Food and Environmental Safety Research Group of the University of Valencia (SAMA-UV), Desertification Research Centre-CIDE (CSIC, GV, UV), Valencia, Spain.
Soil and water conservation system group, Desertification Research Centre-CIDE (CSIC, GV, UV), Valencia, Spain.
Chemosphere. 2024 Sep;364:143199. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143199. Epub 2024 Aug 28.
Wetlands are crucial ecosystems that are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activities. L'Albufera Natural Park, the second-largest coastal wetland in Spain, faces significant pressures from surrounding agricultural lands, industrial activities, human settlements, and associated infrastructures, including treated wastewater inputs. This study aimed at (i) establishing pathways of emerging pollutants entering the natural wetland using both target and non-target screening (NTS) for management purposes, (ii) distinguishing specific contamination hotspots through Geographic Information System (GIS) and (iii) performing basic ecological risk assessment to evaluate ecosystem health. Two sampling campaigns were conducted in the spring and summer of 2019, coinciding with the start and end of the rice cultivation season, the region's primary agricultural activity. Each campaign involved the collection of 51 samples. High-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) was employed, using a simultaneous NTS approach with optimized gradients for pesticides and moderately polar compounds, along with complementary NTS methods for polar compounds, to identify additional contaminants of emerging concern (CECs). Quantitative analysis revealed that fungicides comprised a substantial portion of detected CECs, constituting approximately 50% of the total quantified pesticides. Tebuconazole emerged as the predominant fungicide, with the highest mean concentration (>16.9 μg L), followed by azoxystrobin and tricyclazole. NTS tentatively identified 16 pesticides, 43 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), 24 industrial compounds, and 12 other CECs with high confidence levels. Spatial distribution analysis demonstrated significant contamination predominantly in the southwestern region of the park, gradually diminishing towards the north-eastern outlet. The composition of contaminants varied between water and sediment samples, with pharmaceuticals predominating in water and industrial compounds in sediments. Risk assessment, evaluated through risk quotient calculations based on parent compound concentrations, revealed a decreasing trend towards the outlet, suggesting wetland degradation capacity. However, significant risk levels persist throughout much of the Natural Park, highlighting the urgent need for mitigation measures to safeguard the integrity of this vital ecosystem.
湿地是至关重要的生态系统，越来越受到人为活动的威胁。拉阿尔布费拉自然公园是西班牙第二大沿海湿地，它面临着来自周围农业用地、工业活动、人类住区和相关基础设施的巨大压力，包括处理过的废水输入。本研究旨在：(i) 利用目标和非目标筛选 (NTS) 为管理目的建立进入自然湿地的新兴污染物途径，(ii) 通过地理信息系统 (GIS) 区分特定的污染热点，(iii) 进行基本的生态风险评估，以评估生态系统健康状况。在 2019 年春季和夏季进行了两次采样，分别与水稻种植季节的开始和结束相对应，这是该地区的主要农业活动。每次采样都采集了 51 个样本。采用高分辨率质谱 (HRMS)，使用同时的 NTS 方法和优化的梯度用于农药和中等极性化合物，以及用于极性化合物的补充 NTS 方法，以识别更多的新兴关注污染物 (CECs)。定量分析表明，杀菌剂构成了检测到的 CECs 的主要部分，占总定量农药的约 50%。丙环唑是主要的杀菌剂，其平均浓度最高 (>16.9μg L)，其次是唑菌酯和三唑酮。NTS 暂定鉴定出 16 种农药、43 种药物和个人护理产品 (PPCPs)、24 种工业化合物和 12 种其他具有高置信水平的 CECs。空间分布分析表明，污染主要集中在公园的西南地区，向东北出口逐渐减少。污染物的组成在水和沉积物样品之间有所不同，药物在水中占主导地位，工业化合物在沉积物中占主导地位。通过基于母体化合物浓度的风险商数计算进行风险评估，显示出朝着出口的下降趋势，表明湿地降解能力下降。然而，在自然公园的大部分地区仍然存在显著的风险水平，这突显了迫切需要采取缓解措施来保护这一重要生态系统的完整性。
