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Spatial distribution and ecological assessment of nickel in sediments of a typical small plateau lake from Yunnan Province, China

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Abstract

Nickel (Ni) in small plateau lake sediments plays an important role in influencing the quality of lake ecosystems with a high degree of endemism and toxicity. This paper focuses on the spatial distribution and ecological risks of nickel in the sediments of Jianhu Lake, a small plateau lake in China, and the influence of pH and total organic carbon (TOC) on nickel concentrations. The results showed that average total nickel concentrations were 138.99 ± 57.57 mg/kg (n = 38) and 184.31 ± 92.12 mg/kg (n = 60) in surface sediments (0–10 cm top layer) and sediment cores (0–75 cm depth), respectively, and that the residual fraction was the main form of nickel. Simultaneously, through a semivariogram model, strong spatial dependence among pH, TOC, and the oxidizable fraction was revealed, whereas total nickel, exchangeable and the weak acid soluble fraction, reducible fraction, and residual fraction showed moderate spatial dependence. The vertical distribution revealed that nickel accumulated mainly in the bottom 5 cm (70-75 cm) of the sediment layer and that the pH was higher there, whereas TOC was concentrated mainly in the top 5 cm of sediment. Using geoaccumulation and a potential ecological risk index, moderate nickel pollution and moderate risk levels were found in most surface sediments, but moderate nickel pollution and high risk levels were observed in most sediment cores. In addition, pH and TOC were found to have a strong effect on the distribution and concentration of nickel and its fractions in the small plateau lake. In summary, nickel posed a certain degree of pollution and ecological risk, which deserves attention in the sediments of small plateau lakes.

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Data availability

Most of the data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article. The other data sets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to the restrictions of the local environmental management department but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgments

We thank International Science Editing (http://www.internationalscienceediting. com) for editing this manuscript.

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41877346).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Wetlands, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, 650224, China

    Bo Li, Hang Wang & Qingguo Yu

  2. National Plateau Wetlands Research Center, Kunming, 650224, China

    Bo Li, Hang Wang & Qingguo Yu

  3. Institute of Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Bo Li

  4. College of Ecology and Environment, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, 650224, China

    Feng Wei

  5. College of Eco-Environmental Engineering, Guizhou Minzu University, Guiyang, 550025, China

    Qi Zhang

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  1. Bo Li
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  2. Hang Wang
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  3. Qingguo Yu
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  4. Feng Wei
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  5. Qi Zhang
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Bo Li, Hang Wang, Qingguo Yu, Feng Wei, and Qi Zhang. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Bo Li and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Qingguo Yu.

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Li, B., Wang, H., Yu, Q. et al. Spatial distribution and ecological assessment of nickel in sediments of a typical small plateau lake from Yunnan Province, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 14469–14481 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11526-0

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