Savic Radovan, Stajic Milica, Kostesic Ema, Antic Sanja, Horvatinec Jelena, Zemunac Rados, Ondrasek Gabrijel
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Trg D.Obradovica 8, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Trg D.Obradovica 8, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
J Environ Manage. 2025 Aug;389:126221. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.126221. Epub 2025 Jun 19.
Heavy metal contamination in sediments poses a significant environmental challenge, as sediments are fundamental components of aquatic ecosystems, impacting overall ecosystem health. While numerous studies have assessed heavy metal concentrations in various aquatic systems, there remains a lack of comprehensive analysis comparing the quality of drainage sediments from diverse (urban, agricultural) areas within large-scale hydrosystems. This study addresses this gap by examining metal contamination in drainage channel sediments across the Danube-Tisza-Danube (DTD) Hydrosystem in Northern Serbia, which spans 1.42 Mha. Sediments from urban areas (Urb, n = 45) exhibited significantly higher concentrations of all analysed metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni, Cu, and Zn) compared to those from agricultural areas (Agr, n = 41), except for Cr. While all metal concentrations in Agr sediments remained within the safe limits, a minority of Urb sediments exceeded the maximum allowable concentration. The calculated Geoaccumulation Index (I), Potential Ecological Risk Factor (E), and Potential Ecological Risk Index (RI) differed significantly between Agr and Urb sediments. The majority of Agr sediments (95-100 %) were classified as unpolluted to moderately polluted (0 < I <1). In contrast, while most Urb sediments fell within acceptable quality classes (I < 2), some samples exhibited poorer sediment quality (2 < I < 5), indicating moderate to strong pollution levels. Additionally, Agr (vs Urb) sediments exhibited lower E values with a narrower range. All Agr sediments scorred the low-risk class (RI < 150), while 89 % of Urb sediments were also classified as low risk, with 6.7 % and 4.4 % categorized as moderate and very high risk, respectively. Principal Component Analysis identified two significant factors in Agr sediments, explaining 78.5 % of the total variance, whereas in Urb sediments, a more complex three-factor structure accounted for 88 % of the total variance. These findings highlight the substantial impact of urban pollution on sediment quality, emphasizing the need for targeted monitoring and remediation strategies to mitigate metal contamination and protect aquatic ecosystems within the DTD hydrosystem.
沉积物中的重金属污染对环境构成了重大挑战，因为沉积物是水生生态系统的基本组成部分，会影响整个生态系统的健康。虽然众多研究评估了各种水生系统中的重金属浓度，但仍缺乏对大型水系内不同（城市、农业）区域排水沉积物质量进行比较的综合分析。本研究通过考察塞尔维亚北部多瑙河-蒂萨河-多瑙河水系（DTD）中排水渠道沉积物的金属污染情况，填补了这一空白，该水系面积达142万公顷。与农业区域（Agr，n = 41）的沉积物相比，城市区域（Urb，n = 45）的沉积物中所有分析金属（铅、镉、铬、镍、铜和锌）的浓度均显著更高，但铬除外。虽然农业区域沉积物中的所有金属浓度均保持在安全限值内，但少数城市区域沉积物超过了最大允许浓度。计算得出的地累积指数（I）、潜在生态风险因子（E）和潜在生态风险指数（RI）在农业区域和城市区域沉积物之间存在显著差异。大多数农业区域沉积物（95%-100%）被归类为未受污染至中度污染（0 < I < 1）。相比之下，虽然大多数城市区域沉积物质量等级可接受（I < 2），但一些样本的沉积物质量较差（2 < I < 5），表明污染程度为中度至重度。此外，农业区域（与城市区域相比）沉积物的E值较低，范围较窄。所有农业区域沉积物的风险等级为低风险（RI < 150），而89%的城市区域沉积物也被归类为低风险，分别有6.7%和4.4%被归类为中度风险和高风险。主成分分析确定了农业区域沉积物中的两个显著因素，解释了总方差的78.5%，而在城市区域沉积物中，一个更复杂的三因素结构解释了总方差的88%。这些发现突出了城市污染对沉积物质量的重大影响，强调需要制定有针对性的监测和修复策略，以减轻金属污染并保护DTD水系内的水生生态系统。
