Effects of mangrove plant species on accumulation of heavy metals in sediment in a heavily polluted mangrove swamp in Pearl River Estuary, China

Minwei Chai, Ruili Li, Nora Fung Yee Tam, Qijie Zan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

36 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The present study compared accumulation of heavy metals in a mangrove swamp dominated by Kandelia obovata with that by Sonneratia apetala in Pearl River Estuary, China. The results showed that the concentrations of heavy metals at all sediment depths in the S. apetala site were significantly higher than that in K. obovata. The geo-accumulation index and potential ecological risk index also showed that S. apetala sediment had a higher contamination of heavy metals, especially Cd. S. apetala significantly altered the biogeochemical cycles of Cd, lead (Pb), nickel (Ni) and chromium (Cr). In S. apetala sediment, TOC played an important role in sequestering heavy metals as reflected by its positive correlations with Zn and Pb. This study demonstrated the importance of plant species in altering soil quality and heavy metal accumulation, and S. apetala is more efficiently working as a pollution barrier than K. obovata.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)175-189
Number of pages15
JournalEnvironmental Geochemistry and Health
Volume41
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Feb 2019
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Heavy metal
  • Kandelia obovata
  • Pearl River Estuary
  • Sediment
  • Sonneratia apetala

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