Environmental and geochemical characteristics of nitrogen, phosphorus and heavy metal elements in sediments of South Lake of Changchun

Nitrogen, phosphorus and heavy metal elements in the sediments of South Lake of Changchun, Jilin Province, varied regularly in their sectional concentrations. Three sections were studied. I-section had lower N, P and heavy metal elements than II-and III-sections. It was believed that lower results were related to the aquatic plants, such as vaterhyacinth and lotus. P. N and heavy metal elements were higher in upper parts of sediments than those in lower parts in every section, which indicated that the water body had been polluted seriously in recent years. To prevent the pollution disaster to appear again, the government should take actions such as digging up the sediments or discharging the lake water thoroughly.