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Environments
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Potentially Toxic Elements in Sediments of Protected Areas
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Potentially Toxic Elements in Sediments of Protected Areas

A special issue of Environments (ISSN 2076-3298).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 September 2023) | Viewed by 5521

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Javier R. Viguri

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Green Engineering & Resources Research Group (GER), Department of Chemical and Process & Resources Engineering, ETSIIT, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain
Interests: characterization, control, environmental evaluation and management of sediments and industrial waste; strategies and practices related to management and decision-making processes in contaminated sediments and waste areas; kinetic modelling of trace elements release form different matrices (sediments, guano, sunscreen) to water
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sediment is a critical environmental compartment of marine, freshwater, estuarine and wetlands protected areas. Human activities such as urbanization, industry, agriculture and tourism are drivers of ecosystem changes and potential sources of toxic elements which directly or indirectly reach the sediments. Polluted sediments can act as sinks, carriers and sometimes as important secondary sources of pollutants in the environment. Sediment pollution will have a negative effect on the environmental conservation of natural, ecological or cultural values, and on the preservation of the protected habitats and environments. 

Particularly, wetlands play a significant role in food supply, climate regulation, flood control, aquifers loading and unloading, biodiversity and environmental quality maintenance, providing significant ecosystem services. At the same time, wetland ecosystems are highly vulnerable to climate change and anthropogenic impacts. Protecting these important sites for biodiversity is vital for ensuring the long-term and sustainable use of terrestrial and freshwater natural resources crucial to meet the Sustainable Development Goals stablished by the United Nations. In this context, environmentally friendly approaches and sustainable remediation techniques for contaminated sediments are useful tools to be used in the management of environmental programs in protected areas.   

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect critical reviews and recent research results on potentially toxic elements in sediments from different protected areas, particularly, but not limited to, wetlands. Areas of special interest include the source, fate, behavior, transformation, and ecological risk assessment of pollutants and remediation techniques, as well as implications for stakeholders in ecosystem protection and restoration in the context of the planning and sustainable development of the protected areas.

Prof. Dr. Javier R. Viguri
Guest Editor

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Environments is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • protected area management categories
  • marine, freshwater, estuarine and wetland protected areas
  • sources of sediment contamination
  • fate, behavior, transformation and bioavailability processes of pollutants in sediments
  • biogeochemical cycles of potentially toxic elements in sediments
  • impact on natural, ecological and cultural values
  • ecological risk assessment of pollutants in sediments
  • indices to assess the pollution level in sediments
  • indices to assess the potential toxicity of mixtures of contaminants in sediments
  • implications for regulatory and management measures
  • strategies for the remediation of contaminated sediments

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 1130 KiB  
Article
Occurrence of Persistent Organochlorine Pollutants in Sediments from Lake Piediluco, Italy
by Tommaso Mercanti, Mohamed El Hachmi, Stefano Falcinelli and Bartolomeo Sebastiani
Environments 2023, 10(7), 120; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments10070120 - 11 Jul 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2011
Abstract
In surficial sediments of Lake Piediluco, a small, riverine, regulated and heavily modified water body in the Central Italian Apennines, contamination by persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs) was assessed. During spring and autumn, six representative points were investigated. Reflecting a substantial zonation of pollution [...] Read more.
In surficial sediments of Lake Piediluco, a small, riverine, regulated and heavily modified water body in the Central Italian Apennines, contamination by persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs) was assessed. During spring and autumn, six representative points were investigated. Reflecting a substantial zonation of pollution within this aquatic ecosystem, concentrations were found to vary from site to site. OCPs, particularly DDT and its metabolites DDE and DDD, were detected at varying frequencies and concentrations from 0.301 to 8.185 ng/g d.w., whilst total PCBs (Σ50 congeners) were from 0.570 to 10.206 ng/g d.w. Although both PCB congener-specific and homolog patterns suggest a prevalent presence of Aroclors 1254 and 1260, a more limited likely contribution of 1248 technical mixture is not to be excluded. In the western area of the lake, affected daily by continuous basin water remixing for hydroelectricity production, major seasonal differences in OCP concentrations were found. Conversely, the eastern area was typified by low seasonal fluctuation and small variation among sites. Regardless of either collection site or seasonality, polychlorinated-p-dioxin and furan (PCDD/Fs) contamination were below 8.3 pg WHO-TEQ/g. In contrast to the present study, POP pollution from PCBs, PCDD/Fs and some DDT-derived pollutants has not been investigated so far. Nevertheless, the concentrations are typical of low-polluted or pristine area lakes and are consistently lower than those of other Italian lakes of greater size and depth (e.g., Como, Garda and Maggiore). The physical and chemical properties of investigated analytes are more consistent with probable diffuse point source contamination originating from the catchment area, rather than from atmospheric depositions by regional or long-range transports. Finally, according to the international sediment quality guidelines (SQGs), Piediluco sediments pose a low risk to sediment-dwelling organisms and, more generally, to the wildlife of such aquatic ecosystems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Potentially Toxic Elements in Sediments of Protected Areas)
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15 pages, 2424 KiB  
Article
Legacy Phosphorus in Sediments of Lowland Waterways
by Stefan Koch, Ellen Iva Rosewig and Bernd Lennartz
Environments 2023, 10(3), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments10030043 - 27 Feb 2023
Viewed by 3027
Abstract
Riverbed sediments in agricultural landscapes are loaded with phosphorus (P). They may act as a source or sink for riverine P, possibly causing harmful algae blooms and eutrophication in streams and receiving water bodies, including coastal waters. In this study, we aimed at [...] Read more.
Riverbed sediments in agricultural landscapes are loaded with phosphorus (P). They may act as a source or sink for riverine P, possibly causing harmful algae blooms and eutrophication in streams and receiving water bodies, including coastal waters. In this study, we aimed at identifying the labile, moderately labile, and stable P fraction (Hedley fractionation) in sediments of a northeastern German river basin (3000 km2). A non-metrical multidimensional scaling (NMDS) was used to identify the most significant environmental predictors of the P fractionation in sediments. The total P contents of the sediments varied over a wide range (698 ± 701 mg P kg−1 sediment−1), spanning from 98 to 2648 mg P kg−1 sediment−1. Adjacent agricultural reference soils had markedly lower total P contents of 354 ± 132 mg P kg−1 soil−1, ranging from 146 to 483 P kg−1 soil−1. There were almost no differences between the P contents of the top (0–2 cm) and the bottom (2–10 cm) layer. The dominant P fractions were the moderately labile (NaOH-P) and the stable (H2SO4-P) fractions, which accounted for more than 50% of the total P at each sampling point. The NMDS revealed that iron and aluminum contents, as well as land use, are significant predictors for the P fractionation of the sediment. The sediment P-composition reflects the P-status of the agriculturally used mineral soils. However, the size of the contributing catchment as well as the length of the water way have no effects on sediment P. In conclusion, sediment P stocks, though variable, may impede the good ecological status of river waters for decades, especially in lowland basins where hydraulic conditions and a very low stream velocity often create low redox and P dissolution conditions in sediments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Potentially Toxic Elements in Sediments of Protected Areas)
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