirs in this ecologically fragile region.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the three anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and helpful suggestions which helped improve the quality of this manuscript considerably.

Funding information

This work was supported by the Basic Work of Science and Technology (Grants 2012FY111800-03, 2013FY111802) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant 41471088).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Watershed Geographic Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East Beijing Road, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Xiaolong Wang, Lu Zhang, Zhonghua Zhao & Yongjiu Cai

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  1. Xiaolong Wang
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  2. Lu Zhang
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Correspondence to Yongjiu Cai.

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Wang, X., Zhang, L., Zhao, Z. et al. Heavy metal contamination in surface sediments of representative reservoirs in the hilly area of southern China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 26574–26585 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0272-z

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