Heavy metal pollution in a reforested mangrove ecosystem (Can Gio Biosphere Reserve, Southern Vietnam): Effects of natural and anthropogenic stressors over a thirty-year history.

In order to assess the impact of recent industrialization and land-use changes in the Can Gio Mangrove Forest, a Biosphere Reserve in Southern Vietnam, we analyzed heavy metal (HM), total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) concentrations in a Pb-dated sediment core, allowing for the environmental reconstruction of the last three decades. C/N ratios were very high (>20) until ~1990, reflecting highly refractory organic matter. Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQG's) violations were observed particularly after the establishment of industries in the area in the late-1990s.

The hidden threat of heavy metal pollution in high sedimentation and highly dynamic environment: Assessment of metal accumulation rates in the Thi Vai Estuary, Southern Vietnam.

Paleoecological assessment is challenging in highly dynamic environments such as estuaries, where sedimentation of material derived from the catchment interferes with marine processes. In this study we analyzed sedimentary heavy metal contents of the last decades to assess the impact of recent industrialization and changes in land use of the Thi Vai Estuary in Southern Vietnam. Two sediment cores (upstream and downstream) were dated using Pb, allowing the environmental reconstruction of the last three decades.