ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Toxicology, Pollution and the Environment
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1630494
Spatial Distribution, Sources, Ecological Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Surface Sediments of Wular Lake, Kashmir, India-A Ramsar Site
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Geology, University of Madras, Chennai, India
- 2Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciecne and Technology of Jammu, Jammu, India
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Wular Lake, one of the largest freshwater lakes in South Asia and a designated Ramsar site, plays a crucial role in maintaining the ecological balance of the Kashmir Valley by supporting biodiversity, fisheries, and livelihoods. However, increasing anthropogenic activities have raised concerns about contamination in its sediments.Heavy metals (HMs) pose significant ecological and health risks due to their persistence and toxicity. This study investigates the distribution, sources, and risks of HMs (Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, Cr) in Wular Lake, a Ramsar site in Kashmir, India. Analysis of 32 sediment samples showed silt dominance (5.8-88.8%), with HM levels exceeding natural background values, indicating anthropogenic inputs. Average concentrations included Co (34.26 mg/kg), Cu (53.2 mg/kg), Mn (1,478 mg/kg), Ni (78.85 mg/kg), Zn (113 mg/kg), and Cr (96.08 mg/kg). Risk indices (CF, Igeo, EF, PLI, PERI) revealed moderate contamination (PLI = 1.17; PERI = 19.20), with localized hotspots. Multivariate analyses identified industrial, agricultural, and urban runoff as primary sources, with strong correlations between Co, Ni, Fe (r > 0.6) and Cu, Pb, Zn (r > 0.5). Factor analysis highlighted industrial, urban, and agricultural influences, explaining 77.1% of variance. Cluster analysis grouped sites by pollution levels, with higher contamination near urban and agricultural areas.
Keywords: heavy metals, Wular Lake, Ramsar site, Sediment contamination, ecological risk assessment, Anthropogenic pollution
Received: 17 May 2025; Accepted: 15 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Nazir, Riyaz, Zargar and Afzal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Arfat Nazir, Department of Geology, University of Madras, Chennai, India
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.