Assessment of Nutrients and Heavy Metals in the Sediments of the Dali River and Wuding River

ABSTRACT

Low ecological risk from these parameters. However, cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and zinc (Zn) exhibited relatively high enrichment factors and geo-accumulation indices, suggesting potential contamination from anthropogenic sources. Potential ecological risk analysis indicated a very high ecological risk associated with heavy metal concentrations in the sediments of Dali River and Wuding River. Statistical analysis revealed strong correlations between metal (Ni, Cd, Cu, and Cr) concentrations and TOC, suggesting that nutrients and those heavy metals might have common pollution sources and similar transport behavior. Principal component analysis identified elevated Cd, Cu, and Ni concentrations as potentially originating from OM, while As may be derived from municipal sewage. Hg and Zn could be probably attributed to industrial effluents. The findings of this study highlight the need for effective pollution control measures to mitigate the ecological risks posed by heavy metal contamination in the sediments of Dali River and Wuding River.

KEYWORDS:

• Heavy metal pollution
• river sediment
• enrichment factor
• geoaccumulation index
• potential ecological risk assessment
• principal component analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).