Process of mercury accumulation in urban strip river artificial wetland ecosystems: a case study of Changchun, a typical industrial city in Northeast China

Abstract

Mercury (Hg), as a global pollutant, is persistent, migratory, insidious, highly biotoxic and highly enriched, and is widely distributed in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and lithosphere. Wetland ecosystems, as active mercury reservoirs, have become the most important sources and sinks of heavy metal mercury. Distinguished from natural wetlands, artificial wetlands located in urban sections of rivers face problems such as diverse urban pollution sources and complex spatial and temporal changes. Therefore, in this study, five intermittently distributed artificial wetlands were selected from the upstream to the downstream of the Changchun section of the Yitong River, a tributary of the Songhua River basin in the old industrial base of Northeast China. The mercury levels in the water bodies, sediments and plants of the artificial wetlands were collected and tested in four quarters from April 2023 to analyse the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of total mercury. The results showed that the mercury levels in the water bodies, sediments and plants of the five wetlands showed a fluctuating trend with the river flow direction and had certain spatial and temporal distribution characteristics. This phenomenon was attributed to the sinking of external mercury pollution sources. In general, the wetland ecosystems showed a decreasing trend in the total Hg output of the downstream watershed. This may be due to the retention of particulate matter by aquatic plants in artificial wetlands to regular salvage of dead aquatic plants. At the same time urbanization and industrialization affect mercury levels in aquatic environments, so the risk of residential exposure needs to be looked at.