An attempt to determine the role of catchment area management elements with respect to heavy metals pollution of bottom sediments of selected antrhropogenic lakes

The correlations between the catchment factors and the contamination of bottom sediments with heavy metals in selected flow-through anthropogenic reservoirs were investigated. The catchment development structure determines the proportions between metals. For the area covered by the study, it was found that the greater the length of the watercourse, the greater the catchment area, the greater the share of industrialized areas, the greater the population density and the salinity of the water. The proportion of industrialised catchments is influenced by the length of the river and the size of the total catchment area. It was found that the greater the share of industrialized areas in the river basin, the higher the population density. Population density is related to the salinity of the water in the stream and the conductivity. The concentration of metals in bottom sediments of anthropogenic overflow reservoirs is related to: the length of the watercourse, the amount of water introduced into the reservoir, the share of industrialized areas, the size of the catchment area and population density. The share of agricultural and forest areas in the total catchment area is related to the concentration of heavy metals in bottom sediments to a much lesser extent. The correlation between the share of agricultural land and the concentration of cadmium in bottom sediments reflects the presence of this metal in mineral fertilizers.