Environment and Interdisciplinary Development

Physicochemical Status and Agricultural Pesticides in Water, Sediment and Common Carp of Anzali Wetland, Gilan Province, Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Seyed Ghasem Ghorbanzadeh Zaferani 1
Farhad Hosseini Tayefeh 2
Jalil Badamfirooz 3
Seyedeh Bahareh Azimi 1
Seyed Keramat Hashemi Ana 4

1 Research Group of Environmental Assessment and Risk, Research Center for Environment and Sustainable Development (RCESD), Department of Environment, Tehran, I.R. Iran

2 Research Group of Biodiversity and Biosafety, Research Center for Environment and Sustainable Development (RCESD), Department of Environment, Tehran, Iran

3 Research Group of Environmental Economics, Research Center for Environment and Sustainable Development (RCESD), Department of Environment, Tehran, I.R. Iran

4 Department of Geography, Faculty of Literature and Humanities University of Yasouj, Yasouj, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22034/envj.2025.506941.1473
Abstract
Introduction: The use of organochlorine (OCPs) and organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) on a large scale in agricultural lands in the northern provinces of Iran is very common. When pesticides enter water, these toxins are easily distributed in the environment and have the ability to bioaccumulate in living organisms. Exposure to such contaminated water is harmful to human health and living organisms. In this study, the latest ecological status of the wetland was examined in terms of changes in physicochemical parameters, changes in physicochemical parameters, and widely used agricultural pesticides in water, sediment, and fish samples in the three eastern, middle, and western parts of Anzali Wetland.
Materials and Methods: In this study, the sampling was conducted from 10 stations in the Wetland in the spring of 2021. Water samples were collected from a depth of 1 m, sediment samples were collected using a Grab van Veen sampler, and the fishes were collected by netting. A multi-parameter water quality meter was used to measure pH, Electrical conductivity (EC) and Total dissolved solids (TDS) parameters, and the Winkler method and standard methods were used to measure Dissolved oxygen (DO), Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and Chemical oxygen demand (COD), respectively. The levels of aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, diazinon, malathion, and azinphos-methyl in the samples were measured using a Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). For statistical analysis, univariate and multivariate statistical tests including cluster analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and non-metric multidimensional scaling (n-MDS) were used.
Results: In this study, the total mean of BOD, COD, DO and depth in the Wetland were 26, 46.6, 4.09 (mg/L) and 1.2 m, respectively. The maximum salinity (ppt) and EC (mS/cm) in the Wetland were recorded at depth of 0.6 (m), in the middle part of the wetland 3.84 and 6.8, respectively. The mean TDS in the Wetland (g/L) was 1.11 and the mean turbidity (NTU) was 3.57. The maximum sand content in Anzali Wetland (69.67%) was recorded in the middle part of the wetland and the maximum silt content (37.50%), clay (32.25%) and total organic matter content (12.41%) were recorded in the western part of the wetland. The mean concentration of OCPs and OPPs in the water of the entire wetland was measured as 1.3 and 0.7 µg/L, respectively, but they were not detectable in the sediment and muscle of fish samples.
Discussion: In the present study, the reason for the low DO and high BOD and COD values in the eastern part may be due to the pollution of the Pirbazar River and the increase in the pollution load due to the entry of sewage. The pH of the water indicates that the pH was uniform and alkaline in the wetland. The TDS value was higher in the middle part of the wetland, which in some places could be related to agricultural and industrial activities or particles resulting from the remains of phytoplankton bodies. With the increase in the amount of organic matter and clay in the western part of the wetland, the Cation exchange capacity (CEC) value also increased. The PCA results in Anzali Wetland showed that sediment variables, like water parameters, can play a significant role in explaining changes in the wetland ecological system. The results of the cluster test and n-MDS based on environmental physicochemical conditions indicate differences between different parts of the wetland, and overall, this issue can reflect the effect of the specific hydrodynamic and topographic conditions of the region. One of the reasons for the absence of OCPs and OPPs in this study could be the influence of environmental parameters, especially pH, which was alkaline and caused the removal of these toxins.

Keywords

Organochlorine
OrganophosphorusWetland
BOD
COD

Subjects

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Environment and Interdisciplinary Development
Volume 10, Issue 89
Summer 2025
Pages 38-57

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