Spatio-temporal Sediment Quality Risk Assessment by Using Ecological and Statistical Indicators: A Review of the Upper Sakarya River, Türkiye

• Published in: Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology Vol. 111; no. 3; p. 38
• Main Authors: Köse, Esengül, Çiçek, Arzu, Aksu, Sadi, Tokatli, Cem, Emiroğlu, Özgür
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.09.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Accumulation; Aquatic ecosystems; Aquatic Pollution; Arsenic; Cadmium; Chromium; Contamination; Copper; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecological risk assessment; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental risk; Freshwater ecosystems; Geographic information systems; Heavy metals; Legislation; Nickel; Pollution; Pollution index; Pollution load; Quality assessment; Remote sensing; Risk assessment; River basins; Rivers; Seasonal variations; Sediments; Soil Science & Conservation; Statistical analysis; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Zinc; Turkey; Sakarya River; Sediment quality index; Geographic information system; Sediment heavy metal
• ISSN: 0007-4861; 1432-0800; 1432-0800
• DOI: 10.1007/s00128-023-03781-x

In this study, heavy metal accumulation levels (Cu, Zn, Cr, Pb, As) in biotic [ Carassius gibelio (Bloch, 1782), Squalius pursakensis (Hankó 1925)] and abiotic (sediments) components in a significant freshwater ecosystem in Türkiye were investigated on the basis of seasonal variations using geographic information systems (GIS) and some ecotoxicological risk assessment indices [PLI (pollution load index), PERI (potential ecological risk index), I geo (geo accumulation index), CF (contamination factor) and BRI (Biological Risk Index)]. GIS–based maps were utilized to depict the distribution of ecotoxicological risk assessment indices to provide a visual explanation by using the Inverse Distance Weighted ( IDW) as an estimation method. Samples were collected seasonally from 12 stations selected on the Upper Sakarya River Basin, which is one of the longest fluvial ecosystems in Türkiye. As a result of applied indices, cadmium was found as the most hazardous heavy metal in terms of PERI and CF, nickel was found as the most hazardous heavy metal in terms of BRI and arsenic was found as the most hazardous heavy metal in terms of I geo . As a result of applied PCI, 2 statistically significant factors explained 81.31% of the total variance. It was also determined that levels of almost all the investigated heavy metals (except Zn) in muscle tissues of fishes were under the permissible limits of Turkish legislation and the FAO.