Integrated environmental monitoring and assessment of anthropogenic impacts on the Ilek River ecosystem, Kazakhstan

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Environmental Management and Engineering, L.N.Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Astana, Kazakhstan

2 Department of Environmental Physicochemistry, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland;

3 Department of Ecology, Narxoz University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

4 Department of Chemistry and Ecology, Almaty Technological University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

5 Department of Ecology, Aktobe Regional University named after K. Zhubanov, Aktobe, Kazakhstan;

10.22124/cjes.2026.9793

Abstract

Ilek River, one of the most polluted water bodies in the Ural–Caspian Basin, experiences significant anthropogenic pressure. The primary sources of pollution include heavy metals (Cr, Pb, Fe, and Mn), boron, petroleum hydrocarbons, and organic contaminants such as surfactants, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅). The aim of this study was to conduct a comprehensive bioindication-based assessment of organic pollution in the river channel. The saprobity index of macrophyte communities was applied alongside instrumental analysis of the physicochemical properties of water. Additionally, the study evaluated the phytoremediation potential of six macrophyte species, namely Ceratophyllum demersum, Lemna minor, Eichhornia crassipes, Pistia stratiotes, Typha latifolia, and Phragmites australis, for removing priority pollutants from the aquatic environment. The research was further supported by a systematic review of scientific publications indexed in Scopus from 2018 to 2025, which provided a broader scientific context for assessing macrophyte-based remediation efficiency and ecological monitoring of contaminated river ecosystems.

Keywords

References

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Caspian Journal of Environmental Sciences
Volume 24, Issue 3
July 2026
Pages 805-828

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