Heavy metal pollution in Guangdong Province, China, and the strategies to manage the situation

Wang, Yutao; Björn, Lars Olof

doi:10.3389/fenvs.2014.00009

Cited by 34 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 140 publications

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“…Since they are not biodegradable, they are prone to accumulate. Some heavy metals are carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic and endocrine disruptors while others cause neurological and behavioral changes especially in children [1,2]. Due to their ubiquitous nature, they are often present in wastewater and their effective removal to acceptable levels commonly requires the use of adsorbents.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficacy of Chicken Litter and Wood Biochars and Their Activated Counterparts in Heavy Metal Clean up from Wastewater

Lima

Reddy

et al. 2015

Agriculture

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It is known that properties of activated biochars are tightly associated with those of the original feedstock as well as pyrolysis and activation conditions. This study examined two feedstock types, pine wood shavings and chicken litter, to produce biochars at two different pyrolysis temperatures and subsequently activated by steam, acid or base. In order to measure activation efficiency, all materials were characterized for their properties and ability to remediate two well-known heavy metals of concern: copper and arsenic. Base activated biochars were superior in arsenic adsorption, to acid or steam activated samples, but increase in adsorption was not significant to warrant use. For wood biochars, significant increases of surface functionality as related to oxygen bearing groups and surface charge were observed upon acid activation which led to increased copper ion adsorption. However, oxygen bearing functionalities were not sufficient to explain why chicken litter biochars and steam activated biochars appeared to be significantly superior to wood shavings in positively charged metal ion adsorption. For chicken litter, functionality of respective biochars could be related to phosphate containing groups inherited

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficacy of Chicken Litter and Wood Biochars and Their Activated Counterparts in Heavy Metal Clean up from Wastewater

Lima

Reddy

et al. 2015

Agriculture

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“…In the past 5 decades, rice production in China has more than tripled, mainly due to increased grain yield. Meanwhile, the overuse of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers as well as pesticides in rice production has induced serious challenges regarding water and soil pollution (1), calling for an urgent need to develop a "green" rice production system that can replace the conventional intensive cultivation system without a yield reduction.…”

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confidence: 99%

Community Dynamics of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in High-Input and Intensively Irrigated Rice Cultivation Systems

Wang

et al. 2015

Appl Environ Microbiol

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dApplication of a mycorrhizal inoculum could be one way to increase the yield of rice plants and reduce the application of fertilizer. We therefore studied arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in the roots of wetland rice (Oryza sativa L.) collected at the seedling, tillering, heading, and ripening stages in four paddy wetlands that had been under a high-input and intensively irrigated rice cultivation system for more than 20 years. It was found that AMF colonization was mainly established in the heading and ripening stages. The AMF community structure was characterized in rhizosphere soils and roots from two of the studied paddy wetlands. A fragment covering the partial small subunit (SSU), the whole internal transcribed spacer (ITS), and the partial large subunit (LSU) rRNA operon regions of AMF was amplified, cloned, and sequenced from roots and soils. A total of 639 AMF sequences were obtained, and these were finally assigned to 16 phylotypes based on a phylogenetic analysis, including 12 phylotypes from Glomeraceae, one phylotype from Claroideoglomeraceae, two phylotypes from Paraglomeraceae, and one unidentified phylotype. The AMF phylotype compositions in the soils were similar between the two surveyed sites, but there was a clear discrepancy between the communities obtained from root and soil. The relatively high number of AMF phylotypes at the surveyed sites suggests that the conditions are suitable for some species of AMF and that they may have an important function in conventional rice cultivation systems. The species richness of root-colonizing AMF increased with the growth of rice, and future studies should consider the developmental stages of this crop in the exploration of AMF function in paddy wetlands. R ice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the economically most important plants worldwide and the main food crop cultivated in wetland environments. China is the largest rice producer and consumer in the world, and wetland rice production is of vital importance for food security. In the past 5 decades, rice production in China has more than tripled, mainly due to increased grain yield. Meanwhile, the overuse of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers as well as pesticides in rice production has induced serious challenges regarding water and soil pollution (1), calling for an urgent need to develop a "green" rice production system that can replace the conventional intensive cultivation system without a yield reduction.Crop yield depends not only on the crop plant and its physical and chemical environment but also on biological interactions. It may be possible to increase crop yield and harvest quality and decrease the application of fertilizer by careful selection of the fungal partner in mycorrhizal associations. A prerequisite for making this possible is the study of existing associations. It is widely accepted that the symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF; phylum Glomeromycota) play a key role in sustainable production systems and that rice readily forms a symbiotic relationship with these fungi when ...

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“…We found that Fe and Zn might possibly come from mining and smelting activities. In general, mining and smelting were the main anthropogenic sources of Fe and Zn contamination in river water [20]. There were numerous mining and smelting factories in Guangdong Province, especially in the northern part of the province where many rivers and streams (e.g., the Pearl River) originated [20].…”

Section: Possible Source Identification Of Pollutants In Subtropical mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, mining and smelting were the main anthropogenic sources of Fe and Zn contamination in river water [20]. There were numerous mining and smelting factories in Guangdong Province, especially in the northern part of the province where many rivers and streams (e.g., the Pearl River) originated [20]. Two highly toxic metals (Hg and Cd) might mainly come from various industrial sources including electronic factories, industrial boilers, power plants and cement plants [45].…”

Section: Possible Source Identification Of Pollutants In Subtropical mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nutrients and heavy metals enter the river waters from a wide range of anthropogenic and natural sources in the catchments, such as industrial effluent, domestic sewage, and agricultural runoff [9,20]. Identifying the possible sources of nutrients and heavy metals in river waters is essential for developing a targeted strategy to reduce the negative effects of pollutants on environments and organisms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial and Seasonal Patterns of Nutrients and Heavy Metals in Twenty-Seven Rivers Draining into the South China Sea

Deng

Liu

2018

Water

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Due to the acceleration of industrialization and urbanization in recent decades, the majority of coastal rivers and estuaries in China have been moderately or severely contaminated by a variety of pollutants. We investigated the spatial and seasonal variations of water nutrients (permanganate index, chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, ammonium, nitrate, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus) and heavy metals (Hg, Pb, Cu, Zn, Se, As, Cd, Cr, Fe, and Mn) in 27 subtropical rivers draining into the South China Sea. Our results indicated that the average concentrations of all water quality parameters except ammonium, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus satisfied the requirements for grade III of the surface water quality standard of China. The concentrations of both nutrients and heavy metals showed a strong spatial variation. Cluster analysis classified the 27 rivers into three spatial clusters corresponding to low, moderate, and high pollution levels. In terms of seasonal variation, the values of chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen demand in wet seasons were significantly lower than those in dry seasons. Multivariate statistical analyses demonstrated that river nutrients might mainly originate from domestic, industrial, and agricultural wastewaters, while heavy metals likely came from industrial activities and natural weathering processes. The findings of this study suggest that for reducing the pollution of subtropical rivers draining into the South China Sea, further efforts should be made to control nitrogen and phosphorus export from catchments.

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Heavy metal pollution in Guangdong Province, China, and the strategies to manage the situation

Cited by 34 publications

References 140 publications

Efficacy of Chicken Litter and Wood Biochars and Their Activated Counterparts in Heavy Metal Clean up from Wastewater

Efficacy of Chicken Litter and Wood Biochars and Their Activated Counterparts in Heavy Metal Clean up from Wastewater

Community Dynamics of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in High-Input and Intensively Irrigated Rice Cultivation Systems

Spatial and Seasonal Patterns of Nutrients and Heavy Metals in Twenty-Seven Rivers Draining into the South China Sea

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