Investigation of Ecosystem Health of International Meighan Wetland

Abstract Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the ecosystem health of Meighan Wetland of Arak. Methods: To evaluate the Meighan Wetland of Arak, the status of benthic organisms and other parameters, sampling of sediments of the wetland floor was performed at 10 points of the wetland and at 5 replications at each point. Heavy metal pollution, biological, and water quality indices were also evaluated. Then, the map of ecosystem health was prepared. Results: The results showed that except for the nickel, zinc and lead, for other elements and compounds (EC, Na, Cl, Mg, Ca, HCO3, SO4 and TDS), the minimum and maximum values ​​belonged to stations 3 and 6, respectively. In the case of copper, zinc and lead, the lowest concentration was seen in the northwestern part of the wetland and the highest in the western and southeastern parts of the wetland. Conclusion: The high amount of the mentioned elements and compounds in station 6 may be due to the activity of a factory that produces sodium sulfate in the northern part of the wetland, which causes changes in the wetland ecosystem by removing sediments from the wetland floor. The high level of the copper, zinc and lead in the southern part of the wetland can be due to urban and domestic wastewaters that enter the wetland from the southwest of the wetland through the outlet channel of Arak refinery.