Variation of Heavy metals in Water, Sediment and Macrovegetation of Lake Nainital, India
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Variation of Heavy metals in Water, Sediment and Macrovegetation of Lake Nainital, India Pawan Kumar Joshi1 • Ashutosh Mishra1 • M. Das Trakroo1 • A. P. Sharma1 R. N. Ram1 • R. K. Srivastava1
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Received: 4 November 2017 / Revised: 14 April 2018 / Accepted: 9 January 2020 Ó The National Academy of Sciences, India 2020
Abstract Assessment of six heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Mn, Pb, Cd and As) in water, sediment and macrovegetation of Lake Nainital was made from September 2016 to February 2017 to evaluate their status in the lake. Three sites, viz. S1 (aeration center), S2 (platform near the Naina Devi) and S3 (boat stand in Tallital), were selected, and fortnightly, sampling was made. The study shows that the water of the lake is contaminated with Pb and Mn poses threat to human as the lake water is used for domestic water supply. Keywords Assessment Biomagnification Imbalance Ecosystem Threat Food web
The aquatic environment with its water quality is considered the main factor controlling the state of health and diseases in biota residing in it [1]. In India, lakes and rivers have been and continue to be major sources of water supply. As the freshwater is an important and scarce resource and lakes have its major proportion, therefore, it is important to assess the quality of water in lake from time to time. Pollution of heavy metals in aquatic ecosystem is growing at an alarming rate and has become an important worldwide problem [2]. Increase in human population, urbanization, industrialization and unsustainable agricultural practices had brought about a large number of changes in the environment and further aggravated the awful situation of water bodies (especially lakes) which are already in stress due to deterioration of water quality by & Ashutosh Mishra [email protected] 1
G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, U.S. Nagar, Pantnagar 263149, Uttarakhand, India
natural and anthropogenic drivers. Heavy metal concentration in the soil also plays an important role in controlling metal bioavailability to plants [3]. Although the heavy metals like Cd, Pb and Ni are not essential for plant growth, they are readily taken up and accumulated by plants in toxic forms. Heavy metals have tendency to get concentrated in biota from one trophic level to other in the food chain. Fish, insects and other organisms feed on macrophytes, and in of time, heavy metals are concentrated in them. As increased level of heavy metals brought about deleterious effects, therefore, food chain gets disturbed and the entire aquatic ecosystem gets stressed by the metal toxicity. In the present investigation, comparative assessment of heavy metals in water, sediment and macrophytes of the Lake Nainital was done to understand the accumulation trend in biotic and abiotic components. The Lake Nainital located at 29° 230 N latitude and 79° 0 28 E longitude was selected for the present investigation, as it is experiencing degradation due to discharge of domestic sewage and effluents. It covers a surface
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