Spatial Distribution and Ecological Risks of the Potentially-Toxic Elements in the Surface Sediments of Lake Bosten, China

Aiming at the pollution and ecological hazards of the lake sediments of Bosten Lake, once China’s largest inland lake, the spatial distribution and influencing factors of the potentially-toxic elements in its surface sediments were studied with the methods of spatial autocorrelation, two-way cluster analysis, and redundancy analysis. Finally, based on the background value of potentially-toxic elements extracted from a sediment core, a comprehensive evaluation of the risk of these potentially-toxic elements was conducted with the potential-ecological-risk index and the pollution-load index. With data on the grain size, bulk-rock composition, and organic matter content, this comprehensive analysis suggested that with the enrichment of authigenic carbonate minerals, the content of potentially-toxic elements exhibited distinctive characteristics representative of arid regions with lower values than those in humid region. All potentially-toxic elements revealed a significant spatial autocorrelation, and high-value areas mainly occurred in the middle and southwest. The content of potentially-toxic elements is related to Al(2)O3, K(2)O, Fe(2)O(3), TiO(2), MgO, and MnO, and the storage medium of potentially-toxic elements mainly consists of small particles with a grain size <16 μm. The pollution load index (PLI) for the whole lake due to the potentially-toxic elements was 1.31, and the surface area with a PLI higher than 1 and a moderate pollution level accounted for 87.2% of the total lake area. The research conclusions have an important scientific value for future lake ecological quality assessment and lake environment governance.