IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i10p7753-d1142521.html

Contamination and Ecological Risk Evaluation of Metals in Sediments from a Wetland of International Importance (Ramsar Site)

Author

Listed:
  • Md. Moudud Ahmed

    (Department of Fisheries and Marine Science, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali 3814, Bangladesh)

  • As-Ad Ujjaman Nur

    (Department of Fisheries and Marine Science, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali 3814, Bangladesh)

  • Yeasmin N. Jolly

    (Atmospheric and Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, Chemistry Division, Atomic Energy Centre, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh)

  • Md. Rakeb Ul Islam

    (Department of Fisheries and Marine Science, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali 3814, Bangladesh)

  • Mohammad Saifur Rahman

    (Department of Fisheries and Marine Science, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali 3814, Bangladesh)

  • Shirin Akter

    (Atmospheric and Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, Chemistry Division, Atomic Energy Centre, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh)

  • Jimmy Yu

    (School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD 4111, Australia)

  • Mohammed Fahad Albeshr

    (Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia)

  • Takaomi Arai

    (Environmental and Life Sciences Programme, Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong BE1410, Brunei Darussalam)

  • Mohammad Belal Hossain

    (Department of Fisheries and Marine Science, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali 3814, Bangladesh
    School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD 4111, Australia)

Abstract

Wetlands are highly productive and diverse ecosystems providing home to thousands of organisms. These ecosystems reduce water pollution, sequester carbon, support livelihoods, and increase food security. However, these ecological functions are being impeded due to increased levels of metals in the environment. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to evaluate the degree of metal contamination in the surface sediment of a wetland, Tanguar Haor, for the first time. The result demonstrated that the mean concentrations of Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Pb and Hg varied from 13140.39 to 45675, 40.07 to 46.29, 47.60 to 57.15, 18.89 to 35.23, 1.24 to 2.64, and 0.35 to 0.42, respectively. The concentration of As was found to be higher than the average shale value. The concentration of Cu (44.19 μg/g) and Hg (0.38 μ/g) was very close to the shale value (45 μg/g and 0.40 μg/g, respectively), indicating a moderate level of contamination. The contamination level was further evaluated by multi-indices, e.g., the contamination factor (CF), the enrichment factor (EF), and the geo-accumulation index ( I geo ). The average EF values for As (115.41), Cu (57.68), and Hg (55.47) were >50, indicating a high degree of contamination (extremely severe enrichment). However, CF values showed varied levels of pollution; for example, the majority of the area was only somewhat contaminated with As, Cu, and Hg, but less contaminated with Fe, Zn, and Pb. According to I geo , sampling sites were found to be unpolluted or less polluted by heavy metals. Based on potential ecological risk assessment (PERI), the degree of risk from the six heavy metals decreased in the following sequence: As > Cu > Zn > Pb > Cr > Ni. PERI values indicated the study area has been exposed to moderate risk to As and low risk to other metals. This study provides an opportunity for frequent monitoring of heavy metals in this ecologically critical environment, and thus curbing heavy metal pollution.

Suggested Citation

  • Md. Moudud Ahmed & As-Ad Ujjaman Nur & Yeasmin N. Jolly & Md. Rakeb Ul Islam & Mohammad Saifur Rahman & Shirin Akter & Jimmy Yu & Mohammed Fahad Albeshr & Takaomi Arai & Mohammad Belal Hossain, 2023. "Contamination and Ecological Risk Evaluation of Metals in Sediments from a Wetland of International Importance (Ramsar Site)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-13, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:7753-:d:1142521
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/10/7753/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/10/7753/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Etienne Fluet-Chouinard & Benjamin D. Stocker & Zhen Zhang & Avni Malhotra & Joe R. Melton & Benjamin Poulter & Jed O. Kaplan & Kees Klein Goldewijk & Stefan Siebert & Tatiana Minayeva & Gustaf Hugeli, 2023. "Extensive global wetland loss over the past three centuries," Nature, Nature, vol. 614(7947), pages 281-286, February.
    2. Sun, Chuanzhun & Zhen, Lin & Giashuddin Miah, Md, 2017. "Comparison of the ecosystem services provided by China's Poyang Lake wetland and Bangladesh's Tanguar Haor wetland," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 26(PB), pages 411-421.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jian Zhang & Yao Qin & Yuxuan Zhang & Xin Lu & Jianjun Cao, 2023. "Comparative Assessment of the Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Driving Forces of Natural and Constructed Wetlands in Arid and Semiarid Areas of Northern China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-19, October.
    2. Anzhen Li & Shengbo Chen & Kaishan Song & Yuanzhi Zhang & Zongming Wang & Dehua Mao, 2026. "African inland wetland area on the rise during the 21st century," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 17(1), pages 1-11, December.
    3. Xinggen Liu & Lyu Yuan & Zhiwen Li & Yuanyuan Huang & Yulan Li, 2025. "Mapping Habitat Suitability of Migratory Birds During Extreme Drought of Large Lake Wetlands: Insights from Crowdsourced Geographic Data," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-24, June.
    4. Chunli Chen & Huiqing Zeng & Xiaofeng Gong & Jing Li & Lingqing Wang, 2022. "PAHs Source Identification in Sediments and Surrounding Soils of Poyang Lake in China Using Non-Negative Matrix Factorization Analysis," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-14, June.
    5. Quint van Giersbergen & Alexandra Barthelmes & John Couwenberg & Kristiina Lång & Nina Martin & Cosima Tegetmeyer & Christian Fritz & Franziska Tanneberger, 2025. "Identifying hotspots of greenhouse gas emissions from drained peatlands in the European Union," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-11, December.
    6. Lei Wang & Xufeng Mao & Hongyan Yu & Baowei Zhao & Wenjia Tang & Hongyan Li & Xianying Wang & Nan Zhou, 2024. "Identifying the Key Protection Areas of Alpine Marsh Wetlands in the Qinghai Qilian Mountains, China: An Ecosystem Patterns–Characteristics–Functions Combined Method," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-19, December.
    7. Schmitt, Rafael Jan Pablo & Rosa, Lorenzo, 2024. "Dams for hydropower and irrigation: Trends, challenges, and alternatives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    8. Shen, Ge & Yu, Qiangyi & Zhou, Qingbo & Wang, Cong & Wu, Wenbin, 2023. "From multiple cropping frequency to multiple cropping system: A new perspective for the characterization of cropland use intensity," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).
    9. Yang, Fan & Dong, Guanpeng & Wu, Pengfei & He, Fanneng, 2024. "Stylized facts of past 1000-year of China’s cropland changes," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    10. Ringler, Claudia; McCartney, Matthew P.; and Hafeez, Mohsin., . "What do we know about the future of water in food systems?," Book Chapters,, International Water Management Institute.
    11. Xu, Xibao & Jiang, Bo & Tan, Yan & Costanza, Robert & Yang, Guishan, 2018. "Lake-wetland ecosystem services modeling and valuation: Progress, gaps and future directions," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 33(PA), pages 19-28.
    12. Wenhang Su & Hailong Wang & Liming Gao, 2024. "Characterizing Shifts in Major Land Use Types and the Response of Water Yield in a Catchment with Widespread Peaty Wetlands," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 38(15), pages 6121-6138, December.
    13. Temmink, Ralph J.M. & Lång, Kristiina & Vroom, Renske J.E. & Leifeld, Jens & Fritz, Christian & Zeug, Walther & Thrän, Daniela & Kleinspehn, Clemens & Gaudig, Greta & Neubert, Josephine & Kreyling, Jü, 2026. "Agriculture on wet peatlands: the sustainability potential of paludiculture," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    14. D. P. Costa, Micheli & Wartman, Melissa & Macreadie, Peter I. & Ferns, Lawrance W. & Holden, Rhiannon L. & Ierodiaconou, Daniel & MacDonald, Kimberley J. & Mazor, Tessa K. & Morris, Rebecca & Nicholso, 2024. "Spatially explicit ecosystem accounts for coastal wetland restoration," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    15. Kate Flood & David Wilson & Florence Renou-Wilson, 2025. "Evidence Synthesis and Knowledge Integration for Sustainable Peatland Management," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-26, July.
    16. Yanmin Shi & Chaofeng Shao & Zheyu Zhang, 2020. "Efficiency and Driving Factors of Green Development of Tourist Cities Based on Ecological Footprint," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-23, October.
    17. Wangzheng Shen & Liang Zhang & Emily A. Ury & Sisi Li & Biqing Xia & Nandita B. Basu, 2025. "Restoring small water bodies to improve lake and river water quality in China," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-10, December.
    18. Małgorzata Stasińska, 2025. "Suillus flavidus , a Peatland-Associated Mycorrhizal Fungus in Poland: Ecology, Distribution, Conservation Threats, and Sustainability Considerations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-14, September.
    19. Előd Búzás & Judit Bódis, 2024. "Lessons Learned from the Last Moments Captured of Traditional Small-Scale Land Use in a European Fen Meadow," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-17, December.
    20. Yuhan Zheng & Qutu Jiang & Qiang He & Xiangming Xiao & Peter I. Macreadie & Xiao Xu & Ming Nie & Jihua Wu & Guanqiong Ye & Jiaping Wu & Jiali Gu & Lijuan Cui & Xinxin Wang & Bo Li, 2026. "Global blue carbon losses from salt marshes exceed restoration gains," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 17(1), pages 1-14, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:7753-:d:1142521. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.